Greece · Patras

Cavino Winery and Distillery Aigio S.A.

Founded in Aigio in 1958, CAVINO began with Greek varieties including Roditis, Lagorthi, Sideritis, Mavro Kalavritino and Mavrodaphne, and its wider wine story reaches into Achaia's mountain vineyards at Mega Spileo.

The producer

CAVINO Winery and Distillery Aigio S.A. was founded in Aigio, in the Peloponnese, in 1958 by Konstantinos Anastasiou and Ioannis Douskas. Its founding winery is surrounded by vineyards, and its early work focused on Roditis, Lagorthi, Sideritis, Mavro Kalavritino and Mavrodaphne. The wider range reaches wines from Mega Spileo Estate in Achaia, where four mountain vineyards grow Greek and international varieties including Mavrodaphne, Mavro Kalavritino, Malagousia, Assyrtiko, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

CAVINO's range links its indigenous Greek grape foundation with bottles from mountain vineyards and distinct cellar choices. At Mega Spileo, grapes arrive cold, whites may receive pre-fermentation extraction, reds ferment in stainless steel, and some fuller-bodied wines age in oak for two years. Start with Mega Spileo III Cuvée Red, a blend of 40% Mavrodaphne, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Agiorgitiko. The varieties are vinified separately before blending and eight months in new American oak; the off-dry red is deep purple, warm and lush, with red-fruit syrup, graphite, chocolate, vanilla, granular tannins and a long spicy finish.

Known for

Indigenous Greek varieties from Aigio and mountain-grown wines from Achaia, with local and international grapes cultivated at Mega Spileo.

Notable facts

The story

The 1999 lease at Mega Spileo

In 1999, brothers Giannis and Theodoros Anastasiou took a long-term lease on Mega Spileo Estate from the monastery. The historic vineyard had been cultivated by monks from the mid-fifteenth century, who made wine for Communion, their diet, monastery visitors and local residents. Wine once travelled by mule from the vineyard to the monastery cellar. The monastery was established in 362 AD by Symeon and Theodore. By the time the brothers took the lease, the historic vineyard had been abandoned. They replanted its vines, bringing the vineyard back into cultivation.

From the atlas

CAVINO Winery and Distillery Aigio S.A.

At A Glance

CAVINO began in Aigio, in the Peloponnese, in 1958, with Greek grapes at the centre of its work. The founding winery sits among vineyards, while the wider estate reaches Mega Spileo's mountain vineyards in Achaia. That range runs from Roditis, Lagorthi, Sideritis, Mavro Kalavritino and Mavrodaphne to named reds made from mountain-grown local and international varieties. Wines produced in Aigio travel through Greece and more than 55 other countries.

The Producer

CAVINO's story begins with a working winery and a surrounding vineyard landscape. Konstantinos Anastasiou and Ioannis Douskas founded the company in Aigio in 1958, and its first investments were Roditis, Lagorthi, Sideritis, Mavro Kalavritino and Mavrodaphne. Those grapes made the producer's starting point unmistakably Greek, while the vineyard-surrounded Aigio winery kept the work close to the vines.

CAVINO is a wine and spirits producer with a wide route to market: wines made in Aigio are distributed across Greece and in more than 55 countries. In 2009, the International Wine & Spirit Competition in the United Kingdom named CAVINO Best Greek Winery. The award is a dated checkpoint; the bottles remain easiest to read through their grapes, sites and cellar choices.

Place

Aigio supplies CAVINO's base, and Achaia's Mega Spileo Estate lifts part of the range into the mountains. Four vineyards there total about 28 hectares. One of those vineyards covers 10 hectares of sloped ground between 780 and 880 metres inside the UNESCO Chelmos Vouraikos Geopark. The distinction gives the bottles a useful place vocabulary: CAVINO names the Aigio-founded producer, while Mega Spileo names the mountain estate behind its wines.

Rain and snow supply water at Mega Spileo. Sea and gorge breezes lower humidity and help protect the vines naturally from disease. Together, the water and airflow give the producer two physical starting points: an Aigio winery surrounded by vines and a high, airy estate in Achaia, where local Greek grapes grow alongside Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Soil And Site

At Mega Spileo, slope, elevation and air movement carry the site story. The 10 hectare vineyard climbs from 780 to 880 metres; rain and snow supply water, while sea and gorge breezes lower humidity. The estate pairs those conditions with sustainable agriculture intended to protect biodiversity and the natural landscape. Its planting palette includes Mavrodaphne, Mavro Kalavritino, Malagousia, Assyrtiko, Lagorthi, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, so the mountain name sits beside several grape expressions.

Story

Two dates mark CAVINO's movement from Aigio into the mountains. In 1958, Konstantinos Anastasiou and Ioannis Douskas founded the company around Greek varieties. In 1999, a long-term lease and replanting at Mega Spileo brought its historic vineyard back into cultivation. That decision added four mountain vineyards in Achaia, about 28 hectares in total, to a producer whose founding winery was surrounded by Aigio vines. It also brought the local and international planting list of Mega Spileo into the wider CAVINO range. In 2009, CAVINO was named Best Greek Winery at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in the United Kingdom.

Vineyards And Cellar

Mega Spileo's four vineyards grow Mavrodaphne, Mavro Kalavritino, Malagousia, Assyrtiko and Lagorthi alongside Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The planting list keeps Greek grapes and international varieties in the same estate without turning them into one blend. Grapes arrive at the winery cold. White wines may receive pre-fermentation extraction, contact with grape material before fermentation, while reds ferment in stainless steel, a neutral vessel that leaves the fermenting wine without wood contact. Some fuller-bodied wines then age in oak for two years, adding barrel contact and time for development. Farming at the estate is intended to protect biodiversity and the natural landscape, which puts vineyard health beside cellar method in the way the wines are made.

Wines

The range starts with CAVINO's Aigio grape roots and widens through Mega Spileo's mountain vineyards. Its named red set includes Mega Spileo III Cuvée Red, Grand Cave, Grand Cave Syrah and Wild Ferment Cabernet Sauvignon. Grand Cave 2015 combines 60% Mavrodaphne and 40% Mavro Kalavritino, then spends 30 months in new oak. Grand Cave Syrah 2014 also spends 30 months in new oak. Wild Ferment Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 ferments in upturned 225 litre oak barrels before 18 months in new oak. The bottles make vessel and ageing part of the range, not a hidden cellar detail.

Grand Cave 2015 brings blackcurrant and cherry with savoury spice, woody notes, pine and mint, plus tannin. Grand Cave Syrah 2014 moves toward black cherry, pepper, dried herbs, mint, earth, leather and iodine. Wild Ferment Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 carries spicy blackcurrant, rosemary and thyme over grainy tannin, mineral and earth. Across these reds, fruit sits beside herbs, oak and savoury finishes, giving each named wine a different register.

In The Glass

The first aromas from these reds are berry and dark fruit, then pepper, dried herbs, rosemary, thyme, mint and savoury spice rise as the glass opens. In the mouth, oak-aged wines carry woody, chocolate, vanilla and coconut notes around warm fruit, while stainless-steel fermentation keeps the fermenting vessel neutral. Tannin shifts from granular to grainy across the styles, giving the palate a dry, textural pull. The finish moves from spice into mineral, earth, leather and iodine, with grape choice setting the fruit register and barrel time deciding how much wood and warmth remain.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Mega Spileo III Cuvée Red. It blends 40% Mavrodaphne, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Agiorgitiko. Each variety is vinified separately, then the wine is blended and matured for eight months in new American oak. It is an off-dry red with a deep purple colour and blue hues; red-fruit syrup, strawberry and brambleberry lead to graphite, chocolate, coconut, sweet spice and vanilla. The palate is warm and lush, with granular tannins and a long spicy finish. This is a useful first bottle because one wine shows the grape blend, separate fermentation and new American oak in a single, easy-to-follow glass.

Anecdote

In 1999, brothers Giannis and Theodoros Anastasiou took a long-term lease on Mega Spileo Estate from the monastery. The Great Vineyard had an older working life: monks cultivated it from the mid-fifteenth century, making wine for Communion, their diet, monastery visitors and local residents. When the vineyard was in use, wine travelled by mule from the vines to the monastery cellar. The monastery itself was established in 362 AD by Symeon and Theodore. By the time the brothers took the lease, the historic vineyard had been abandoned. They replanted its vines, returning the Great Vineyard to production.

Final Word

CAVINO joins an Aigio beginning to a mountain extension in Achaia. Roditis, Lagorthi, Sideritis, Mavro Kalavritino and Mavrodaphne give the founding story its Greek grape vocabulary, while Mega Spileo adds high vineyards, mixed plantings and cellar choices from stainless steel to new oak. The wines made in Aigio reach Greece and more than 55 other countries, but the bottles remain tied to the places and grapes named on them. Start with III Cuvée Red for the blend and barrel work; from there, the other reds show how Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and the original Greek varieties move through different vessels and ageing times.

Sources

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