From the atlas
S. Kechri & Co. Winery - Distillery
At A Glance
S. Kechri & Co. Winery - Distillery is a family winery in Thessaloniki, with its official address in Kalochori. The family’s wine work begins with Evagelos Kechris in 1911; today, third-generation Stelios Kechris works alongside his daughters Eleni, Maria and Zoe. Retsina is central to the house, while Assyrtiko and Xinomavro widen the range from resin-scented whites to structured red wine.
The winery reports production of 2.5 million bottles a year, with 30 per cent exported to more than 30 countries. That scale means Kechris is not confined to one small cuvée: its named wines show different ways Greek grapes, pine resin, fermentation and barrel maturation can shape a bottle.
The Producer
The Kechris family’s defining wine fact is its long commitment to retsina. Evagelos Kechris began the family’s winemaking activity in 1911 and later introduced imported glass wine bottles to the Greek market; wine moved from a tavern’s barrels into a format made for bottling and travel. The present range keeps that history visible in Kechribari while pushing it into a premium Assyrtiko bottling, Tear of the Pine.
The first family winery opened in Kalochori in 1954, after wine production at a Thessaloniki taverna, and took the form of a modern winery-distillery under the name Kechri Bross. Stelios Kechris brought chemistry studies in Thessaloniki and an enology degree from Dijon, earned in 1978, to a family business already rooted in retsina; the result is a portfolio that places a traditional style beside varietal Assyrtiko and single-vineyard Xinomavro.
Place
Thessaloniki is the city attached to the Kechris story, while Kalochori is the winery’s address. The link matters because the family’s early wine trade grew through a Thessaloniki tavern before production settled into a dedicated winery in Kalochori. On the label, the most useful geographic distinction is therefore not an invented village hierarchy but the change from a city-born retsina tradition to wines identified by grape and bottle.
For Kechris, grape names carry much of the practical guide to style. Assyrtiko leads Tear of the Pine toward a dry white frame; Xinomavro leads the Single Vineyard 2021 toward red-wine maceration, oak maturation and tannin. Retsina adds pine-resin character to a white-wine base, so its aromatic profile comes from a winemaking choice as well as the grape beneath it.
Soil And Site
Kechris’ documented range includes a single-vineyard Xinomavro, but the available record does not name its soil, elevation, vine age or parcel. That leaves the bottle, rather than an imagined landscape, as the sound guide: Xinomavro is presented through its single-vineyard origin, maceration and oak maturation, which point toward a red with grip and developed savoury shape.
The same care applies to the white wines. Tear of the Pine is identified as Assyrtiko retsina, and Kechribari is a dry white retsina; their shared resin note is not a claim about ground. It is a production detail that changes the aroma and finish of the finished wine.
Story
Kechris has moved through several forms without dropping the wine that made the family name. The family began with Evagelos Kechris in 1911, entered export markets by 1972, and saw Stelios Kechris become company director in 1984. His scientific and enological training came after the family had already built a retsina business, so technical study entered an existing house style rather than replacing it.
That continuity can be read across the range. Kechribari keeps the historic retsina thread close to a dry-white format; Tear of the Pine applies it to Assyrtiko and barrel ageing; Xinomavro Single Vineyard 2021 steps outside retsina altogether. Together, the bottles show a producer using one old local category as part of a broader Greek-wine cellar.
Vineyards And Cellar
The winery documents hand harvesting and transport in crates, followed by fermentation and, for selected wines, barrel maturation. Handling fruit in crates keeps the harvest intact on its way to the cellar; fermentation then sets the dry or aromatic direction, while time in barrel can add weight and oak-derived spice where the wine calls for it.
Retsina requires a further cellar decision: pine resin becomes part of the wine’s aromatic make-up. In a bottle such as Kechribari, that means dry white-wine fruit is joined by a recognisable resinous scent. In Tear of the Pine, Assyrtiko and barrel ageing give the resin a more layered setting, with acidity and texture carrying the flavour through the finish.
Wines
Kechribari is the house’s historic-facing retsina, associated with the family’s 1939 tradition and sold in the dry-white range. Its role is direct: dry white wine, pine-resin aroma and a clean, food-ready profile rather than sweetness. It is the bottle to pour when the point is to encounter retsina’s pine note clearly.
Tear of the Pine takes a different route. It is a premium Assyrtiko retsina, made with barrel maturation and presented as a wine with ageing potential. Assyrtiko supplies acidity and citrus-toned drive; resin and oak bring savoury depth and a broader texture. It is not simply Kechribari at a higher price level, because grape, élevage and intended development all change the shape of the wine.
Xinomavro Single Vineyard 2021 provides the red branch of the range. Maceration extracts colour, flavour and tannin from the skins, while oak maturation adds another layer of spice and texture. Its single-vineyard designation shifts attention from resinous white wine to Xinomavro’s red-fruit, savoury and firm-tannin possibilities.
In The Glass
Across the retsinas, expect pine resin first, then dry white-wine fruit beneath it. Kechribari is the more immediate expression: aromatic resin, light-to-medium body, fresh acidity and a dry finish. The pine note is a flavourful addition, not a substitute for wine structure, so the palate still depends on fruit, acidity and texture.
Tear of the Pine should feel broader. Assyrtiko’s acidity keeps the wine dry and lifted, while barrel maturation can bring weight, spice and a more settled texture around citrus fruit and resin. Xinomavro Single Vineyard 2021 changes colour and rhythm: red fruit, savoury notes, oak spice and tannin lead into a firmer finish shaped by maceration and time in barrel.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with Tear of the Pine. This is premium Assyrtiko retsina, so it brings together the producer’s central tradition and a grape known for dry acidity. Pine resin supplies its unmistakable aromatic mark; barrel maturation adds body and spice; the Assyrtiko base carries citrus fruit and a long dry finish. Its documented ageing potential also makes clear that Kechris treats retsina as a wine capable of development, not merely a casual summer pour.
Anecdote
From 1939, customers came to the Kechri family’s Kokoras tavern in Thessaloniki for retsina and sun-dried wines made in wooden barrels. The setting was a tavern rather than the later winery, and the wines were served from the objects in which they had been made. Fifteen years later, in 1954, the family founded its first winery in Kalochori under the name Kechri Bross. The move gave the family a dedicated winery-distillery, while the bottles that followed still carried a connection to the retsina poured at Kokoras.
Final Word
Kechris is worth seeking out for the contrast inside its own cellar: Kechribari shows dry, resin-scented retsina in a straightforward form, Tear of the Pine gives Assyrtiko, oak and pine a deeper frame, and the single-vineyard Xinomavro brings tannin and red-wine weight. The common thread is not a vague house style but a family history that has kept retsina in active conversation with modern Greek wine.
Sources
- https://www.kechris.gr/en/contact-us
- https://winesofgreece.org/wineries/kechris/
- https://www.greeceandgrapes.com/en/wineries/kechri-winery
- https://www.thenationalherald.com/kechris-winery-tradition-science-and-passion/
- https://www.kechris.gr/en/content/10-winery
- https://www.kechris.gr/en/dry-white/8-kechribari-17.html
- https://www.kechris.gr/en/products/12-tear-of-the-pine-18.html
- https://www.cellier.gr/Product/Xinomavro-Single-Vineyard-Kechris?lang=enEN&requestlocale=en
- https://www.greeceandgrapes.com/en/white-retsina-tear-of-the-pine-2023-kechris