Boutari

Boutari is the historic Naoussa wine house founded in 1879 by Ioannis Boutaris in the town of Naoussa, Macedonia, the company that grew from a single nineteenth-century city operation into one of the largest and most internationally recognized Greek wine groups. Ioannis built the city's first privately-owned winery and retail cellar in 1906, a landmark in early Greek wine commercialization, and launched the bottled 'Naoussa Boutari' wine that became the first Greek red wine bottled under a PDO label. The first Greek wine exports under the Boutari label began in 1935, opening the company's international footprint. Stelios Boutaris (Ioannis's son) took the operational reins in the mid-1930s and led the company through the post-war decades, building the family's reputation as Naoussa's flagship producer and the canonical Greek wine export name. Stelios's two sons, Yiannis and Konstantinos Boutaris, took over the company in the late 20th century and expanded the group's geographical footprint across multiple Greek regions; the brothers' shared leadership of the family business defined the late-20th-century arc of Boutari, until Yiannis departed in 1996 to found his own estate (Kir-Yianni in Yianakohori) the following year. Konstantinos Boutaris remained as President and continues to lead the company today, with daughter Marina Boutaris heading marketing and Yiannis Voyatzis (chief oenologist for over two decades) supervising the cellar operations across the group's wineries.

• Founded 1879 in Naoussa by Ioannis Boutaris; one of the oldest continuously-operating Greek wineries and the historical anchor of Greek bottled-wine commerce.
• Stelios Boutaris (Ioannis's son) took the operational reins in the mid-1930s and led the company through the post-war decades as Naoussa's flagship producer.
• Stelios's two sons Yiannis and Konstantinos Boutaris took over in the late 20th century; Yiannis departed in 1996 to found Kir-Yianni in Yianakohori the following year.
• Konstantinos Boutaris continues as President; daughter Marina heads marketing; Yiannis Voyatzis has served as chief oenologist for over two decades across the group's wineries.

The Boutari group's historical center of gravity is the Naoussa winery at Stenimachos, opened in 1978 as a state-of-the-art replacement for the original 1906 city cellar that Ioannis Boutaris had built in the town of Naoussa. The Stenimachos facility consolidated production, aging, and bottling for the Naoussa Xinomavro program and remains the production center for the Naoussa wines today, nearly fifty years after its opening. The Stenimachos site sits in the heart of the Naoussa PDO on the eastern foothills of Mount Vermio, the protected continental basin defined by the Vermio rain-shadow on the western flank and the moderating cool fohn winds from the Aegean coast on the eastern side; this is the same continental terroir that anchors all of the Naoussa cluster's leading producers (Kir-Yianni, Domaine Thymiopoulos, Karydas, Dalamara, Foundi, Markovitis). The Stenimachos winery's geographic position, its scale (the largest Naoussa production facility), and its 145-plus year continuous family operation give the Boutari Naoussa program its distinctive identity: the canonical traditional voice of Naoussa Xinomavro, distinguishable from the modern register that Kir-Yianni and Domaine Thymiopoulos developed in subsequent decades. The Naoussa Stenimachos winery is the largest of the six wineries that Boutari operates across Greece (Naoussa, Goumenissa, Crete, Santorini, Mantinia, Attica) plus the company's southern French operation, and the Naoussa Xinomavro program remains the historical anchor of the entire group's identity.

• The Stenimachos winery opened in 1978, replacing the original 1906 city cellar; remains the production, aging, and bottling center for the Naoussa Xinomavro program nearly fifty years later.
• Stenimachos sits in the heart of the Naoussa PDO on the eastern foothills of Mount Vermio, the protected continental basin defined by the Vermio rain-shadow on the western flank.
• Largest of six Boutari wineries across Greece (Naoussa, Goumenissa, Crete, Santorini, Mantinia, Attica) plus a southern French operation; the historical anchor of the entire group.
• The Naoussa Stenimachos identity is distinguishable from the modern register that Kir-Yianni and Domaine Thymiopoulos developed in subsequent decades on neighbouring slopes of the same continental terroir.

Boutari's role in the modern Greek wine industry runs deeper than its 145-year operating history: the company is widely credited with preserving the Xinomavro grape variety through the long mid-20th-century era when most Greek growers had abandoned indigenous grapes for higher-yielding international varieties or table-grape production. When the Greek wine industry was emerging from the post-phylloxera replanting and post-war reconstruction phases of the early 20th century, Naoussa Xinomavro was at risk of being marginalized in favour of more commercially expedient grapes; Boutari's continued cultivation, vinification, and commercial promotion of Xinomavro through the Naoussa Boutari and (later) Grande Reserve Naoussa labels kept the variety at scale and visible in international markets when other producers had de-emphasized it. The Naoussa Boutari wine, bottled and sold under a city-of-origin label from the early 20th century forward, predates both the OPAP framework that formally codified Naoussa as a Greek appellation in 1971 and the post-2011 EU PDO harmonization that succeeded it, and remains a landmark in Greek bottled-wine commercialization across both regulatory eras. By keeping Xinomavro at scale and visible internationally through several generations of mid-20th-century industry headwinds, Boutari built the foundation that the modern Naoussa producers (Kir-Yianni from 1997, Domaine Thymiopoulos from 2004, the smaller Karydas, Dalamara, Foundi, and Markovitis family estates) have built on. The traditional reference voice that Boutari established remains the historical anchor of the Naoussa identity in the modern era.

• Boutari is widely credited with preserving the Xinomavro grape variety through the mid-20th century when most Greek growers had abandoned indigenous grapes for higher-yielding international varieties.
• Naoussa Boutari was a landmark early Greek red wine bottled under a regional-origin label, predating the 1971 OPAP framework and the post-2011 EU PDO harmonization that succeeded it.
• Continued vinification of Xinomavro at scale through the post-war decades kept the variety visible in international markets when other producers had de-emphasized it.
• The traditional Boutari Naoussa Xinomavro voice provided the historical foundation that the modern Naoussa producers (Kir-Yianni, Domaine Thymiopoulos, smaller family estates) built on from 1997 forward.

The Boutari Naoussa range works the appellation's Xinomavro across two principal cuvées plus seasonal and limited bottlings, with the entry-tier Naoussa Boutari and the long-aged Grande Reserve Naoussa as the project's definitional pair. Naoussa Boutari is the broadly distributed standard label, made from selected Xinomavro and aged 12 months in French oak barrels; the wine reads with the project's traditional structurally weighted profile, savoury sour cherry and dried-tomato character, and the firm tannin and acid spine that defines mature Xinomavro. The Naoussa Boutari label has been continuously produced since the early 20th century and serves as the most widely available Naoussa Xinomavro on international markets, the wine through which most international consumers first encounter the variety. Grande Reserve Naoussa is the long-aged premium expression: selected Xinomavro grapes aged for over four years in oak barrels and bottle before release, producing the kind of mature savoury complexity that the Xinomavro variety is built for. The Grande Reserve has been recognized by international critics including Robert Parker (90/100) and serves as a reference for what mature Naoussa Xinomavro from a benchmark traditional producer tastes like with appropriate cellar time. The range extends through occasional special releases and library bottlings, and the cellar work across the Naoussa lineup is supervised by Yiannis Voyatzis as chief oenologist.

• Naoussa Boutari (the entry-tier standard label) ages 12 months in French oak; continuously produced since the early 20th century and the project's most widely distributed Naoussa Xinomavro.
• Grande Reserve Naoussa is the long-aged premium expression: selected Xinomavro aged over four years in oak and bottle before release for mature savoury complexity.
• Grande Reserve has been recognized by international critics including Robert Parker (90/100) and serves as a reference for mature Naoussa Xinomavro from a benchmark traditional producer.
• Yiannis Voyatzis as chief oenologist supervises the cellar work across the Naoussa lineup; the range extends through occasional special releases and library bottlings.

Boutari's modern footprint extends well beyond the Naoussa Stenimachos winery: the group operates six wineries across Greece (Naoussa, Goumenissa, Crete, Santorini, Mantinia, and Attica) plus a southern French operation, building one of the most geographically diverse Greek wine portfolios. Each regional winery focuses on the indigenous and emblematic grape varieties of its terroir: Naoussa anchors the Xinomavro program; Goumenissa contributes the Xinomavro-Negoska blend characteristic of the appellation; Crete works the indigenous Vidiano, Vilana, Kotsifali, and Mandilaria; Santorini works Assyrtiko-led whites including the long-aging Vinsanto; Mantinia in the Peloponnese contributes Moschofilero whites; Attica works the Savatiano white. The group's distribution network spans most major international markets, with Boutari wines available in over 50 countries, and the Naoussa Stenimachos winery remains the historical anchor that grounds the entire group identity. Konstantinos Boutaris (grandson of founder Ioannis) leads the company as President; daughter Marina Boutaris heads marketing; Yiannis Voyatzis has served as chief oenologist for over two decades, supervising cellar work across the group's wineries. The international wine industry recognizes the Boutari Naoussa wines as the canonical traditional reference for Xinomavro: the wine through which the Greek red wine category first reached international consumers, and the historical voice against which modern Naoussa producers (Kir-Yianni from 1997, Domaine Thymiopoulos from 2004, the small artisan family estates) define themselves stylistically. Imported in the United States by Boutari Wines USA and other channel partners; UK distribution via Boutinot and other importers.

• Boutari operates six wineries across Greece (Naoussa, Goumenissa, Crete, Santorini, Mantinia, Attica) plus a southern French operation; one of the most geographically diverse Greek wine portfolios.
• Each regional winery focuses on indigenous grapes: Naoussa anchors Xinomavro; Goumenissa is Xinomavro-Negoska; Santorini is Assyrtiko-led; Crete works Vidiano and Vilana; Mantinia is Moschofilero.
• The Boutari Naoussa wines are recognized as the canonical traditional reference for Xinomavro; the historical voice against which modern Naoussa producers define themselves stylistically.
• Konstantinos Boutaris leads as President with daughter Marina heading marketing; Yiannis Voyatzis supervises cellar work across the group's wineries; distribution spans over 50 countries.