Markovitis

The Markovitis story begins in the early 1970s, when Markos's grandfather (also named Markos) planted the first Xinomavro vines at Polla Nera, a small village on the western foothills of Mount Vermio within what would later become the Naoussa PDO. The first-generation Markos built the cellar in 1979, and the family released the first commercial wines from the 1981 vintage under the original winery name Chateau Pegasus, a reference to the winged horse of Greek mythology. The second generation, brothers Dimitrios and Trifon Markovitis, ran the estate from the early 1980s through 2012, gradually building the vineyard work, the cellar identity, and the international reputation that the project carries today. Third-generation Markos Markovitis trained in viticulture and oenology at the German wine school in Weinsberg before returning to take over the estate in 2012, at which point he renamed the winery from Chateau Pegasus to Markovitis and consolidated the family identity around the surname. The renaming was a deliberate signal of the project's modern artisan identity: a small estate focused on a single grape and a single vineyard, distinct from the older industrial Chateau Pegasus commercial register. The estate's documented history thus runs from the early-1970s grandfather plantings through the 1981 first commercial vintage and into the modern Markovitis register from 2012 forward, with a substantive multi-generational continuity that anchors the project in the Naoussa cluster's traditional family-estate pole.

• Founded by first-generation Markos Markovitis, who planted Xinomavro vines at Polla Nera in the early 1970s on the foothills of Mount Vermio within the Naoussa PDO.
• Cellar built in 1979 and first commercial wines released from the 1981 vintage under the original winery name Chateau Pegasus (Pegasus, a Greek mythological reference).
• Second generation Dimitrios and Trifon Markovitis ran the estate from the early 1980s through 2012, building the vineyard and cellar identity for three decades.
• Third-generation Markos Markovitis trained at Weinsberg in Germany, took over operations in 2012, and renamed the winery from Chateau Pegasus to Markovitis.

The Markovitis vineyard sits at Polla Nera on the western foothills of Mount Vermio (2,052 metres), within the Naoussa PDO in the prefecture of Imathia, Macedonia. The site is a single block surrounding the cellar, planted exclusively to Xinomavro on clay-dominant soils that the family describes as compact enough to force deep root development and naturally limit canopy growth. The position carries a continental climate signature shaped by Vermio: cold and humid winters, hot and dry summers, and the rain-shadow influence of the mountain on the western flank. The Polla Nera microclimate is widely cited by importers and trade press as one of the cooler positions within the Naoussa appellation, contributing longer hang-times for the fruit, brighter acid retention, and a more aromatic floral lift to the Xinomavro. The vineyard surrounds the winery as a contiguous block planted in the early 1970s; reports of the working surface range from 8 to 24 hectares depending on whether sources describe the original family plantings, the current working footprint around the cellar, or the broader holdings, with most importer sheets centering on a working single-block vineyard in the 14-hectare range. The clay soils, the cooler position, and the old-vine plantings together produce the lighter-bodied and aromatic Xinomavro register that the Markovitis wines have built their international identity on.

• Single-block vineyard surrounding the cellar at Polla Nera on the western foothills of Mount Vermio (2,052 metres) within the Naoussa PDO, prefecture of Imathia, Macedonia.
• Clay-dominant soils that the family describes as compact enough to force deep root development and naturally limit canopy growth; planted exclusively to Xinomavro.
• Continental climate with cold and humid winters, hot and dry summers, and the rain-shadow influence of Mount Vermio; cited as a cooler position within Naoussa.
• The Polla Nera position contributes longer hang-times, brighter acid retention, and a more aromatic floral lift to the Xinomavro than the warmer central-Naoussa positions.

The Markovitis vineyard was certified organic in 1992, making it the first certified organic vineyard in Greece and the longest-running formally certified organic operation in the Naoussa cluster. The conversion preceded the broader adoption of organic certification in Greek viticulture by more than a decade and reflects a deliberate philosophical commitment that the family made early in the modern arc of the estate. The vineyard is worked without synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers; protection is limited to copper and sulphur sprays applied conservatively, with the rest of the work handled through canopy management, cover crops, and a careful summer crop reduction that concentrates the remaining fruit. The family describes its broader philosophy as a vineyard-first approach: the work is concentrated in the vineyard rather than the cellar, with the conviction that authentic wines should be able to speak for themselves through the site rather than through cellar intervention. The 1992 certification has been continuously maintained, providing the kind of multi-decade organic vineyard track record that distinguishes Markovitis from the more recent organic conversions across Greek viticulture. The continuous organic operation, combined with the old-vine single-block planting and the cooler Polla Nera microclimate, gives the estate a distinctive small-and-traditional profile within the Naoussa appellation.

• Certified organic in 1992: the first certified organic vineyard in Greece and the longest-running certified organic operation in the Naoussa cluster.
• Vineyard worked without synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers; protection limited to copper and sulphur sprays applied conservatively across the growing season.
• Summer crop reduction concentrates the remaining fruit; the family's philosophy is a vineyard-first approach with cellar intervention kept to a minimum.
• Continuous organic operation since 1992 gives Markovitis a multi-decade track record that no other Naoussa producer can match for organic longevity.

Markovitis is exclusively devoted to Xinomavro and currently bottles two principal wines from the Polla Nera vineyard: the flagship Markovitis Naoussa Xinomavro red and the Alkemi rosé. The Naoussa red is 100 percent Xinomavro from hand-harvested and fully de-stemmed fruit, fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks and aged for roughly 12 months in 500-litre Hungarian oak barrels of 10 to 30 years of age, with the older neutral barrels selected to soften the variety's grippy tannins without overlaying new-oak character. The bottling is conducted with minimal intervention, with the cooler Polla Nera microclimate allowed to read clearly through to the glass. The wine carries a stated 13 percent alcohol on recent vintages, with a recommended drinking window of roughly eight years from release. The Alkemi rosé is also 100 percent Xinomavro, produced by the saignée method and described by importers as structured and spicy with pink grapefruit, floral lift, and a refreshing acid streak, sitting at the more gastronomic end of the dry Greek rosé spectrum. The estate maintains a notable vertical library of older vintages dating back to the first commercial release in 1981, one of the deepest single-estate archives in Naoussa. Older vintages occasionally appear on the international market through specialist importers and provide a rare window into the long aging trajectory of organically farmed Xinomavro from the Polla Nera position.

• Flagship Markovitis Naoussa Xinomavro: 100 percent Xinomavro, hand-harvested and fully de-stemmed, native-yeast fermentation in stainless steel.
• Aged for roughly 12 months in 500-litre Hungarian oak barrels of 10 to 30 years of age; minimal-intervention bottling that lets the Polla Nera site read clearly.
• Alkemi rosé: 100 percent Xinomavro produced by the saignée method; structured and spicy with pink grapefruit, floral lift, and a refreshing acid streak.
• Estate maintains a vertical library of older vintages dating back to the first commercial release in 1981, one of the deepest single-estate archives in Naoussa.

Markovitis has built a steady international reputation through specialist importers and trade-press coverage focused on the small-and-traditional pole of the Naoussa appellation. United States distribution runs through R&R Selections and Sierra Nevada Imports, two importers with deep specialist Greek-wine portfolios that have placed the wines at independent retailers and on Greek-focused restaurant lists across the country. United Kingdom distribution runs through Indigo Wine, the artisanal-wine specialist that lists Markos Markovitis among its Greek producers, with retailer placement at The Sourcing Table, Tivoli Wines, Forest Wines, Cave Bristol, and other UK independents. Decanter and other international wine publications have reviewed individual vintages, and the wines appear regularly on specialist Greek-wine programs and tasting menus across Europe and North America. The Markovitis identity sits in the Naoussa cluster's small-and-traditional pole alongside Karydas (single-vineyard Ano Gastra), Dalamara (Paliokalias single-vineyard, certified organic since 1996), and Foundi (Ramnista), distinct from the larger commercial-scale operations of Boutari, Kir-Yianni, and Domaine Thymiopoulos. The distinguishing element within this small-estate pole is the combination of the 1992 organic certification (the longest-running in Greece) and the cooler Polla Nera microclimate, which together produce the lighter-bodied and aromatic Xinomavro register that Markovitis has built its international identity on.

• United States distribution: R&R Selections and Sierra Nevada Imports, two specialist Greek-wine importers with deep portfolios across the country.
• United Kingdom distribution: Indigo Wine, with retailer placement at The Sourcing Table, Tivoli Wines, Forest Wines, Cave Bristol, and other independents.
• Decanter and other international publications have reviewed individual vintages; the wines appear on Greek-focused restaurant lists and tasting menus across Europe and North America.
• Markovitis sits in the small-and-traditional pole of the Naoussa cluster alongside Karydas, Dalamara, and Foundi, distinct from the larger Boutari and Kir-Yianni operations.