It’s that time of the year again, this part of my farm yard is full of barrils of grape pomace! The smell is so strong, you cannot be mistaken about what is going on there! The pomace is also called marc, which is its French name (“Traubentrester” in German). It is the mix of grape skins, pulp and seeds left from the grape must after its liquid part has been taken out. It is the basis out of which Raki, the grape spirit widely served as a digestive in Crete, is distilled. He

About 4 days after pressing the grapes, the must thus obtained has fermented enough for the liquid to go to the bottom of the vat, whilst the marc (or pomace, i.e. grape seeds, skin and pulp) goes up to the top. This liquid is transferred into a bigger barrel, where it will be left to further ferment for about a month, until all sugar has turned into alcohol. My father and my uncle helping me separate the wine from the pomace Collecting the liquid obtained after pressing the

Weinernte in Kamilari mit Freunden und Familie (Bericht von Alice Gempfer) Die Sonne ist noch nicht aufgegangen, als sich um 7 Uhr eine bunt gemischte, internationale Gruppe auf der Terrasse der Taverne "Milonas" trifft. Die Luft ist angenehm und lässt ahnen, dass es wieder ein heißer Tag wird in Kamilari. Irgendwo in der Ferne kräht ein Hahn, ansonsten ist es noch still im Dorf. Dann knattert ein Moped, Manolis Spiridakis, der das Milonas gemeinsam mit seinem Bruder Giorgos

The grapes are collected manually, and then mechanically destemmed. I use a small machine and closely supervise the process to make sure that the stems are delicately discarded. Crushed stems mixed into the grape must would alter the wine by adding a bitter and astringent taste to it. The destemming machine Delicately feeding the machine to avoid stems being crushed Clean stems collected from the other end of the machine

Pressing the grapes Yesterday was the big day this year. Fortunately, I had managed to convince many friends and family members to help me, so the job could be finished earlier than previous years, and we could all enjoy a well-deserved timely lunch! Driving my tractor in the grapevine Collecting the cranes full of grapes My brother Manolis, always willing to help My mother, who not only helped cutting the grapes, but also cooked for the whole group to enjoy the lunch after t

​ We have created a Facebook Page and hope to build a community of SAFIkala Friends!

We have decided to keep the SAFIkala website fresh and dynamic by creating a Blog. News will be published here on a regular basis, regarding the SAFIkala products, of course, but also more generally about olives and olive oil, and about my farming activities in Kamilari. Tomorrow, for example, will be a big day as I will be harvesting my grapes! As every year, I have invited friends to help me. I will surely be posting news about this so watch this space! If you are logged on