Agios Konstantinos – Kampos Vourlioton – Vourliotes – Kokkari Wine Route
The wine route starts at the seaside hamlet of Agios Konstantinos. It is a route by road that is approximately 25 kilometres long, with a duration of about 50 minutes (without stops). Starting at the capital of the island, Samos, the route by car to Agios Konstantinos on the Samos-Karlovasi Rural Road takes about 25-30 minutes and is 19 kilometres long. Before arriving at Agios Konstantinos, just after the petrol station in the Kampos Vourlioton area, a small dirt road on the right leads to a seaside area where winemakers and mule drivers used to wash their kofinia and seledes (large grape kofinia) at the end of each day during vintage. Visitors will find the enormous abandoned buildings that were used as centres for storing and trading Samos wine (tavernes), as well as stone collection tanks that were “taken” by the sea. In Agios Konstantinos they can see the stafylodochoi, as well as the beautiful fishing shelter of the region, and they can make a short stop as there are several cafés and restaurants operating there.
Heading east from Agios Konstantinos, they can follow the winding mountain route to one of the most important vineyard villages, Vourliotes. Visitors can admire the wonderful view of the sea that reaches all the way to Kokkari, as well as the numerous mountain vineyards throughout the duration of the route to the village. At the entrance of the village and very close to the municipal parking area, visitors will find the stafylodochos and, on the way to the village square, the Vourliotes Cooperative building.
Agios Konstantinos – Kampos Vourlioton – Vourliotes – Kokkari Wine Route
From there, by 4×4 vehicle, one can take a tour of the mountain vineyards at an altitude of 960 metres, they can visit a traditional kalyvi in the Kioulafides area, admire the unique view of the northern side of the island, and reach the Samos Brutia pine, oak, and chestnut forest, trees that were once used in the manufacturing of barrels used to store and transport wine.
From the mountain ridge in Syrrachos one can return to Vourliotes and make a short stop in the beautiful village square, where there are catering businesses and traditional cafés. From Vourliotes one can head to the seaside and tourist centre of Kokkari, see the old Cooperative building, and enjoy the seascape.
Kofinia washing beach, Svala area, Agios Konstantinos
Before arriving at Agios Konstantinos, just after the petrol station in Kampos Vourlioton, a small dirt road on the right leads to a seaside area where winemakers and mule drivers used to wash their kofinia and seledes (large grape kofinia) at the end of each day during vintage. They never neglected this process and did it very carefully, to get rid of the dry grapes that were stuck between the slats and any grape juices. The salt that dried on the vitex limbs stops the development of any microorganisms and insects.
Agios Konstantinos Stafylodochos
Πρόκειται για υπερυψωμένη πλατφόρμα ύψους περίπου 3 μέτρων που αρχικά κατασκευάστηκε από υλικά της περιοχής (πέτρες και λάσπη) και προστέθηκε αργότερα τσιμεντοκονίαμα ως επένδυση της δομής. Τα παλαιά συστήματα παραλαβής σαμιακού οίνου (σταφυλοδόχοι) λειτουργούσαν επιτυχώς έως και τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του ’90, όταν εγκαταστάθηκαν στα Οινοποιεία του Συνεταιρισμού τα υφιστάμενα έως σήμερα σύγχρονα συστήματα παραλαβής, οπότε οι σταφυλοδόχοι εγκαταλείφθηκαν οριστικά. Οι σταφυλοδόχοι του Αγ. Κωνσταντίνου καθώς και των Βουρλιωτών βρίσκοται σε κομβικά σημεία των αμπελοοινικών ζωνών του μοσχάτου, χωρίς να έχουν πλέον κάποια χρήση ή λειτουργία.
Stafylodochos on the Agios Konstantinos upper road
Cement platform for the delivery of the area’s grapes. It included a ground level area that was approximately 3 metres tall, so that grape loading vehicles could fit inside. It is no longer in use and operates as a parking area for the volunteer fire department team of the area.
Old Tavernes, Agios Konstantinos
Ο επισκέπτης μπορεί να εντοπίσει τα ερειπωμένα πλέον τεράστια κτίσματα που χρησιμοποιούνταν ως χώροι αποθήκευσης και εμπορίας σαμιακού οίνου («ταβέρνες») καθώς και πέτρινα υπολήνια που «τα έχει πάρει» η θάλασσα. Οι «ταβέρνες» αυτές είχαν χτιστεί στον Κάμπο Βουρλιωτών και την παραλιακή ζώνη του Αγίου Κωνσταντίνου ώστε η θαλασσινή αύρα να εξασφαλίζει καλύτερες συνθήκες διατήρησης των οίνων. Τα σταφύλια και το κρασί συγκεντρώνονταν εκεί καθώς τα μετέφεραν οι γεωργοί με υποζύγια μέσω παλιών μονοπατιών. Ένα παλιό μονοπάτι από αυτά που ακόμη διασώζονται σε καλή κατάσταση οδηγούσε από τους οικισμούς «Μαργαρίτες» και «Βαλεοντάδες», στις «ταβέρνες» του Αγίου Κωνσταντίνου και στις «Ταβέρνες» του «Κάμπου Βουρλιωτών».
Liknon Metaxa
Metaxa Liknon is the new home of the House of Metaxa on the island of Samos, in the village of Vourliotes. It is a model organic vineyard with 100 years old vines, on the slopes of Mount Ampelos.
The special architectural design, focusing on the traditional dry-stone terraces and terraces of Samos, makes the house of Metaxa more of a landscape than a special building within the area of a vineyard. It extends the terraces with the dry-stone walls of the vineyard, incorporating into the natural landscape a series of cave houses that on the one hand are submerged in the earth and on the other hand gaze at the green slopes of the area.
Vourliotes Cooperative
At the entrance Vourliotes village one can identify the Cooperative building on the right. The Vourliotes Cooperative was created in this important wine producing village of Samos, with the establishment of the Enosis (UWC) in 1934. It operated for the secretarial support of vine-growers, subsidies and advance payments, and it supplied farmers with agricultural supplies.
Vourliotes stafylodochos
The Vourliotes stafylodochos is located at the entrance of the village, near the parking area. It was built in 1936 and was the old system for delivering Samos wine. It was abandoned in the 80s when grape delivery was transferred to the two wineries of the UWC.
Vineyards around Vourliotes village, Karsinos
Due to the semi-mountainous and steep terrain, agricultural cultivation on the island of Samos demanded the construction of many thousands of square metres of dry stone terraces from the very beginning. Vine-growing on terraces (dry stone terraces) is a particularly difficult and painstaking traditional vine-growing practice that is characteristic of the Vourliotes region.
Stafylodochos in the Syrracho area, Vourliotes
This stafylodochos has been abandoned for decades. It stands to the left on the dirt road leading from Syrracho, Vourliotes, to the village.
Vrontiani Monastery and stafylodochos
On the way back from the mountain tour of the vineyards, you will come across the Monastery of Panagia Vronta or Vrontiani, as the locals call it. It is one of the oldest monasteries on Samos. It is located in the north of the island, to the south-east of Vourliotes village, in an area with an idyllic view. It was built in 1566 by the monks Iakovos and Makarios near the ruins of the older church of Panagia, and it is dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos.
Kioulafa Kalyvi
The Samos kalyvi in the Kioulafides area is an ancestral, hospitable cottage built by hand using the materials available, which covers the needs for housing vine-growers. It offers protection from the elements, a place to store tools and supplies for agricultural work, and during periods of intense agricultural activity, it was used as a place where the entire family stayed.
Kioulafides Mountain Vineyards, Vourliotes, Mt Ampelos
From the intersection of the Samos-Karlovasi Rural Road heading to Vourliotes, we drive up to the village. At the entrance, we follow the uphill route to Vronta Monastery. After the Monastery, we head east for approximately 10 kilometres by 4×4 vehicle, due to the dirt roads, and then we head west at the fork, passing the chapel of Agia Marina. We drive by the upper side of the spring at Lazaros and arrive at the Kioulafides area, with the most distinguishable mountain vineyards in the region. Amphitheatrically set out, these ancestral vineyards grow Samos muscat grapes at an altitude of approximately 900 metres.
