WineLab
The art of natural experimentation
How it all started
WineLab started as an idea in 2015, when its founder, Vassilis Skoutas, an economist by profession, decided to make his dream come true: To produce wine using unconventional methods, experimenting with completely natural ways of winemaking and letting the wine evolve on its own. This is how WineLab wine experimental laboratory was born.
Local varieties
Natural wine making
Respect to nature
Our Vineyards
Along with his studies in Oenology, Vassilis chooses as a vineyard for the first cultivation, a slope of a few acres in Loukissa in the south of Ilia in Peloponnese. A piece of land that remained uncultivated for many years.
More plantings followed always with the use of local varieties, mostly Avgoustiatis and in smaller quantities Mavrodaphne, Fileri, Refosco, and a local Mavrouda.
Soil enrichment is done with green manure (vetch, clover, and other legumes), seaweed collected from the local beaches and compost. Disease prevention is achieved by regular spraying with herbs.
The winemaking process
Sorting in the field is of particular importance, as it gives us clean and high quality raw material. The grapes are transported to the vinification area and crushed immediately in order to avoid the start of fermentation.
Then, the juice is transferred by gravity, avoiding the use of pumps, to Cretan handmade jars of about 250-300 liters capacity, where it remains with the grapes for about 1 month and is then sealed with natural beeswax and kept until it is ready for bottling. Bottling and labelling is done manually – another reason for discussion and social contact!
Consistent with the philosophy of avoiding any mechanical-chemical interference, we do not use filters, machines, pumps, chemicals, yeasts, and sulfites. Not following specific recipes, each harvest is different and production is limited.
A family affair
The wine-making process is strongly connected to our family roots and values. The harvest is the best opportunity for a pleasant gathering among friends and relatives, even if we harvest at night with headlamps! Enjoying the fruit of our efforts with our loved ones is the best celebration!
Our philosophy
With total respect for what nature provides us, we take care to be more observant and exclude any interference. The vineyard, which has not been cultivated for over 20 years, is the first step towards the development of healthy and perfectly natural vines, without any chemical intervention.
“The wine that has emerged effortlessly from a spontaneous fermentation, naturally and not artificially or intrusively, makes us maintain our balance, coming as close to nature as we can.”
— Vassilios Skoutas, Winemaker
WINE LAB WINERY 