Estates Costa Lazaridi, Drama and Attica, Greece
Estates Costa Lazaridi is one of Greece’s most celebrated family-owned wineries, founded in 1979 by Costa Lazaridi in the northern region of Drama.
Set against the dramatic mountain landscapes of northern Greece and bordered by Natura 2000 protected zones around Mounts Falakro, Menoikio, and Orvilos, the estate has grown from a family vision into a landmark of Greek wine, with vineyards spanning Drama in the north and the shores of Lake Marathon in Attica, just outside Athens.
The estate is known for its iconic wines including Amethystos, Oenotria Land, Domaine Costa Lazaridi, and Château Julia, crafted from indigenous Greek varieties like Assyrtiko, Agiorgitiko, Malagousia, and Xinomavro, as well as more widely known varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Syrah. The portfolio extends to artisan distillates including Methexis and Idoniko, the Botanico balsamic collection, and a wine museum in Attica.
Today, Costa’s sons, Gerasimos and George Lazaridis, are leading the estate into its next chapter. As winemaker, George oversees all aspects of viticulture and heads the estate’s regenerative viticulture initiative alongside agronomist Eleni Mylona, while Gerasimos leads business strategy and the estate’s extensive corporate social responsibility programmes. Together, they are building on a legacy rooted equally in wine quality, land stewardship, and community.
The Drama vineyards spread across four sites at elevations ranging from 490 to approximately 3,100 feet (150 to 950 metres), each shaped by distinct soils, aspects, and altitudinal climates. At the Lake Marathon estate in Attica, 49 acres (20 hectares) of certified organic vines have been farmed in harmony with their lakeside setting since planting in 2000, where cool breezes off the water and clay and limestone-rich soils produce wines of distinctive freshness and character. Across both estates, natural hedgerows, woodland patches, and riparian vegetation are preserved, while spontaneous vegetation between vine rows is actively encouraged, creating landscapes alive with golden eagles, hawks, foxes, wild orchids, and native medicinal herbs.
Soil health sits at the heart of the management approach. Cover crops are planted between vine rows every year, while grape waste and vine prunings are composted on-site and returned to the land. The majority of vineyard work is carried out by hand, from pruning and tying to the harvest itself, minimising disturbance to soils the team has spent years building. Insecticide use has been eliminated entirely, with insect pressure managed instead through pheromone mating disruption traps and by encouraging pest predators. Where fungicide treatments are needed, they are triggered by disease pressure and targeted precisely, which has cut the application rate per hectare by 14% over eight years.
“We are winemakers who work in harmony with the land, crafting wines that respect and reflect the place they come from,” says George Lazaridis. “We want to make wine that respects and represents the land it comes from.” For the estate, Certified Regenerative by AGW is a formal expression of a commitment that has guided every harvest for decades. For customers in Greece and internationally, the Certified Regenerative by AGW mark provides independent assurance that Estates Costa Lazaridi is managing its vineyards in a way that delivers more biodiverse ecosystems, healthier soils, cleaner air and water, and better outcomes for workers and the surrounding environment.
Certified Regenerative by AGW wines from Estates Costa Lazaridi are available to order online via the estate’s website, as well as through selected retail and hospitality partners in Greece and internationally. Estate visits, including the Wine Museum-Costa Lazaridi in Attica, can be booked online for both Drama and Attica at domaine-lazaridi.gr.
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