"I leave the keys on the door so that my friends can get in. I don't care if a stranger gets into the winery and takes one or two kilos of wine. I liberated myself from this stress; I don't even need a dog to protect me. I once had one who used to bark and scare people; that's why I gave him to a friend".

An economist turned farmer 

Vaggelis Kalogris runs a small biological winery in the village Kapsia of Mantinea. He believes that a farmers' profession is very serious, as it reproduces life. As a former economist he has his limits on knowledge, as a farmer he doesn't. He often wonders how life was created and recurs to writings and mythology to discover truths. He also becomes a meteorologist so that he can foresee the weather. If his production is ruined he won't be disappointed and he'll not quit. His clients won't abandon him because he has a very special relationship with them, which can't be easily disrupted.

As a former economist, he had to set limits on knowledge, as a farmer he doesn't. He often wonders how life was created and recurs to scripture and mythology in order to uncover the truth. He also became an amateur meteorologist so that he can predict the weather. If his production is ruined he won't be disappointed and he'll not quit. His clients won't abandon him because he has a very special relationship with them, which can't be easily disrupted.

Vaggelis respects his vineyards as if they were living, breathing beings. "My vineyards are healthy and manage to surpass the shock of destructions. I give them my personal energy and they give me their fruits, it's a fair exchange. I help them rely on their own defensive mechanisms. I don't use pesticides nor do I use herbicides for the weeds. I don't consider the weeds as the enemy; they open holes so that the ground can breathe. When they uproot some with my hands".

Vaggelis used to ride big motorcycles, those who can climb the mountains. It was easy for him to reach nature, go someplace where nobody else could go. But it was also a partly selfish act. "I needed to be in touch with the world, not to get away from it. As the years went by, I realised that motorcycles disturb nature, they are conquerors that make noise and pollute it".

A vineyard like an oasis

Some Athenians believe that whoever leaves the capital, leaves secular life as well. Civil services and the residents around the village also had a difficult time accepting that an Athenian suddenly decided to become a farmer. 

Vaggelis surpassed these obstacles and created a vineyard that looks like an oasis full of snakes, turtles, porcupines and little birds. He learned a lot about wine by asking and trying things out. In Mantinea he found the best teachers, because people there are specialists in making wine.TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

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He turned his old house into a winery.

Mantinea's plateau at an altitude of 700 meters

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