Tasting: Ilias Winery

Date of event:

10.2.2025 18:00

EVENT PASSED

Ilias - family winery since 1998

The history of the Ilias winery began to be written in 1998, when Georgios Ilias spotted a semi-dilapidated cottage in the picturesque village of Pavlov, which was originally supposed to serve as a fishing base for him. But Pavlov lies right in the heart of the Mikulov wine region and so it didn't take long for Mr. Ilias to turn fishing into serious winemaking. He and his brother Tomáš rebuilt the cottage to its present livable form. Georgios Ilias produced his first wine — two demijeons, in 2000 with Mr. Nepraš, who became a mentor for him in his winemaking beginnings. Within a few years, the hobby became a major source of livelihood, and Mr. Ilias has been fully engaged in winemaking since 2006. They gradually increase production capacities and modernize the technologies used. The goal of the Ilias winery is to expand the space, which would allow processing and production of 40—50 thousand bottles per year. At present, it is about 25,000 bottles a year.

Wines of organic quality

Since 2011, it has been producing wines of organic quality. This means that they do not treat wines with chemical means and use only gentle natural preparations against pests, diseases and adverse weather, such as fennel oil, baking powder, water glass, or permitted sulfur-based and copper protective agents. Also, production takes place without the use of modern preparations that could affect the taste and aroma of wines.

Iliad Winemaking Philosophy

The basic philosophy of Ilias winemaking is the organic regime, which consists in the simplest and most gentle approach possible. They also base themselves on the degree of freedom they give their customers — you won't find a description on the labels of what flavors and smells to look for in a given bottle. They leave everything to the imagination, taste buds and olfactory cells of their customers.

Wines from Ilias Winery

The vast majority of the wines from the Ilias winery come from its own vineyards with a total area of 6 hectares, namely from the vineyards U tre virens (this is where Riesling comes from and since 2017 also Merlot and Pinor noir), U muk (Veltlín green) and from the vineyard track with the poetic name Slunný vrch, where the other varieties come from. White wine ferments and matures in stainless steel tanks and red wine in wooden barrique barrels. The ripening period ranges from 8 to 24 months. In the winery Ilias is guided by the motto that nature has a patent for the production of wines, and therefore it is not necessary to help it by artificial means. Thanks to this, the wines from the Ilias winery have a distinct mineral character typical of Pálava vineyards with a high content of calcium in the soil. The wines are characterized by their low sulphur content and, in the first year of maturation in the bottle, also by their fine pearlescent, which is a consequence of the fact that the wines in the cellar are not manipulated too much. Thus, the oxide, which is formed naturally in the course of fermentation, does not have the opportunity to be released.

The Ilias range currently includes a wide range of white varieties ranging from Walnut Riesling, through the popular Burgundy varieties Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Chardonnay to Tramín red. Since 2009 it is also Veltlín Green and since 2016 also Riesling. The wines of the Ilias winery boast a modest, honest expression and a distinct varietal character. Their ever-increasing popularity is evidenced by the growing clientele of satisfied amateur wine lovers, as well as the inclusion of wines in the menu of renowned restaurants and wine shops all over the country.

Geminence of Iliad wines

Furthermore, our wines are distinguished not only by their low sulphur content, but also by their fine sparkling in the first year of maturation in the bottle. This sparkling is due to the fact that we do not manipulate the wines in the cellar too much, so the oxygen naturally formed during fermentation does not have the opportunity to be released.

Vinohrady na Palava

All production is produced exclusively from grapes from our own vineyards with a total area of 6.5 hectares, namely from the vineyards U panen, U ové muk, Pod Pálavou, Stará hora and Slunný vrch. We produce 25 - 30,000 bottles a year.

Old Mountain

We recently expanded our portfolio to include 50 year-old vineyards on the Stará hora track, from which we have been harvesting exceptional Veltlín greens since 2018.

Vinohrady pod Děvínem

The approach to the production of wines is subject to the fact that nature holds the patent for their production and, therefore, it is not necessary to assist the controlled process by artificial means. Thanks to this, in the taste of our wines there is a clearly distinct mineral character typical of the Pálava vineyard lines.