Kechribari retsina was born in the late 1930’s in the Kechris family restaurant, Kokoras, somewhere in the old town of Thessaloniki. Thanks to the quality of the product, its reputation spread rapidly and demand increased at a fast rate.
Third generation Stelios Kechris took over the winery in 1984. He is one of the first Greek winemakers who believed in retsina and worked with such dedication to ensure its qualitative revival. In the early 1980s, after he concluded his studies in oenology in the city of Dijon, France, and at a time when retsina was considered an obsolete wine of low quality, Stelios Kechris conceived the vision that marked his course from that point onwards. Contrary to the trend of the time, he decided to invest in the potential of Kechribari, a product that has been produced by his family since 1939, and to prove that retsina can be a wine with a modern style and high quality. Through methodical work and thanks to the most contemporary vinification methods of the time, Kechribari became the first retsina to be awarded at an international wine competition in the late 1990s. ‘Tear of the Pine’ vinified in oak barrels was first released in 2006, being the first retsina made from Assyrtiko, with a potential to age. Kechribari and Tear of the Pine are two landmark products in the wine history of Greece, because they have managed to overcome the stereotype of the past and to establish retsina as a model wine of tomorrow. In the late 2016 the Company released ‘Afros’, the first-ever pet-nat retsina, while ‘Roza’, a rose retsina completes the resinated-wine range of the Company.
