Here, the artisanal approach is paramount, especially as the focus is on ageing the wines in ancient amphorae, so-called pithoi/kioupi. The maceration times are extended and the ageing of the wines is low tech. His wines are without exception unsulphured and unfiltered. A taste experience comparable to when the winemaker of the house would delight you with a spontaneous barrel tasting. This approach follows the preservation of the wines, as it was the case 2000 years ago. Whether with the use of sea salt or the concentration of the grapes into sultanas, these wines show the potential to age for a long time. This special technique is an antagonist to the fresh and fruity easy-drinking ceremonies of modern times and makes use of the ancient etheric and aesthetics of the Thassian microclimate.
As a trained German viticulturist, Alexander, graduate oenologist and Master of Applied Environmental Sciences, he sees his own existence as a constant learning process. Born and raised in Leipzig, he started his activities in wine business in 2000. With a small wine series in the Rheingau Valley (Germany) he made his first steps as vintner. Pinot Noir and Riesling, fermented in wooden casks aka barrels are the signature of his former wine style. He decided to start another project in the States as well in Saxony to take care as a pomologist to discover old strains of tolerant and rough varieties. His main target is to understand the soils and the interactions of soil structures under the influence of animal components. After 23 years in international viticulture and wine distribution, the true gain in knowledge lies in the application of organic and biodynamic techniques. In healthy systems, which no longer exist as such because man has been tampering with soils and microclimates for thousands of years, nothing can fall diseased. Viticulture is the result of production, which one accompanies from A to Z (alpha to omega); in his opinion, there is nothing comparable as a producer in processing systems. This approach allows for many variables and for this reason viticulture is a cosmos that is large in itself. His first expeditions into the wine world of antiquity, especially the discovery of a historic wine cellar on the island of Thasos in 2012, were the starting signal to preserve this gem in the village of Kazaviti. This initiative grew out of his own initiative and without funding from third parties. The path was clearly outlined. The development of wines from exclusively autochthonous varieties (Thasian subclones) should first be salvaged here and find a home again, as viticulture on the island had come to a standstill since the 1950s. Likewise, antique_viticulture cultivation techniques are used here, which are strongly oriented towards the historical records of the ancient Greeks. Alexander Heer, is active internationally as a scientific advisor as well as a researcher, and with his Greek expertise creates an insight into the natural wine world, which is nowadays denigrated as a scene. What is a "classic wine"? – Natural wine is the real "classic" representative of all wines because it does not require laboratory fining, filtration through membranes or any other use of advanced technology. In keeping with this high standard, natural wine is not only the purest interpretation of one of the oldest liquid cultural goods, but also provides the blueprint of Greek history. With the manageable portfolio of his wines, which also sees itself as basic scientific research, the genetic pool of northern Greek grape varieties will thus be preserved for future generations, as well as a reference for historical wine production documented in modern times. On this journey into the ancient world of wine, Kazaviti's exceptional soils, which have never been treated with herbicides or synthetic insecticides, offer an incomparable refuge that no longer exists as such in the rest of Europe.
