'Anama is a family run business, established in 2009 by oenologist Lefteris Mohianakis & designer Kristina Apostolou. A creative project motivated by the couple's common passion in reviving Cyprus’s most treasured heritage, ancient Nama, mastered on the island since antiquity and bringing it into the 21st Century.
With background studies in Oenology & Technology of Spirits at the Technological University of Athens, and having worked in various wineries in Greece, Cyprus & New Zealand, Lefteris Mohianakis, co-founder of 'Anama, cares not only to produce a controlled amount of high quality wines & spirits, but to challenge the potential of Cyprus’s most unique product, by using modern oenological knowledge & winemaking methods with the least possible mechanical intervention.
As for the winemaking, oenologist Lefteris Mohianakis derives his oenological inspiration from the oldest historically recorded wine in the world, "Kyprion Nama".
The vineyards that provide us with the grapes used for the making of ‘Anama, are situated in a village called Zoopigi, and consist of vines over one hundred years old. Even though there are many facts that compose the general methodology used in the production of ‘Anama, the process is customized year after year and designed around what nature provides us with. Just as nature evolves with the passing of the years, i.e. different climate conditions, rainfall, temperature and sunlight, producing ‘Anama is never a standardized process.
On the contrary, the ‘takings’ of every harvest are exploited in a different way each year and with the usage of contemporary oenological knowledge, each vintage is different to the year preceding it. Following a scientific vinification, the wine is transferred into new barrels of various types and sizes, made from French and American oak. The wine is left to ‘rest’ for 3 years, before it is bottled in its unfiltered state, in order to preserve its natural character.
NOTE: Throughout the entire wine-making process, usage of sulphates is strictly controlled, a fact the ensures that the overall sulphate content of our wine is much below average. No additional alcohol is used whatsoever.
Designer Kristina Apostolou, obtained her Bachelor degree with honors in Jewellery Design from Central Saint Martin's School of Art & Design (University of the Arts, London). She carried on to work as head designer for a UK based company before returning to Cyprus to establish her signature brand of contemporary jewellery. Kristina is generally responsible for 'Anama’s complete visual /conceptual identity & design, creative projects & marketing.
Influenced by the International stage of contemporary design as well as traditional Cypriot jewellery values, award winning jewellery designer Kristina Apostolou presents a different ‘face’ for the ‘Anama Vintages year after year.
The differences found in each harvest is what initially inspired Kristina to feed the character of the wine into the visual identity of the product - creating a unique bottle label for each Vintage and re-structuring the annual branding.
'The design process begins when the first few drops of juice drips from the press' says the designer. Even from such an early stage in the winemaking process, Kristina & Lefteris are able to distinguish differences in colour and flavour from previous harvests. As the wine matures in the barrels it begins to reveal the complexity of its character and by the time the harvest is ready to be bottled, the visual identity of the Vintage has already taken form.
Furthermore, the fact that 'Anama has an aging potential of 40+ years, was essential in building the design concept. Therefore each and every bottle is numbered by hand-punching the digits on a sterling silver disk, adding additional collectable value to the product. The materials used for the bottle design are also carefully selected and used in order to create a 'jewel' that will adorn a collector's wine cave through time.
In addition to the design process of the actual product, Kristina designs & directs a number of creative projects which aim in promoting 'Anama in the international market. For more on The 'Anama Concept Projects click here.
