Why it matters
The producer
The Kechris family’s defining wine fact is its long commitment to retsina. Evagelos Kechris began the family’s winemaking activity in 1911 and later introduced imported glass wine bottles to the Greek market; wine moved from a tavern’s barrels into a format made for bottling and travel. The present range keeps that history visible in Kechribari while pushing it into a premium Assyrtiko bottling, Tear of the Pine.
The first family winery opened in Kalochori in 1954, after wine production at a Thessaloniki taverna, and took the form of a modern winery-distillery under the name Kechri Bross. Stelios Kechris brought chemistry studies in Thessaloniki and an enology degree from Dijon, earned in 1978, to a family business already rooted in retsina; the result is a portfolio that places a traditional style beside varietal Assyrtiko and single-vineyard Xinomavro.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Thessaloniki is the city attached to the Kechris story, while Kalochori is the winery’s address. The link matters because the family’s early wine trade grew through a Thessaloniki tavern before production settled into a dedicated winery in Kalochori. On the label, the most useful geographic distinction is therefore not an invented village hierarchy but the change from a city-born retsina tradition to wines identified by grape and bottle.
For Kechris, grape names carry much of the practical guide to style. Assyrtiko leads Tear of the Pine toward a dry white frame; Xinomavro leads the Single Vineyard 2021 toward red-wine maceration, oak maturation and tannin. Retsina adds pine-resin character to a white-wine base, so its aromatic profile comes from a winemaking choice as well as the grape beneath it.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The winery documents hand harvesting and transport in crates, followed by fermentation and, for selected wines, barrel maturation. Handling fruit in crates keeps the harvest intact on its way to the cellar; fermentation then sets the dry or aromatic direction, while time in barrel can add weight and oak-derived spice where the wine calls for it.
Retsina requires a further cellar decision: pine resin becomes part of the wine’s aromatic make-up. In a bottle such as Kechribari, that means dry white-wine fruit is joined by a recognisable resinous scent. In Tear of the Pine, Assyrtiko and barrel ageing give the resin a more layered setting, with acidity and texture carrying the flavour through the finish.
Wines to know
The range in view
Kechribari is the house’s historic-facing retsina, associated with the family’s 1939 tradition and sold in the dry-white range. Its role is direct: dry white wine, pine-resin aroma and a clean, food-ready profile rather than sweetness. It is the bottle to pour when the point is to encounter retsina’s pine note clearly.
Tear of the Pine takes a different route. It is a premium Assyrtiko retsina, made with barrel maturation and presented as a wine with ageing potential. Assyrtiko supplies acidity and citrus-toned drive; resin and oak bring savoury depth and a broader texture. It is not simply Kechribari at a higher price level, because grape, élevage and intended development all change the shape of the wine.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Tear of the Pine. This is premium Assyrtiko retsina, so it brings together the producer’s central tradition and a grape known for dry acidity. Pine resin supplies its unmistakable aromatic mark; barrel maturation adds body and spice; the Assyrtiko base carries citrus fruit and a long dry finish. Its documented ageing potential also makes clear that Kechris treats retsina as a wine capable of development, not merely a casual summer pour.