A visit to the Clos Stegasta vineyard on the Greek island of Tinos inspired “Philotimo,” a piano composition by French-Canadian musician Alain Lefevre, featured on his 2025 Warner Classics album “Consolation.”
Set amid the otherworldly granite landscape of Falatados, the vineyard is part of T-Oinos, the winery founded by Alexandre Avatangelos, a longtime friend of the pianist. It was here, among the vines, that the first notes of the melody began taking shape in Lefevre’s mind. He later named the piece “Philotimo,” a title that T-Oinos links to the enduring friendship between the two men.
Lefevre, who recently received the International Peace Alliance’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award in Music in Toronto, later returned to Tinos to film a performance of the composition at Clos Stegasta. The resulting music video captures him playing amid the vines, interspersed with footage of the striking landscape and the people who tend the vineyard.
More than just a picturesque backdrop, however, Clos Stegasta and its distinctive terroir became the inspiration for a work of art that translates the character of this remarkable Cycladic landscape into music.
The Stegasta vineyards lie on a plateau about 460 meters above sea level, where sandy soils rest on a bedrock of granite. This is where Clos Stegasta Assyrtiko is produced, a wine made entirely from Assyrtiko grapes, fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and aged on its lees for seven months.
What does it taste like? Intensity, vibrant acidity and a saline, mineral character are the flavors of a landscape where the vines are tested daily by drought and the summer meltemi winds, increasingly scarce rainfall and the fierce winds that sweep across the region in winter.
You don’t need to travel to Tinos, however, to enjoy this remarkably concentrated wine, whose development has benefited from the expertise of Stephane Derenoncourt and which is now produced by a team led by talented winemaker Thanos Georgilas.
Produced in limited quantities, each vintage of Clos Stegasta Assyrtiko finds its way onto some of the world’s most prestigious wine lists, while a handful of bottles are also available at select Athens restaurants and wine bars.
One is Materia Prima on Mesolongiou Square in the neighborhood of Pangrati, which currently serves the 2023 Clos Stegasta Assyrtiko (open until 1 am).
Another option is By the Glass (3 Souri) in Syntagma, one of the venues listed in T-Oinos’ Athens network, with an extensive selection of Greek wines. It’s worth asking which of the estate’s wines or vintages are currently available.
For those who prefer to enjoy a bottle over an excellent meal, there’s also Cookoovaya (2A Hatzigianni Mexi), just a 10-minute walk from the Athens Concert Hall, where Lefevre performed at the start of the month.
The establishments and products featured were independently selected by the journalist and are not intended as commercial endorsements.
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