Paleros Traditional Products: "Kleopatra"
Paleros mild Mediterranean climate, abundant winter rain and year – round sunshine make it the ideal place for agricultural products. In fact this flora rich land primal basis its agricultural produce on the cultivation of the olive tree, sultanas, and various other flora.
Wine
Island – like Paleros is no stranger to quality wine making as numerous expensive vineyards atom the area. In traditional Paleros style most local families produce their own wine and your overage Paleros table is testimony to this. A wide variety of fine wines are cultivated each with its own brand of taste, colour and aroma. The wines produced are distributed both locally and abroad. Soon is going to be available “The Gerokostopoulos” vineyard.
Olive oil
They say that olive tree was a gift from the Greek goddess Athena, and Paleros has certainly appreciated that gift. This Island like land – paradise is littered with olive grows making olive oil one of the main sours of produce. Many oil press facilities produce the oil in the traditional way. Whatever, olive oil is just one of the many Paleros products that is exported and famous for its exceptional quality.
Honey
In mountainous Paleros one can also find locally produced honey, honey that is produced in a traditional and natural way. Its superb taste and ideal consistency make it a favourite with visitors. One can also ask to savour the particular ‘’kirithra’’ honey, which is both tantalizing to the taste buds and nutritious.
Traditional Ravani
A recipe handed down from generation to generation and continuous to be made in same way. Paleros has opted for a lantern version which is made with local oil instead of the usual margarine or butter. Only a handful of Palers women are able to make this sweet as there are certain time-forsaken secrets that go into making it. The final product is achieved by beating the mixture by hand.
White cake
Handmade craftsmanship also goes into making an almond and oil based caked that is all with virginal oil from Paleros. The secret lies in the use of three key factors: The use of Paleros Virginal oil, the use of local home produced honey and should be hand beaten for a while.
Sweet preserves
Fresh too are the traditional sweet preserves denied from hand – me – down – recipes & made from pie ingredients .One special sweet preserve that is peculiar to the Paleros land is the white courgette. This little whitish – greenish vegetable is a favourite of the area.
Other notable delicious sweet that can be found in any Paleros household include: the fresh quince from the quince trees, the citrus preserve, orange fig, grape, fresh walnut, and black cherry from black cherry tree. It is no coincidence that all that fruits could be readily found in the ancient Greek kitchen for the Paleros passion for such delicious existed even in romantic mythological past.
Those all are made from fresh fruits & vegetables from organic gardens – adding a touch of Palros idiosyncrasy.
History and Culture of the Olive Tree
Paleros mild Mediterranean climate, abundant winter rain and year – round sunshine make it the ideal place for agricultural products. In fact this flora rich land primal basis its agricultural produce on the cultivation of the olive tree, sultanas, and various other flora.
Paleros mild Mediterranean climate, plentiful winter rain and abundant year –round sunshine, makes it the ideal conditions for rich agricultural production. In fact, this flora rich land provides itself on humanly cultivating olive trees.
The importance of the olive-tree cultivation in Paleros continues to be great to this day. The olive oil constitutes an agricultural product of vital importance for the entire region.
Short Journeys into the History and Culture of the Olive Tree (November – December)
Organized one-day or two-day trips during olive harvest in the Paleros countryside to watch the collection and processing of the olives. This is a novel proposal to get acquainted with the beloved tree and the culture surrounding it, but also the recent history and traditional products of the region. The trips include a tour of the beautiful olive groves of the Paleros country side during the olive harvest, visits to traditional olive presses to watch how the olive oil is produced, as well as to significant industrial monuments of the region connected with the processing of the olive-tree fruit; the trips also include meals featuring traditional dishes and a demonstration how home-made soap is made with olive oil.
- The Prefecture of Paleros in the Mainland is one of the few areas where olives are still picked by hand not using machinery.
- In Paleros oil produced using natural methods without any chemical processing.
Vineyard in Paleros
Paleros is no stronger to quality wine making as numerous expansive vineyards are in the area.
In fact, in traditional Paleros style most local families produce their own wine-and our average Paleros table is testimony to this(as it is no stranger to the average Paleros dinner table)…
It is not surprising that many Paleros wine producers distribute their produce both locally and aboard.
Gerokostopoulos vineyard situated in a small hill a few km outside of Paleros close to the ancient ruins of Paleros named ’’Kecropoula’’ and facing out over the peaceful Paleros area. It is a privately owned and well taken care vineyard of 5 hectares with distinguished varieties which prevails in uses exclusively grapes of these varietals to make wine.
The vineyard is a nature environment full of wild life specifically nests of stone hocks. The soil of these hillsides derives from alluviums of surrounding aquatic area, while the soft winter and warm summer created an ideal ecosystem for the vineyards cultivation.
The wines of the wine factory are produced from grapes which are cultivated in a biological way .We’ll be informed about the aging process of wines at one of the wine-vaults inside the winery that one will be visiting at the time and of course have the opportunity to try the Union’s wines under the factory’s enologist’s guidance.
The special virtues of the Paleros region weather from its being successful in creating a subtle balance between the density of vine stocks and the good quality of the soil. Additionally, the cellar-masters are skilled at blending the region’s wines from diverse vineyards and different varieties of grapes and they then mature the wine.
The principal varieties used in Gerokostopoulos wines are:
- Merlot
- Cabernet
- Roditis
- Agiorgitiko
- Malagouza and
- Moshato
To end this delightful tour we had a taste of their white wine, it will be exquisite!
Tours focus on tasting high quality wines while learning about the regions rich history, grape cultivation techniques, and the process of wine making.
This is a family-run vineyard with warm & friendly atmosphere that gives to the visitors more than basic knowledge of the vineyard cultivation and wine production. You will learn about the unique climate, character and history of our vineyards and the Gerokostopoulos Family philosophy of sustainable and intensive farming.
Enjoy five wines, including well-known Greek variety as Agiorgitiko, Malagouza, Attika and table grape.
Rural life & traditional celebration
A unique day tour of the rural life and traditional celebration in Paleros
In the morning let start visiting a local Farm with sheep and goats and watching of the traditional milking process.
Continuing let have attendance to a sheep shearing process and partipation to a traditional celebration –During the spring time usually on May the farmers cut their sheep’s hair and then celebrate this occasion with spits local desserts and traditional music.
As the farmers cut the sheep hears the women prepare the lunch with traditional dishes mainly making with cheese –feta – hand made pies and sweets bases on Palero’s milk-oil and honey.
Paleros women's corporation
Paleros women with great love, determination and enthusiasm decided to establish a women’s corporation, which will make Paleros’ traditional products famous abroad. The women of our town do their best to please the tourists by making wonderful homemade sweets, drinks, pastry marmalades and many others.
