Wine. A Pressing Matter
Today, I thought I’d share some photos Neil took while on a recent walk. He went up to the area commonly known as ‘the wine presses’ because, strangely, there is a collection of ancient wine presses. As far as I am aware, there are other areas where wine was once made on Symi, but this area seems to be the most popular, thanks to the renovation works carried out by Sarantis Kritikos between 1994 and 1995 when he rebuilt 11 of the presses in six months
There is a book, ΤΑ ΠΕΤΡΙΝΑ ΠΑΤΗΤΗΡΙΑ ΣΥΜΗΣ (‘The Stone Wine Presses of Symi’), by Sarantis Kritikos, 1997, including a translation by Deborah Ball. I bought my copy for the bookshop years ago, but it may still be available. It includes photos, a history of the presses, their ‘discovery’ in the Kourkouniotis area, their architecture and rebuilding. Maybe have a look for it next time you are on Symi. The presses in question are just off the main road near Megalis Sotiris, halfway across the island and reachable by a path through the woods.
