Ousyra Wines from Syros now on The World Map

The Scottish producer who started his winery seven years ago in Chroussa talks to NEO

By Kelly Fanarioti

In Chroussa, a beautiful village full of neoclassical houses dating back to the 19th century, and eight-and-a-half kilometers from Hermoupolis, there is the Ousyra (happiness) Winery.

The owner, Edward Maitland-Makgill-Crichton, hails from Scotland and moved to Syros seven years ago, started his own business, and put Syros on the global wine map now that Ousyra wines are exported to eight countries. In fact, Ousyra rosé wine is at the top of the world’s best rosé wines for 2024. The Ousyra rosé was celebrated for its vibrant color, refreshing acidity, and delightful notes of red berries and citrus.

Edward Maitland-Makgill-Crichton

“My parents bought a beautiful house here in Chroussa about 40 years ago. So, we were coming for holidays and I spent a lot of my summers and my Easters in Chroussa. One of the things that I used to do when I was young was to look after our old vineyard, which was very nice. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to explore ways to get into wine”, Maitland-Makgill-Crichton explains.

For many years, he was in the restaurant business in Scotland, where he started tasting wine and learning more about it. As he confesses, he was always trying to find a way to start the winery. “It took a little bit of time to acquire the experience. But now we’ve been running the winery since 2017 with my wife who is from Syros”.

The rosé Ousyra wine is in the top list of the world’s best rosé wines for 2024

Ousyra is a small winery, but Edward and his wife Elein are very serious about what they do. They have a strong team behind them, because they work with some of the top wine consultants in Europe.

“Although on a day-to-day basis I am the winemaker in the winery, we have consultants behind us checking that we are not making wrong decisions. Additionally, we have been leveraging their 50 years of experience, putting us in a very strong position, which is great”.

Edward and Elein produce white wine Serfiotiko. Although its name may evoke another Cycladic Island, it is the dominant indigenous grape variety of Syros. Perfectly adapted to the island’s climatic conditions and soil, resistant to most diseases and drought, it produces red-skinned grapes and high-quality white wines with moderate acidity and body.

“We also produce Fokiano Rosé. We farm the grapes on Naxos and then we bring them to Syros to make them into wine at our winery here,” says Edward.

According to American wine and spirits sommelier Elin McCoy, who tasted over 150 rosé wines from 45 different countries in 2024, this one ranks 9th among the top 10 rosés.

Last, but not least, the boutique winery on Chroussa produces the Organic Monemvvasia, a variety of white grapes cultivated on Paros Island. Its name is associated with the preparation of the famous Malvasia wine that dominated the European wine trade from the 13th to the 17th century.

Despite the obstacles Edward had to overcome as a winemaker in Greece – the country of bureaucracy- he says he derives great pleasure from his job and enjoys very much spending time in the vineyards.

“It’s very nice, and the weather is good here on Syros, normally. But even if it is raining, I am very happy. I have enjoyed really bringing back some of these old vineyards to life, planting new ones and looking after them”, he says, adding that the relationship with the farmers is another aspect of his job that he enjoys.

His purpose is to keep the quality of his products high, something not very easy this year because of the weather. Consistently high temperatures can cause faster ripening of grapes, resulting in wines that are less complex and flavorful.  Additionally, extreme heat may increase the risk of heat stress for the vines, which can lead to a degradation in the quality of the grapes.

“This year has been very challenging because of the high temperatures for a long period of time. The harvest started one month earlier this year, which is insane. It is a very worrying situation but we have to adapt to that”.

Wine lovers can taste Ousyra wines in some of the best restaurants and bars in Athens, Thessaloniki and many Greek islands. But it is now also available in markets Canada, USA, the UK, and other European countries

“There is a big demand for Greek wine abroad. The interest has increased over the last 12 -15 years. At the same time the consumer is also more educated. People have become more interested in wine and different varieties and they want to try something a little bit different, like with a different variety from Greece’’, says Edward.

For those visiting Syros, Ousyra Winery provides a unique wine-tasting experience. The Scotsman who became one of the many foreigners who chose Syros Island for permanent living, shows visitors firsthand what he is doing.

“People who come here for wine tasting can really understand how we work and how we live as well. Some days ago, we had eleven digital nomads from USA who decided to move to Syros for three months. We did a wine tasting and showed them everything from the beginning, when the grapes arrive, how we press them, where they go and then how we bottle. They will take that little story back home with them to America and tell people about what we do and how we’re working, and the positivity, I guess, about the Greek wines. It’s great”.