It was around 1860 when Efstathios I. Varvagiannis arrived at the picturesque Plomari of Lesvos. Lesvos is a rich and blessed island, with fertile land, excellent climate and abundant waters that gave life to an unsurpassed variety of anise and hundreds of rare aromatic plants.
In this land, the charismatic creator began the process of the first distillation and the production of excellent quality ouzo, loaded with the experience and knowledge of distillation from Odessa, Russia.Today, in Plomari of Lesvos, in the modern, privately owned distilleries of Distillery Varvagianni, technology coexists in absolute harmony with history and tradition.Loyal guardians of the 160-year-old tradition, the Varvagiannis family follows in the footsteps of Efstathios Varvagiannis. With a lot of love and passion, the family members carefully select pure, natural ingredients and watch with particular care the distillation process, which is done in the old, traditional way.The passion of five generations of the Varvagiannis family for the conquest of the perfect in the service of taste, as well as the observance of the old distillation techniques, have resulted in the name of the Varvagiannis house being identified worldwide with the name of the most exquisite Greek drink, ouzo.
The success of Ouzo Varvagiannis is due to the well-hidden family recipe, which has been providing its quality and unique taste for five generations.Visit the treasure of Plomari, the Varvagiannis ouzo museum and learn about the 160-year-old family tradition in the production of ouzo.Today, in the picturesque Plomari of Lesvos, technology coexists with history and tradition. Next to the modern, privately owned distilleries of the Varvagianni Distillery is the Ouzo Museum of the Varvagiannis family.The museum exhibits the first tools used for bottling and affixing the famous Blue label and the first cauldron built in 1858 in Constantinople, in which centuries-old secrets and techniques were tested to give birth to the recipes of the Varvagianni family.
The Ouzo Museum reverently embraces tradition and houses the secret that continues to give the quality and taste to Ouzo Varvagiannis.
The Ouzo Varvagianni Museum has a visitor center and gift shop. Ouzo tastings are held, as well as audio-visual tours in English and Greek.