Karamoor Estate Wines

Producer: Monica Rogozinski

Nick and Athena Karabots have called Karamoor Farm home since the early 1970s. Both are first generation Greeks whom have a deep love for their family, philanthropy, and Karamoor Farm.

The Karabotses main businesses are in the printing and publishing arena. In the mid-seventies, the Karabotses bought Brookside Farm and eventually the adjacent Oxmoore Estate, as well as a few other pieces of property. The Karabotses combined the properties and renamed them as Karamoor Farm, which is a combination of the Karabotses last name and the second half of Oxmoore (there is also a loose translation to the Greek “hara mou”, meaning “my joy”, which also applies). Karamoor’s land had been farmed for hundreds of years (documented prior to the days of William Penn) and the Karabotses continued that tradition, growing all types of crops, primarily hays and grains for farm animals.

Then, in 2003, Nick and Athena decided that they wanted to be able to enjoy the crops that grew on the land of their beloved home, and began the planning process to replace the existing crops with vineyards. The symmetry and clean lines of vineyards were beautiful to them, and they had always had a great appreciation for wine. They hired Lucie Morton, a top viticulturist in the United States, who did soil and exposure studies to decide what varietals could be planted and on what areas of the farm. The plan was to plant all vinifera varieties (varieties derived from European grapes); by the Karabotses desire, they settled on Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Petit Verdot. The first 12 acres went in the ground in 2006, followed by an additional 5 acres in 2008 and an additional 10 in 2013.

The vineyard operations are maintained by vineyard manager Joseph Rienzi and winemaker Kevin Robinson. Grape growing in Pennsylvania is very labor intensive, and everything in the vineyard is done by hand. Growing quality vinifera fruit in the warm and humid summer climate of Pennsylvania requires a more diligent spray schedule to control disease and it requires much more canopy maintenance. Karamoor Wines attention to detail and meticulous care and maintenance of their winery has produced award-winning wines that are accepted on the world stage, and in order to do that, they harvest ripe and healthy fruit.

 
a.vin Wine Fundraiser
Produced by Monica Rogozinski
edited by Célia Regina Batista
On June 24, 2017, Karamoor Estate Winery hosted a fundraiser event sponsored by Fork Restaurant and a.k.a. Hotel Residences to benefit the Institute of Functional Restoration, part of the Cleveland Clinic, who does research on e-stim and creating neurotechnologies for spinal cord, stroke, cerebral palsy patients and others with neurological disabilities. Some of the most prestigious chefs from the Philadelphia area joined forces to create a fantastic dinner in honor of Executive Chef Eli Kulp from Fork Restaurant, High Street on Market and a.kitchen who was injured on the Amtrak derailment accident in May of 2015.