Discovering Santorini’s delightful wines
Santorini is known for its landscapes, beaches and nightlife, but it has a thriving wine scene too
You know what vineyards look like, right? Rows and rows of grape-bearing vines supported on wood and wire trellises.
Well, in Santorini they do it completely differently. On this volcanic island they use the unique koulara (basket) method to train vines. As the vines grow, they are woven into baskets lying low off the ground, with the grapes facing toward the inside of the ring. The vine's leaves and vine provide protection for the grapes growing inside the circle from the island’s harsh winds and sunlight.
Many plants find it difficult to grow in lava soil and in Santorini’s hot, dry conditions, but vines are able to survive here.
The semi-porous pumice rocks in the soil absorb moisture from the ground and from sea mists, and later this water is gently transferred to the vines. The unusual way that grapes are grown here helps produce wines’ unique tastes.
It will be a surprise to many that this island, one of Greece’s most famous, has a thriving wine culture, since it is best known for its rugged landscapes, glorious volcanic beaches and lively nightlife.
Yet the little island is home to 21 wineries and 24 varietals indigenous to the island. Winemaking was started by Phoenician sailors who arrived in boats with seeds and cuttings, and who found that grapevines were most productive on the rocky soils.
One grape in particular is celebrated, Assyrtiko, which produces one of the most prized wines in the world.
Santorini evolved from some of the most violently erupting volcanoes in the last 10,000 years. However, grape vines grew on the island since before that time - indeed the vineyards of Santorini form one of the oldest viticulture regions of the world that are active today.
The island’s volcanic soils do much to contribute to the special taste of the wines. They contain basalt, granite, pumice, obsidian and ash, and the high silica oxide and metal content makes the soils acidic, transmitting a low pH and enriching mineral taste to the wines.
Domaine Sigalas, on the northernmost part of the island, is one of the most celebrated wineries here. Sigalas first planted vines in 2002, and their first wines were ready three years later.
Sigalas offers visitors a delightful five-course meal paired with their wines, which you enjoy on a pretty terrace overlooking some of the 81 acres of vineyards it owns. The wines paired with the dishes I tried were a perfect accompaniment.
The menu the day I visited included an Athenian salad, a coleslaw with potato, peas and carrots, with delicious local olive oil dripped over it.
It came with a glass of 7 Villages Megalaochori, named after an attractive old village located near Oia. A 2020 vintage, it was refreshing and fruity.
The second dish, freshly-caught sea bass marinated in lemon, with nectarine and spring onion, and the most vivid green olive oil around it, was paired with a glass of zesty Kavalieros.
Sea bream marinated in salt water and placed on a bed of gazpacho followed this. It was accompanied by a 2021 Santorini Barrel. This had only been left to mature for six months, which resulted in a peachy, buttery taste with hints of French oak.
The next dish was really innovative, a fabulously deconstructed moussaka. All the ingredients of this classic Greek dish were present, but were presented separately. Therefore a chunk of tender, rich lamb in a rich sauce was placed next to an aubergine puree and a mound of potato, with bechamel sauce poured over everything. It may not sound lthat appealing, but was novel and delicious, and really underlined how good it is to experience a meal at this winery.
The winery chose a 2020 Mavrotragano, a hearty 15% abv, a red wine matured in oak barrels for a year, to go with this dish. It came from a grape that came close to extinction until Sigalas saved it.
Santorini is renowned for its excellent Vinsanto dessert wines, and this was the last wine I sampled at Sigalas. Made from late-harvest, sun-dried white grapes, the one I tried had spent six years in the barrels. Boasting rich flavours of rum, sultanas, plums and caramel, it was perfectly paired with baklava and mastica ice cream.
Another winery to check out is Estate Argyros. Founded in 1903, it has vines going back as far as two centuries and has good selection of white wines to explore.
Also worth discovering is Santorini Wine Museum created by Koutsogiannopoulos Winery and nestled in a cave. The museum gives an overview of the island’s geography and history regarding winemaking.
With its lovely villages, beaches and architecture, Santorini is a delight at the best of times. Coupled with its deep wine culture waiting to be discovered too, it is undoubtedly a wine-lover’s dream.
I was surprised to see these wine yards, and to know about the wine tradition when I visited Santorini!