The white wines as well as the Vinsanto (or vissanto) from Santorini are today reckoned to be among the best wines of Greece. However, the continuing boom in tourism on the beautiful volcanic island has taken its toll. Water is becoming increasingly scarce, and the vineyard area has been continually reduced for many years, while in the remaining vineyards the yields are low, and there is a continuous battle against wind and drought.

Visitors can experience their most beautiful first impression of the Santorini group of islands and its main island of Thira, with the famous crater, if he sails slowly into the Caldera on a boat, that magically attractive imploded crater that remains after the gigantic volcanic eruption of 1645 B.C. In addition to the dreamy, sleepy Mediterranean villages, populated by tourist, a city of ruins more than 3500 years old, white-painted houses and small chapels with their blue cupolas it is the sight of the crater walls that fascinates, reddish black walls up to 300 metres high, that extend as far again below the surface of the water. The island was once known as „Strongyle“ – the round one – but after the great eruption all that remained was a sickle-shaped arc of islands, only 16.4 kilometres long and a width that varies from 1.3 to 6 kilometres: what the island once lost in terms of material substance, it gained in fragile beauty. What is today a magnet that attracts tourists, and was formerly known as Kallistí, the most beautiful of the Cyclads, also has a unique culture of wine. Its archaic image can be found in a form of trellising, or vine training that has nothing in common with the usual orderly rows of vines common in Europe. The vines are placed individually, and look as though they are cowering before the wind and weather, spread among blocks of lava like so many birds nests strewn across the surface of the plateau. After the annual spring pruning, the shoots are twisted in a circular shape, the shape of the vines thus created is reminiscent of wreaths, baskets or large twisted locks of hair, and are known as „Kouloura“. It is also an expression of the special position held by Santorin that the island is one of the very few wine-growing regions in Europe where the vines were not destroyed by phylloxera. Even today, the vines do not need to be grafted onto phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks, they can be propagated by means of cot-off shoots stuck directly into the soil.

In legal terms, Santorini has since 1971 been one of the 28 Greek appellations for quality wines, officially known as „Onomasía Proeléfseos Anotéras Piótitos“ (designation of origin for higher quality - OPAP). They are often also referred to as AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) wines, as the French appellation system was used as an example for the Greek system. The OPAP classification on Santorini refers exclusively to the indigenous white varieties Assyrtiko, Aidani Aspro and Athiri. In order to qualify for the classification, a wine must contain a minimum of 75% of Assyrtiko, the combined content of Aidani Aspro and Athiri may not exceed 25%. This rule applies to both the dry white wines and to the

2004er Vinsanto - a good vintage

Vinsanto. As a rule, most producers use only Assyrtiko and Aidani for the Vinsanto; however, there are a few examples using all three varieties. The majority of producers uses only Assyrtiko for the dry white Santorini OPAP wine, but there are still some producers who use a blend of all three. Today, white varieties account for 80% of the vineyard area on the island, and of that the expressive white Assyrtiko accounts for a 90% share. The leading red varieties are Mandilaria and Mavrotragano, which are producing some quite notable red wines. However, it is mainly the white wines of Santorin – grown in a moderate climate of warm, dry summers and mild winters, nurtured by volcanic soil, sea breezes and salt water – that present themselves as classic, elegant terroir wines. With their occasional salty notes, firm structure, typical citrus aromas and extremely dry acid profiles, paired with delicate fruit, they are very good partners with food, and serve to build Santorini’s reputation as one of the best appellations in Greece.

Assyrtiko vines grown in the traditional Kouloura style

Nine estates, including the four oldest ones on the island, are today part of the OPAP Santorin classification

There are good reasons for starting your tour of discovery at the Koutsoyiannopoulos Winery, the oldest of the OPAP estates – it has the great advantage of being able to literally delve deep into the history of Santorini’s wine culture with a good wine in your glass. The owner, George Koutsoyiannopoulos, is only too happy to guide visitors personally through the wine museum in his cellar, which he put together with great passion and attention to detail. The estate was founded at Vothonas (in the centre of the island, close to the airport) in 1870, the museum documents the history of wine on Santorini from 1660 to 1970. However, George Koutsoyiannopoulos is not only an enthusiastic raconteur, but also an excellent winemaker. In the modern discipline that is de rigeuer for all on Santorini, full-bodied, dry Assyrtiko, Koutsoyiannopoulos finds the right balance with his „Santorini“, which oozes refreshing citrus and pineapple notes. The „Nykteri“ (night), also matured in oak, is made from fully ripe Assyrtiko grapes, and is even more concentrated, and has more depth. This is surpassed only by the 50-year-old Vinsanto produced at the estate. Taste this, and you will understand why in days gone by czars, Russian monasteries and Venetian aristocrats were sp enthusiastic about this nectar-like beverage.

Koutsoyiannopoulos - wine estate and wine museum

Haridimos and Konstantina Hatzidakis have been working on their small estate since 1997, on an area at an altitude of 300 metres close to Pyrgos in the south of the island. Hatzidakis, who used to be an oenologist for the Boutari group, is convinced that the Santorini wine-growing region “still has a lot of secrets to reveal“. The first step was to convert a cave (canava) used by Konstantinas grandfather as a cowshed and equipment shed into a wine estate that today produces a wide range of white wines, as well as wines made from the indigenous red grape of Santorini, the Mavrotragano.

Haridimos Hatzidakis

For his Assyrtiko vines, Hatzidakis practices, at least on a small parcel of land, the slightly higher goblet form of bush vine, which is also a little more susceptible to wind damage. „But it also produces grapes of a higher quality“, of this Haridimos Hatzidakis is convinced. The yields, in fact, are around 35 to 40 hl/ha – significantly above average for Santorin. The wines are full-bodied with prominent mineral notes, for instance in a blend of 90% Assyrtiko and 10% Aidani Aspro fermented with natural yeasts, and the Mavrotragano 2006 bottled by Hatzidakis – one of the first to bottle red wine on Santorin - is a successful, highly aromatic example of red wine made in a modern style, and matured in new barriques.

Vineyards at Pyrgos

Not far from Pyrgos, close to the rim of the crater SantoWines can be found, the oldest cooperative winery in Greece, with very strict quality criteria. Ever since its foundation in 1947 – with new construction completed in 1992 – it has been responsible for the marketing of agricultural products produced by 14 individual cooperatives, with a certain focus on wine, but the range of products also includes fava beans, capers, tomatoes and sweet preserves. The wine producers make up around 1000 of a total of 2500 members, but currently only around half of them are still using their land to produce wine. The president of SantoWines, Markos Kafouros, considers the maintenance of the small vineyard area, which is threatened by the construction boom, as one of the prime objectives of the cooperative: „By protecting vineyards and wine producers we want to preserve a unique cultural heritage.“ As far as SantoWines is concerned, preserving the wine culture includes using the 30 indigenous grape varieties still in existence as a „gene bank“, in order to be able to maintain the traditional wide range of varieties in future. SantoWines encourages its members to promote quality in the vineyard. This is expressed in average yields of the members of around 3 to 3,5 t / ha. Another expression of the successful quality orientation, which has brought in many awards, is the ultra-modern stainless steel equipment in the cellar, with a capacity of 3000 tons, in which the white wines are fermented at controlled temperatures of no more than 16 – 18° C.. White wines account for 90% of production, with a fifth being exported. Among the expressive examples of wines currently on offer are the Vinsanto, which has been matured in barrel for four years, as well as the Assyrtiko 2008, showing prominent acidity, firm structure and dominant citrus notes, the grapes for this wine are grown at an altitude of 230 m to 330 metres. In addition, a 2004 Assyrtiko Reserve, matured for six months each in barrel and in bottle, shows complex aromas, intensity and length: The Assyrtiko, which is the oldest variety on Santorin, has the ability to age well, but is also impressive as a young wine that is both fresh and complex.

Winemaker Artemis Karamolegos - San...torini estate

The small family wine estate of „San…torini“ is located in the small village of Exo Gonia near the centre of the island, and has successfully combined modern technology with traditional viticulture since its foundation in 1995. The name of the estate „San…Torini“ could be translated as „like…the one now“: owner and winemaker Artemis Karamolegos sees the wines produced in his ultra-modern cellar as refreshing representatives of the island’s wine culture, in the style that is possible „in our times“. The vineyards, solely owned by the estate, are planted only with indigenous varieties - Assyrtiko, Aidani Aspro, Athiri and Mavrotagano.

Winemaker Matheos Argyros

A few kilometres further south, in the village of Episkopi Gonias Thiras in the centre of the island, lies the Argyros estate, one of the oldest and today one of the most renowned estates on Santorini. Twice, in 2005 and 2006, Wine & Spirits magazine has included the estate, which was founded in 1903, in the list of the 100 best wine estates in the world. The foundation for this assessment was laid by Yannis Argyros, the third generation of the family owning the estate, who took over the business in 1974. Together with a significant expansion of the vineyard area to 26 ha, and a modernisation of the wine cellar, he has also implemented selective work methods in the vineyard that are strictly governed by the quest for high quality. The estate has recently been taken over by Yannis‘son Matheos, who takes his work as an oenologist very seriously, and works very precisely. The basic range, called „Atlantis“, has a red, a white and a rosé, and provides a good entry level for all those interested in value-for-money wines. His young Assyrtikos, matured in stainless steel, impress with prominent acidity and fresh notes of citrus, green apples and gooseberries. The „Argyros Estate Barrel“ is matured in new oak barrels, and features acidity (7.1 grams) as well as a full body and rich extracts, with notes of ripe yellow fruit, honey and nuts. The Vinsanto, too, is impressive, it is marketed only after maturing for twenty years: it is amber-coloured, with spicy coffee notes, nuts, honey and malted notes. The acidity (6 g/l) and sugar (240 g/l) combine in wonderful harmony.

Winemaker Georgios Gavalas - as expressive as are his wines

Only a few kilometres to the south-west on the high plateau, in the centre of the sleepy village of Megalochori, the friendly and unpreposessing wine-making couple of Georgios und Margarita Gavalas, shows just how a traditional orientation coupled with precise work can lead to exceptional results. After taking over the estate from his father in 1987, the Vinsanto, for instance, has been made by treading the grapes, on their stems, with bare feet, the wine is then matured in old 1600-litre barrels. The family has a winemaking history going back more than three centuries, and the couple feels so closely tied to this tradition that they plant only the traditional varieties of Santorini on their 1.8 hectares of vineyard, and the contract growers they work with also plant only rare varieties such as the red Mavrotragano and Voudomato for Gavalas. The production amounts to 65.000 bottles annually, among the wines is an outstanding blend of the indigenous varieties Katsanó (85%) and Gaiduria (15%). The wine has fruity and earthy aromas, notes of apple and grapefruit, and a crisp acid structure, demonstrating impressively what individualistic results can be achieved by concentrating in a puristic manner on the old vinous traditions. If you are fortunate to be sitting in the shady courtyard of the Gavalas estate, and are enchanted by the freshness of a pure Katsanó, with its notes of grapefruit and ripe peaches, or if you indulge in a ten year old Assystiko with its fresh acidity, and oozing aromas of caramel, honey and sherry, you may be forgiven for wanting to stay here, and not wanting to make the journey to the next winery.

It certainly would not be far to the next OPAP wine estate: a little further south of Megalochori, close to the rim of the crater, lies the “Santorini branch” of the renowned traditional wine estate Boutari. The estate, which was founded in Naoussa in northern Greece in 1879, was first established on Santorini in 1988, then moved into new buildings in the following year, with the whole construction project completed in 1994 – although they have been setting new standards in the marketing of Santorini wines since well before that time. The estate produces wines from six hectares of own vineyards. Boutari has stated specifically its commitment to preserving the diversity of Greek grape varieties, with its size here, the estate clearly places quality higher than quantity, and can justifiably claim to have contributed to the „Greek wine revolution“ in recent years.

The old heavy transport baskets (Boutari estate)

Certainly, that is one of the key messages visitors can glean from the informative promotional movie they can view in the cool round cinema complex. This oenological revolution was not merely a result of the new wine laws of 1971-1972, which were closely modelled on the French example, but was also aided by Greece’s becoming a member of the European Community in 1981, which also resulted in significant investment in the infrastructure of the wine industry on Santorini. Both the varietal Assyrtiko and the blends are attractively fruity and fresh, and sometimes appear to show salty notes of the ocean. The reserve wines are fermented and matured in barrel, with daily Bâtonnage, they are full-bodied proponents of the new Greek style, with smoky notes, oak and petrol. It is also an expression of Boutaris willingness to experiment that guyot vine training is implemented on small parcels of land. While it „permits more convenient production, it cannot be used on a large scale on Santorini“, says Boutari oenologist Ioanna Vanvakouri, summarising the experiences made over the past 20 years.

In the north of the island, in Oia, lies the estate of the internationally renowned winemaker Paris Sigalas. After studying mathematics at the Sorbonne, mathematics and logic were the main focus of his work for many years, both as a high school teacher in Piraeus and later as a mathematics lecturer on Santorini. After his return to the island, he started making a bit of wine as a sideline, in the way one might expect a mathematician to do this. With a great deal of stubborn persistence, clear objectives and ideas, hypotheses and clearly focused experiments. When he eventually, in 1991, took over the wine estate his parents had established, his life was suddenly no longer determined by the academic processes of logical constructions. From that time, Sigalas saw his work as a movement away from logic and mathematics, „towards the earth“. He said that in the past the world “had been reduced to the contents of a box”, and it was only as a winemaker that the world became apparent to him in all its magical diversity: „Le vin – c’est un miracle – wine, that is a miracle".

Paris Sigalas

It comes as no surprise that Sigalas is one of the few wine producers on Santorini to use the goblet-shaped Guyot training system for at least part of his vines. On Sigalas estate, directly in front of the entrance to the tasting room, you can see the dead straight rows of irrigated vines, a visible sign of the owner’s willingness to experiment. At the same time, the organisation of the experiment reveals the trained mathematician, for whom the yields provided by straggling bushes and baskets spread all over the place is not sufficient, and not adequately controlled. He also says that he has made good experiences with moving the harvest date forward into August, to ensure his wines exhibit a fresh, crisp acidity. His passion is to be found somewhere in the border regions of mathematics and nature, and one of the impressive results of that passion is his Assyrtiko, matured in barrel, and oozing notes of yellow fruits and honey, or the powerful red Mavrotragano, matured in stainless steel, that enchants with its rich aromas of cherries, pepper and bell peppers. His flagship, finally, is rich and complex, and elegant, orange-gold-coloured Vinsanto from the 2003 vintage.

Oenologist Yannis Paraskevopoulus from the Gaia estate

Unconventional, also modern, but still more traditional than Paris Sigalas, that is the image presented by the GAIA Wines estate, a joint project run by agriculturalist Leon Karatsalos and oenologist Yannis Paraskevopoulos. The headquarters of the estate is located in Nemea (Peleponnes), where excellent wines have been produced since 1994. The wines here are made in what was once a tomato canning factory on the east coast of Santorini, on the beach between Kamari and Monolithos, and they are excellent examples of Santorini’s outstanding position in driving the quality offensive of Greek wines. The very first bottling of the „Thalassitis“ – a white wine produced from 100% Assyrtiko – showed the style and standard the Bordeaux-trained winemaker was striving for, namely to compose bone-dry terroir wines from indigenous varieties, wines that built on fully ripe grapes to present intense, full aromas while preserving refreshing acidity. The translation of „Thalassitis“ is „the one that comes from the ocean“, its barrel-matured version is a successful meeting of modern and traditional styles, of Greek wine history and technology in the French style. The first free-run Assyrtiko must is initially filled into new barriques, 80% French Nevers oak and 20% acacia wood. After fermentation, the wine is matured in these same barrels for five to six months, with regular bâtonnage taking place. The result is a rich, full-bodied wine with a long finish, combining fresh citrus aromas and smoky notes quite harmoniously.

White chapel with blue cupola - a favourite subject for photographers

Zaziki, Mouzaka and Retsina – and what else?

The fact that the quality of the wines of Santorini is unknown in so many places highlights a general problem of the Greek wine scene. Certainly in Germany the prejudice still prevails that Greece has only basic sweet wines and retsina on offer, and not much more. Even Greek restaurants rarely list a representative selection of the new style of Greek wines – certainly a problem of marketing, which means that restaurateurs, retailers, winemakers and restaurant guests are too rarely going to associate these wines with modern living and a lightness of style, and still think of folksy, rustic images portrayed in tourist brochures. George Koutsoyiannopoulos is one of the wine producers on Santorini who have chosen to tread a new path. „Regrettably, people in other countries are familiar only with Zaziki, Mousaka and Retsina, but we have much more to offer. However, it is extremely difficult to open the minds of both producers and consumers to this. Our marketing should concentrate to a much greater extent on how well our wines are suited to partner sophisticated gourmet dishes“ he says. For those who love the wines of Santorini they can only hope that the OPAP producers will succeed in securing their vineyard areas, in spite of the building boom and the low yields, and to ensure that valuable vineyard land does not continue to be lost to new construction for the tourist industry.

Anarchic conditions in the Hatzidakis vineyards

How to get to Santorin:

In summer, there are many direct charter flights from German and other European airports to Santorini. However, many of these fly only once a week, making it essential to book a seat well in advance. It is easiest to take a flight connection via Athens. Aegean Airlines, which operates in cooperation with Lufthansa, for instance, takes visitors from many German (Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart) and large European cities to Athens, and from there to Santorini. In summer, they offer up to four connecting flights daily from Athens to Santorini.A more leisurely, as well as economic and scenically impressive option is to take the ferry from Pireaus to Santorini. There are up to seven ferry connections daily in the summer season. The high-speed boats make the crossing in around 4 ½ hours, the regular ferry takes around 8 ½ hours. The cost of a single passage is around 50 Euros.

Walls of lava stones (Pezoules) used for the terraced vineyards on the plateau (Hatzidakis)

Hotels and restaurants we visited and can recommend.

Volcano View Hotel und Villas
Manager: Andreas Patiniotis
P.O. Box 86
Fira, 84700 Santorin
Tel.: 30 22860 24870
Fax: 30 22860 24890
email: info@volcano-view.com
www.volcanoview.info

Restaurant Selene
Contact: Yiorgos Hatziyannakis
Fira, 84700 santorin
Tel.: +30 22860 22249
Fax: +30 22860 24395
email: selenegr@otenet.gr
www.selene.gr

Restaurant Marmita
Contact: Andreas
Megalochori, 84700 Santorin
Tel.: +30 22860 81603
Fax: +30 22860 81603
email: info@marmita.com.gr
www.marmita.com.gr

Restaurant Saltsa
Contact: Lilian Riga
Imerovigli, 84700 Santorin
Tel.: +30 22860 28018
Fax: +30 22860 28017
email: info@saltsa.gr
www.saltsa.gr

Restaurant Nichteri
Contact: Vassilis Zacharakis
Kamari, 84700 Santorin
Tel.: +30 22860 33480
email: nichteri@nichteri.gr
www.nichteri.gr

Restaurant Saltsa
Contact: Stavros Sigalas
Oia, 84700 Santorin
Tel.: +30 22860 71362
Fax: +30 22860 71569

Recommended English-language Literature: „The Wines of Greece“ – the last comprehensive description of Greek wines by Konstantinos Lazarakis, published by Mitchell / Beazley in 2005 is now only available second-hand.