📍 Santorini

Santorini is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, in the Cyclades group in Greece. The island is crescent-shaped around a sunken caldera: a huge eruption of the volcano in ancient times left steep cliffs and black rock above the sea. The soil is volcanic ash, pumice and sand. There is almost no rain, summers are hot and a strong wind blows.

The main grape is Assyrtiko, a white with high acidity and a mineral taste. It makes dry, fresh wines with scents of lemon and stone, as well as sweet ones. Athiri and Aidani are added to it. Among reds there are Mandilaria and Mavrotragano.

Because of the wind, the vines are woven into low basket shapes called “kouloura”: the berries hide inside and the wind does not damage them. Many vines are very old and grow on their own roots, because phylloxera did not penetrate the loose volcanic sands.

The island's special wine is Vinsanto: a sweet golden-brown wine from Assyrtiko berries dried in the sun and aged in barrels. The island holds PDO status. For comparison with its neighbours: Paros and Naxos lie near Santorini, and on the mainland the Peloponnese.