Santorini Wine Tasting Guide

Before sunsets and cave hotels, Santorini made its money from wine, and the vineyards are still one of the most interesting things on the island. The soil is volcanic ash and pumice, there's almost no rain in summer, and the wind is relentless. The vines survive on sea mist and dew. Because phylloxera, the insect that wiped out most of Europe's vineyards in the 19th century, never took hold in this soil, many vines have roots that are extremely old.

Look down as you drive past a vineyard. Instead of neat rows on wires, you'll see low round baskets lying on the ground. Growers train the vines into these coils, called kouloura, to shelter the grapes inside from wind and sun. It's a method you won't see in many other places.

The wines to try

• Assyrtiko: the island's main white grape. Dry, bright, salty and mineral, with high acidity. It's the one to take home.
• Nykteri: a richer style of Assyrtiko, traditionally made from grapes harvested and pressed at night, often aged in oak.
• Vinsanto: a sweet wine made from grapes dried in the sun before pressing, then aged for years. Dark amber, with notes of raisins and coffee.
• Mavrotragano: a red grape that almost disappeared and has been brought back by a few producers. Worth trying if you see it.

Where to taste

Santo Wines, the island's cooperative near Pyrgos, has a big terrace over the caldera and a long tasting menu. It's busy at sunset. For a closer look at how the wine is made, Estate Argyros in Episkopi Gonia and Domaine Sigalas near Oia are both respected estates with calm tasting rooms. Venetsanos, built into the cliff above the caldera near Megalochori, is an old winery that used gravity to move the wine down through its levels. The Koutsoyannopoulos Wine Museum at Vothonas is set in a cave and explains the island's wine history.

Two or three wineries in an afternoon is enough. Tasting pours add up.

Planning the day

Don't drive. Book a small wine tour, which includes transport and often a guide who knows the winemakers, or take a taxi between two wineries close to each other in the Megalochori and Pyrgos area. Many wineries ask you to book a tasting slot, especially in summer, so check their official sites. A tasting before a sunset dinner makes a good late afternoon. Our 3-day itinerary fits one in on the second day, and our things to do list covers the rest of the south of the island.