Santorini glasses of wine
Visiting Santorini, the most famous Island in Greece, is much more than a watch beautiful sunset or visit the Caldera. It could be also a gastronomic experience which will initiate you into the secrets of the best vineyards of Greece. An ancient and fabled wine, Santorinian Vin Santo is one of the most luxurious dessert wines on the market today. Vin Santo or Vino Santo (holy wine) is a style of Italian dessert wine.
Santorini has unique environment for viticulture which is considered by experts as the most unique wine region in the world.
Santorini glass of wine
This environment contribute to the kind of stress that compels vines to produce extraordinary fruit. Grapes grow on the eastern slopes of the caldera’s edge, which begin from their sharp western edge at around 1,000 feet, ending at sea level at the island’s famous black beaches. The lack of water during summer season, thus a grape growing period, provides the perfect bare-minimum the vines need to survive and grow fruit. Steady westerly winds preclude condensation on the grapes themselves, resulting in the parallel development of high sugar and acid levels. The wind being so relentless as to threaten the survival of youthful vines, an ancient, though hardly simple, solution is now a famous tradition on the island: many vines are trained to grow in a stefani (crown), a round basket the middle of which provides a haven for hanging clusters of grapes.
Santorini appellations
Santorini Vinsanto
Santorini has two appellations: one for dry whites and one for sweet whites. The appellation for dry wines calls for Asyrtiko, Athiri and Aïdani Aspro. The sweet appelletion requires Asyrtiko and Aïdani only.
Santorini Vin Santo History
What perhaps makes Vin Santo most intriguing, besides its sensational flavor and its many variations, is the wine’s historical roots that date as far back as the Middle Ages. While the style of making wine from dried grapes has been around almost as long as wine has been made, there are many theories on how the particular name Vin Santo or “holy wine” came to be associated with this style of wine. The most likely origin was the wine’s historic use in religious Mass, where sweet wine was often preferred.
Santorini wines
One of the earliest references to a “vinsanto” wine come from the Renaissance era sales logs of Florentine wine merchants who widely marketed the strong, sweet wine in Rome and elsewhere. Eventually the term “vinsanto” became almost an umbrella name for this style of wine produced elsewhere in Italy. When the Greek island of Santorini came under rule of the Ottoman Empire, the ruling Turks encouraged the island’s wine production of a sweet dessert wine made from dried grapes. Over the next few centuries, this wine became known as Vin Santo and was widely exported to Russia where it became a principle wine in the celebration of Mass for the Russian Orthodox Church.
Santorini Vin Santo production
Santorini Vine
The vinification process for Vin Santo adheres to vini appassiti meaning that the wine is made from naturally dried grapes with a concentrated sugar content due to the evaporation of water. After the grapes destined for Vin Santo are harvested, they are laid out on straw mats, often under rafters or staircases. They are kept in warm, well ventilated rooms that allow the moisture in the grape to evaporate. This process of desiccation allows the sugars in the grape to be more concentrated. The longer the grapes are allowed to dry and desiccate, the higher the resulting residual sugar levels will be in the wine. Depending on the style of wine desired, the grapes may be crushed and the fermentation process started after a few weeks or not till late March. Producers may use a starter culture of yeast known as a madre that includes a small amount of finished Vin Santo from previous years production. It is believed that this older wine can help jump start the fermentation process and also add complexity to the wine. In the past, according to Lambert-Gocs, a blend of white Asyrtico and red Mandilariá was considered an ideal mixture. These days, the Santorini appellation insures that Vinsanto is made exlusively from Asyrtiko and Aïdani.
Santorini Vin Santo Taste
All Vin Santo wines generally exude an amber to hay coloration and are intense and aromatic on the nose. Vin Santo wines generally include caramel-like flavors with hints of honey, raisin and nut. The wine lends itself well to baked goods that are crispy and toasted, such as biscotti, and with an alcohol content of 16% it makes for a delightful accompaniment to desserts or enjoyed simply as a digestivo.
Santorini Vin Santo Today
Nearly every producer of bottled wine on the Santorini island offers a unique rendition, which resembles to the personal expression. Santorini is one of the more traditional, raisiny, honeylike and coarse.
Paris Sigalas, an exceptional winemaker by any standard, produces a particularly sunny version of orange tint and a balanced measure of acidity and caramel. Premium producers like Sigalas favor higher levels of alcohol. According to Sigalas, Aídani is particularly well-suited for sweet wine, imparting lychee flavors that round out the acidity of Asyrtiko.
Santorini wine cellar
Yannis Argyros, another premium producer, has recently turned the Greek domestic market on its ear, releasing a 17-year-old fortified Vinsanto that exacts prices previously unheard of in Greece. His is elegantly rich in flavors of toffee and prune.
Antoniou, with the help of a crack enological crew including Dimitris Hatzinikolaou and the charismatic, down-to-earth, Garifalos Allagiannis, produces a particularly polished version in which raisin flavor is pronounced but supported by tremendous acidity. “Our goal”, says Allagiannis, “is to make sweet wine with dry wine character.”
Antonis Heliopoulos, whose posh resort hotel, Vedema, incorporates traditional underground cellars in its island village theme, is the newest addition to Santorini’s roster of wine producers. His Vinsanto, replete with flavors of lemon zest and tamarind, is posh, clean and modern, a distinctly new style for the island.
Vinsanto, a Santorian tradition of ancient origins can compete admirably against the best European competition if given the opportunity.
Santorini Wineries
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