Wine tasting in Santorini has grown in recent years and no place has demonstrated this more clearly than the coffee and tasting area at Santo Winery. With a world-class view from the top of the famous caldera, this is a very worthwhile stop during your adventures on the island of Santorini.
The location is an excellent place to watch the sunset, offering a different angle on the caldera. But if you go to Santo in the late afternoon or evening, be aware that its elevation above the cliffs can make it a bit windy. You can be happy that you have brought a jacket, even when the day has been warm.
The wines
Like all Santorini wineries, the bottles here benefit from the unique growing conditions on the island. The rich volcanic soil brings a distinctive flavor to the wines grown here, and the unusual ‘basket’ style of training the vines to protect them from prevailing winds also plays a role. Santorini is blessed with a number of local varieties, including the popular assyrtiko grape, whose ghostly paleness provides a deep dose of minerality to wines made from it. On the darker side, the dark red wine ‘vin santo’ was originally produced for use in churches, and its rich sweetness makes it an ideal dessert wine that also appears in modern Santorini cuisine.
Santo presents a series of wines from various collective members, so the selection is extensive.
Wine tourism center
While you’re in the winery, you can enjoy a movie about the Santo winemaking process at the Wine Tourism Center. The Center is open from 10 a.m. to sunset, from April to November.
Events
With a large open terrace area, the Santo Winery frequently hosts wine and food events, including the annual ‘Cities by the Sea’ wine and food festival. It is also a popular venue for weddings and other events.
Wine and Gourmet Food Store
Obviously, Santo would be happy to send you home with any amount of wine. They offer special combo packs with a bottle of choice filled with a variety of other Santorini specialties, including indigenous yellow fava and the famous anhydrous tomato paste, prepared from tomatoes that have been watered only by the dew that accumulates on the porous volcanic soil. (Even if you are indifferent to tomatoes, you will fall in love with this paste as a kind of volcanic vegetable caviar.)
Get there
Santo Winery is easy to get to from Fira, just drive south from Fira, following the signs for Perissa. About 4 km or 2.5 miles from Fira, you will see the flag-adorned winery on your right. Parking is free. The winery is sometimes closed for special events, so you can call them ahead just to be sure.
