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Greece

Santorini

1 100 ha under vine

Soils
Volcanic ash, pumice and lava — aspa — with no clay at all
Climate
Arid Aegean — no summer rain, night humidity from the caldera, the meltemi wind

On the map

Santorini — 1 100 haLanguedoc — 220 000 haBordeaux — 110 000 haSicily — 98 000 haVeneto — 96 000 haPuglia — 87 000 haSouthern Rhône — 66 000 haRioja — 66 000 haTuscany — 60 000 haLoire Valley — 57 000 haEmilia-Romagna — 50 000 haKakheti — 48 000 haSouth-West France — 45 000 haPiedmont — 43 000 haDouro — 43 000 haChampagne — 34 000 haAbruzzo — 33 000 haUtiel-Requena — 32 000 haBurgundy — 29 500 haProvence — 27 000 haSardinia — 27 000 haFriuli — 25 000 haRibera del Duero — 25 000 haPenedès — 25 000 haPfalz — 23 000 haCampania — 23 000 haAlentejo — 22 000 haMinho — 21 000 haRueda — 20 000 haDão — 20 000 haMarche — 16 000 haAlsace — 15 600 haBeaujolais — 13 500 haBurgenland — 13 000 haUmbria — 12 000 haCalabria — 9 000 haMosel — 8 800 haDalmatia — 8 000 haJerez — 7 000 haCyprus — 7 000 haAttica — 6 500 haFranken — 6 100 haCorsica — 6 000 haTokaj — 5 800 haAlto Adige — 5 600 haValais — 4 800 haNorthern Rhône — 4 400 haRías Baixas — 4 300 haNahe — 4 200 haSussex & Kent — 4 000 haRheingau — 3 200 haBierzo — 3 000 haNemea — 3 000 haSavoie — 2 200 haJura — 2 000 haPriorat — 2 000 haWachau — 1 350 haValdeorras — 1 300 haNaoussa — 700 haMadeira — 450 haColares — 20 haSantoriniLanguedocBordeauxSicilyVenetoPugliaSouthern RhôneRiojaTuscanyLoire ValleyEmilia-RomagnaKakhetiSouth-West FrancePiedmontDouroChampagneAbruzzoUtiel-RequenaBurgundyProvenceSardiniaFriuliRibera del DueroPenedèsPfalzCampaniaAlentejoMinhoRuedaDãoMarcheAlsaceBeaujolaisBurgenlandUmbriaCalabriaMoselDalmatiaJerezCyprusAtticaFrankenCorsicaTokajAlto AdigeValaisNorthern RhôneRías BaixasNaheSussex & KentRheingauBierzoNemeaSavoieJuraPrioratWachauValdeorrasNaoussaMadeiraColares
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

On Santorini the vine is coiled into a kouloura, a low basket woven from its own canes that shelters the grapes inside from the meltemi wind and the glare. Phylloxera never survived the island's ash and pumice, so the vines are ungrafted, growing on their own roots — root systems that, renewed cane by cane, can be centuries old.

Wine has sailed from here for millennia; in more recent centuries the island's sun-dried Vinsanto travelled north, prized at the courts of the tsars and by the Orthodox church. Assyrtiko, bone-dry and saline off the waterless volcanic soil, has become one of the Mediterranean's most admired whites — while tourism, hungry for land, now disputes every terrace with the vineyard.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Santorini Assyrtiko Dry white

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 55The Monastic Middle Ages — 30Exploration & the Fortified Age — 25Classifications & the Golden Age — 20Phylloxera & the World Crises — 20The Modern & New World Era — 50Antiquity55500150017001875195050
Origins & Antiquity Antiquity The Monastic Middle Ages 500 Exploration & the Fortified Age 1500 Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950