4 Best Santorini Wineries with Outstanding Wines
Looking to explore ancient volcanic vineyards and sip on incredible wines at the best Santorini wineries? This all-in-one guide has the essentials for planning your wine adventure on this gorgeous Greek island.
Santorini is known for its stunning scenery and dazzling sunsets. But it’s not just a pretty face. The island’s volcanic soil is like magic dust for vineyards, giving birth to the zesty Assyrtiko white wines the island is becoming famous for.
But with more than 20 wineries, how do you separate the good from the great? And let’s not get started on the wild ride that Santorini’s winding roads offer.
No worries, I’ve got your back. As your globe-trotting, WSET-certified wine expert, I’ve traveled this vine trail for you. And I’ve compiled a hand-picked list of the must-visit wineries in Santorini. So, let’s get started planning your epic wine-tasting trip!
The Best Santorini Wineries
These are some of the best wineries in Santorini for exceptional wines, delicious food, and great hospitality.
1. Domaine Sigalas
For exceptional wines and delicious food, don’t miss Domaine Sigalas. This historic winery is located in the northern part of the island close to Oia.
The first Assyrtiko I ever had was from Domaine Sigalas. And it was what made me fall in love with the grape.
Paris Sigalas grew up helping pick grapes at his grandfather’s vineyard. After taking over in the ’90s, his 1991 vintage was Santorini’s first PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) labeled wine.
The winemaker, Paris Sigalas, played a big part in elevating Santorini’s wines, with his 1991 maiden vintage being the island’s first PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) wine.
Domaine Sigalas’ 40 hectares of vineyards are sustainably farmed, and they produce 200,000 bottles a year.
Wines to Try
Domaine Sigalas makes five different versions of Assyrtiko, including stainless steel and oaked styles. You can experience single vineyard versions, as well as blends from different areas of the island.
I also like their aromatic Aidani, a white wine with peach and apricot flavors. And their Vinsanto is excellent too.
Visiting
Domaine Sigalas is a quick 10-minute drive outside the center of Oia. The grapevine-shaded patio is surrounded by vineyards and has peekaboo views of the ocean.
Choose from a number of different flight options. And plan to have lunch here. Their food menu is fantastic! You can even enjoy a guided wine tasting with paired dishes. Just be sure to book ahead.
You can learn more about it in my post on Santorini wine and food experiences.
2. Gaia Wines
Located on one of Santorini’s east coast beaches, enjoy stunning coastal views and the sound of crashing waves as you sip on incredible wine at Gaia Wines.
Owners Yiannis Paraskevopoulos and Leon Karatsalos traveled and studied winemaking around the world. In 1994, they brought their knowledge back and founded wineries in Greece’s two most important wine-growing regions.
Nemea is a red-wine region on the Peloponnese peninsula, where they use the Agiorgitiko grape. On Santorini, their wines are all made from Assyrtiko in a variety of different styles. You can taste both regions’ wines at their Santorini winery.
Wines to Try
For my tasting, I tried Assyrtiko in four ways. I loved experiencing how the grape changes when made in different styles.
Thalassitis is Gaia’s unoaked version, made from low-yield vines. It’s an exceptional example of what this wine can be. And it was probably my favorite wine of the trip.
If you prefer an oaked style, try the Wild Ferment. The wild yeast strains are allowed to do their thing. And then they choose the best lots to age in oak. Or the Nychteri has more subtle flavors from French oak.
Gaia also makes excellent Vinsanto. I tried the 10 year version. It was a bit lighter than Estate Argyros’ 20-year version, with caramelized fruit, nuts, and coffee.
Visiting
To visit, book a tour and tasting online. And don’t miss their delicious homemade food options like crunchy breadsticks and savory Dakos.
3. Estate Argyros
As the largest private owner of vineyards in Santorini, Estate Argyros owns 120 hectares. It was officially founded in 1902, but the family was involved in winemaking for decades before that.
Yiannis Argyros took over in 1974 and he was the one to put this winery on the map. He focused on making some of the best quality Vinsanto wines. And proving that dry-style Assyrtiko can be age-worthy.
Today, Matthaios is the fourth generation of the Argyros family running the winery. Since taking over in 2004, he’s built a beautiful, modern winery. The tasting room is stunning. It looks like something out of a magazine!
Wines to Try
I loved their Estate Argyros Assyrtiko. The grapes come from vines that are at least 100 years old. They recommend aging it up to 10 years, which will mellow out the acidity and make it even more complex.
I was also able to try their Cuvee Monsignori Assyrtiko at a Santorini restaurant. This limited production wine is made from 200-year-old vines and it’s outstanding!
But, the winner of the tasting was the 1996 Vinsanto. The wine is made from a blend of late-harvested and dried Assyrtiko, Aidani, and Athiri grapes. And it’s aged for 20 years before releasing. It smelled like dried figs and caramel and tasted like chocolate and coffee.
Visiting
Book a tour to learn about how these small-lot wines are produced. Or enjoy an educational wine and food pairing experience, with tasty regional bites.
4. Gavalas Winery
The Gavalas family has been making wine for five generations. These days, George and his son Vagelis run Gavalas Winery. And they focus on limited-production wines that highlight Santorini’s unique terroir. This includes 11 different labels and about 90,000 bottles per year.
They’ve also revived two rare grape varieties — Katsano and Voudomato — and are the only winery that produces these wines.
As one of the oldest wineries in Santorini, what’s unique about visiting is getting to explore the original stone winery building and wine cellars. The family has done a great job preserving it.
Wines to Try
I enjoyed the Katsano, a floral white wine with flavors of peaches and pineapple. I also sampled the refreshing Aidani, with aromas of jasmine and flavors of green apple and pear.
Gavalas makes a rosé out of the revived Voudomato grape. This was one of my favorites of the tasting, with bright red cherry flavors and hints of butterscotch.
And their bold Mavrotragano was super concentrated with lots of black fruits and some spicy pepper.
Visiting
Choose from a variety of tasting options. If this is your first stop, the Intro to Santorini flight is a great starting point. Or focus in one area like all white wines or premium and rare selections.
The beautiful secluded courtyard is the perfect place to enjoy your flight, along with delicious local cheeses, crunchy bread, and tomato paste. Just be sure to make a reservation in advance if you’re not visiting with a tour!
If your Greek island trip also includes visiting Crete, also check out my guides on the best Chania wineries and wineries near Heraklion.
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More Santorini Wineries and Wine Tasting
Santo Winery and Venetsanos Winery
While I didn’t personally visit these wineries, they are known for having incredible views of the caldera. If you want to check them out, I’d suggest having lunch or dinner there.
But be warned that they are popular, so you’ll want to book well in advance. This is easy to do online for both Santo Winery and Venetsanos Winery.
Santorini Wine Museum
Want to learn about the history of the island, Santorini wine, and what wine making was like in ancient times? This underground museum was built in a 300-meter-long cave by the Koutsogiannopoulos winemaking family.
Through an audio tour you’ll see the stages of the wine production process and learn about the range of machinery wine producers need. You’ll also get to see some rare winemaking equipment and tools that were used by past generations of the family.
After your tour of the museum, you can experience the family’s wines with one of their wine-tasting packages. Visit their website for more details.
Santorini Wineries Tour
Driving in Santorini can be a little scary. The roads are very narrow and locals drive fast. I don’t recommend attempting it if you’re going to multiple wineries.
To visit family-owned wineries producing some of Santorini’s best wines, I recommend booking a tour with Santorini Wine Trails. Iliana is a fantastic guide! She studied winemaking and worked in the industry at a winery and as a sommelier. All her tours are private and include pick-up and drop-off at your accommodation.
But if Santorini Wine Trails is booked or you prefer a group tour, this Santorini Wine Secrets tour is another excellent option that includes pick-up and drop-off, wine tastings at 3 top wineries, snacks, and more.
🚌 Book a private tour with Santorini Wine Trails or a group tour with Santorini Wine Secrets
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Where to Stay for Visiting Wineries in Santorini, Greece
As beautiful as Santorini’s main cities of Oia and Fira are, they also get super crowded. If you don’t want to deal with elbowing your way down the street every time you want to get to your hotel, I recommend staying in the southern part of the island.
You can easily get around by renting a car or using the fancy bus system (seriously, they’re like luxury liners). You’ll also be closer to the famous black and red beaches and the Akrotiri archaeological site.
Kokkinos Villas is a wonderful option with incredible views of the caldera. The rooms are spacious, and some even have private hot tubs. Each day you can put in your custom breakfast order for the next morning, and it will be ready when you arrive.
🏨 Book Kokkinos Villas
Santorini Wine Region
Santorini Wines
Santorini has about 40 different native grape varieties grown on 1,300 hectares of vineyards. Some of these vineyards are owned by Santorini’s 20 wineries. But many are independently farmed by the island’s 1,200 grape growers.
This Greek island produces 3 million bottles of wine a year. The Santorini PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) covers red and white wines made in both dry and sweet styles.
If you’re wondering what a PDO is, it’s basically Europe’s way of saying only agricultural products made in a specific area and of a certain quality can use the protected name.
Santorini White Wines
Santorini is famous for Assyrtiko, which makes up 75% of the vineyard plantings on the island. This white grape makes high-acid wines with intense aromas. And it has flavors of lime, tropical fruits, and almost a salty quality to it.
Usually, Assyrtiko is made as a single varietal wine. But you’ll also find it blended with Santorini’s other white grapes, Aidani and Athiri.
Santorini Red Wines
Mandilaria, also found at Crete wineries, is the most common red grape in Santorini. It’s sometimes blended with Assyrtiko to make a dry red. Or dried in the sun to make a sweet dessert wine.
Mavrotragano is another up-and-coming Santorini red. This grape variety was almost extinct until being revived a few years ago. It makes full-bodied, high-alcohol wines that can be ageable.
Vinsanto: Santorini’s Sweet Wine
This late-harvested wine is made by laying grapes out in the sun for up to 14 days. This concentrates the sugars in the grapes. So much so, that fermentation stops on its own, leaving a sweet wine.
Vinsanto is aged in oak for at least two years, but many for far longer. This gives it delicious flavors of dried fruit, caramel, and toasted nuts.
Terroir
In case you didn’t know, the Greek Island of Santorini is technically an active volcano. You know all those beautiful photos you see of the cliffs and the sapphire water below? Well, that’s because the middle part of the island collapsed in a past eruption.
The soil is a mix of lava and volcanic ash, mainly composed of pumice. Yes, like those stones you use to exfoliate!
What’s cool about this is that the volcanic soil is resistant to diseases. So, Santorini has never had to deal with phylloxera — the root louse that infected vines throughout the world.
This means that Santorini’s vineyards haven’t had to be replanted, making them some of the oldest vines in the world. We’re talking as old as 300 years!
Climate
Santorini has a mediterranean climate with mild winters and long hot summers. There’s very little rain during the growing season, so the vines get a lot of their water from the air. They absorb the humidity and the mist from the sea breeze.
There isn’t much vintage variation, but they’re seeing more of this with climate change. Things like higher rainfall, heat waves, and night humidity can impact the quality and volume of each vintage.
The island’s strong winds means they have to use a special vineyard pruning technique called a “kouloura.” The vines are formed into basket-like shapes low to the ground. And the grapes grow in the center, which protects them from the harsh winds.
It takes about 15-20 minutes to prune each vine this way. This is done twice per year so it’s pretty time-consuming. It’s currently the only place in the world where you can see this technique used.
