【BLOG FOR WINE CONNOISSEUR】
Santorini, an island in the southern Aegean Sea created by an ancient volcano, is less than an hour's flight from Athens and is said to be the model for the legend of Atlantis. It is very famous for its blue sky and sea, and for the pictures of the village of Oia with its white walls made of lime. The Mediterranean soil contains a lot of lime and is low in price. Lime is used for sterilisation because rainwater is used for domestic use due to the scarcity of water sources. It is also the colour that softens the summer heat, and for many other reasons, which is why the village of Oia is so wonderful in bright white.
From the photogenic village of Oia, a 10-minute bus ride takes you to Finikia Bus Stop, from where a 20-minute walk along a small path leads you to Domaine Sigalas, renowned for producing some of Santorini's best wines.
At the back of the winery, of course, there are extensive vineyards where you can see vines that have been trained in a special and unique pruning method, known as Santorini's "kouloura", or "Wreath" or "Basket", which maybe you have heard of. Santorini is part of an archipelago created by volcanoes and has experienced numerous volcanic eruptions since ancient times, and the terrain has been shaped by these eruptions, which is why the vines are planted on many slopes. The Mediterranean climate is characterized by strong westerly winds, and for centuries growers in Santorini have grown vines in Kouloura, which are arranged close to the ground like a spiral crown, to provide shelter against these winds. Kouloura can of course be found all over Santorini, not just in Sigalas in the north cape.
To explain Kouloura in a little more detail, each year the vines are woven around the previous year's vines, causing them to expand a little more. Approximately every 20 years, when the Kouloura is deemed to have grown too large, the older vines are cut down and a new basket is formed from the young branches again. So the roots remain old and there are roots that are more than 250 years old.
Santorini, as you can imagine, has extremely low annual rainfall, around 500 ml, and very little rainfall during the grape-growing season. The only small amount of moisture is the fog that is generated from the caldera each morning, and the traditional Kouloura helps to store this fog moisture. To take advantage of the limited moisture, the vines are planted very widely apart, resulting in a surprisingly low planting rate, in direct contrast to modern high-density plantings.
In addition, the hot, dry and rainless climate inevitably lowers grape yields, while the island's volcanic soils are poor in organic matter, which naturally limits vigour, and the Santorini wine regulations adopt the lowest yields in Greece (up to 60 hl/ha). But in reality they are much lower. It is not uncommon for yields to be as low as 15 hl/ha from older vines.
The iconic grape of the island is Assyrtiko, a thick-skinned grape with high drought tolerance and high resistance to pests and diseases. It ripens to perfection in warm, sunny climates and is a very rare variety that is extremely aromatic, rich in fruit and high in alcohol, while at the same time retaining a high acidity level. However, like Trebbiano, the grape is prone to oxidation, so care must be taken when vinifying it, and when making dry wines, it is usually vinified reductively in stainless steel tanks. From a sommelier's point of view, the relationship between terroir and Assyrtiko is that Assyrtiko grows on a sandy volcanic ash base from eruptions, mixed with lava, pumice, iron oxide and sulphur-containing stones, which gives it intense acidity and minerality such as lemon, lime, flint as well as the salty aftertaste, obtained by the winds of the Aegean Sea, which is one of the Mediterranean's most salty seas, is a characteristic feature of this wine. As a food pairing, it is particularly good with fish and shellfish, and in our house it is paired with simple fish and shellfish dishes such as white anchovy and tomato salad, grilled sardines, prawn skewers and marinated octopus.
Anyway, try this Domaine Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko!! You'll probably end up sitting in front of your PC with a glass of this wine in your hand, checking flight and hotel availability to Santorini.
One last thing. This is a digression from wine, but Santorini is an island full of cats. If you are a cat lover, you should definitely visit! This is the third place in Hiro's list of the three best destinations in the world to meet cats.
In case you missed it, second place goes to Fez, Morocco and the prestigious first place goes to Onomichi, Japan.
Cheers,
Hiro
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