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 Santorini (also known as Thira) is one of the southernmost of the Kyklades islands and among the most famous in Greece. It is a unique environment for viticulture, perhaps the most unique wine region in the world. A volcanic island, Santorini suffered a catastrophic eruption around 1500 BC, leaving a huge, submerged caldera where the center of the Island had been. Its resulting geological features are not only singular in Greece–chalk and shale beneath ash, lava and pumice–but also 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. There is no question of over-farming in this environment: vine spacing is by necessity double traditional distances. Further stress results from a dearth of water on the Island. With the exception of the winter there is little rain on Santorini during the year. There is none at all during the growing season. Desalinated sea water provides for the inhabitants of the island and its many tourists. Vines, however, drink from moisture absorbed by the ground at night, a fortunate quirk of geology and climate that 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 has two applellations: 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. Although the island is neither known for its red wine nor possesses an appellation for them, the red cultivars Mandilariá (20% of vineyard area) and Mavrotrágano are playing an increasingly important role in premium wine production. Santorini is home to several original wine genres. Certain of these have proved particularly solid foundations for the development of successful modern winemaking. Brousko is a style (and a name) dating back to the Venetian occupation of the island (13th-16th centuries). Brouska were traditionally dry red, white or rosé comprised of appropriate combinations of the local cultivar pallette, held for a period of days in the pressing bins, then pressed by foot, fermented on skins and stems and barrel-aged. Although the raw style of traditional Brousko has largely been abandoned in favor of free-run must and international methods of vinification, it is still to be found on the island.
I have written in the past that Greece has entirely missed the boat on the dessert wine trend in the New World. Although some of Greece's Mavrodafni and Muscat are well known in Europe, they are completely unknown in America at a time when consumer interest is at an all-time high. Even Europe is in the dark about both traditional and new sweet wines that could compete admirably against the best native competition if given the opportunity. Vinsanto, a Santorianote tradition of ancient origins, is precisely such a wine. For Vinsanto, ripe grapes are laid in the sun to raisin, usually for 8 to 14 days, then undergo a long, slow fermentation. Vinsanto is usually low in alcohol and barrel-aged for a period of years before being bottled. 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.
Mezzo, a less sweet version of Vinsanto, is also traditional on the island. It is typically made from a combination of raisined and and un-raisined grapes, or from grapes that have undergone less sun drying than in the case of those employed in Vinsanto. Paris Sigalas is one of the few producers to bottle it. His is made from Asyrtiko with Aïdani and Athiri that have been sun-dried for about a week. The wine, which has tremendous acidity, peach flavors and a lingering aftertaste of wildflower honey, spends one year in oak prior to release. There was yet another style called Malvazia, made from a mixture of the secondary (meaning not Asyrtiko) white grapes, which were super-matured on the vine. Even in 1990, Lambert-Gocs, as did we, found no evidence of its existence—certainly not bottled. Santorini's current high reputation in Greece is based on modern dry white wines produced from Asyrtiko, Athiri and Aïdani Aspro. While Roussos, Santo and Koutsogiannopoulos keep at least one eye on tradition, the Greek domestic market, not surprisingly, has focused more attention on premium products. Perhaps the entrance of the Boutari Group, who opened a winery on Santorini in 1988, signaled the beginning of a new era. Certainly the wide distribution of their Santorini and Kallisti–both Santorini appellation wines–brought wider awareness of the island's potential. Sigalas and Argyros have established the standards against which all Santoriniote producers must compete. The Asyrtiko is a finicky grape, prone to oxidation and a poor bedfellow of new oak. Both Sigalas and Argyros display, each in his own way, a complete mastery of oak. Sigalas, dedicated to organic farming, specializes in capturing the full depth of his fruit and the preservation of terroir, especially its mineral expression. For him, this means barrels are turned over at a rate of 25% per year and the less contact the better. Argyros, despite his family's long history of local winemaking, has a buttery pallette that originates in a classic approach to the blending of oaked and non-oaked product prior to bottling. Both separate first and second pressings, though blending them is more consistent with the philosophy of Argyros. Antoniou and Heliopoulos are making waves in Greece and beyond as they begin to establish clear identities of their own. Heliopoulos learned a hard lesson this year when Food and Wine Magazine gave his 2000 stainless steel OPAP high ratings, but panned his oakified Vareli version. The strength of his remaining portfolio guarantees no loss of momentum heading into the next vintage. The revitilization of red vinification at the hands of Argyros and Sigalas has yet to be acknowledged by the rest of Greece. Sigalas, Having already tamed the tragically tannic Mandilariá, has captured the elusive and gnarly Mavrotragano, no mean feat considering the reputation of the beast. It is only a matter of time before achievements such as these begin to alter perceptions of Santorini's red wine potential in the general market. Vineyard area on Santorini has fallen sharply since the mid-nineteenth century. Export demand at that time had supported the existence of 4,000 hectares of vines. By 1990, vineyard area was just over a third of that. The combination of lack of export demand and the encroachment of tourism on both land and labor resources have had a severe impact on local viticulture. Yiannis Paraskevopoulos is a compelling voice for the conservation of Santorini's wine legacy. "Unless the trend is reversed", he says, "Santorini could be without viticulture in twenty years." Paraskevopoulos has certainly made his own contribution to the preservation of this tradition. Many of Santorini's producers are less alarmed, knowing, perhaps, that recent successes in the achievement of international standards will go a long way towards regaining lost ground. |
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