Volcanic wines seem to be finding their way into the spotlight recently. Wines made from grapes grown in volcanic soils can be complex. Of course, depending on the location, altitude, climate, and age of the volcanic soil, you will get different results.
We are diving into the wines of Santorini, the Greek volcanic island whose eruption in the 17th century BCE was likely the most violent that the human species has ever experienced.
We received these wines as media samples through Santorini Volcanic Terroir. All opinions are our own.
The history of the volcanic vineyards on Santorini
The soil of this region is made of pumice, lava, and volcanic ash. The soil is inhospitable to phylloxera, so the vineyards are self-rooted, never having to be converted to American rootstock.
*phylloxera is a pest that was native to North America. It feeds on the Vitis vinifera wine grape roots, exposing them to disease. When American vines were brought to Europe in the 1850s, this pest, which does not affect American vines, came with them. It almost devastated the European vineyards. The solution came in grafting American rootstock to European vines.
The history of vineyards in Santorini goes back at least 4,000 years, with a 300-year respite following the eruption when there was no life here.
Vineyards here don’t look like the trellised vineyards you see in many other places. This place is hot and dry with strong winds. To protect the vines, they are grown close to the ground and woven into a basket shape called a “kouloura.” The fruit hangs in the center, protected from the elements.
Some of these vines have roots that are up to 300 years old. (talk about ‘Old Vines”)
The primary grape variety found here is Assyrtiko. Wines from these grapes have intense minerality or salinity, a sense of sea spray. The island sees little rainfall, so most of the moisture the vines take in comes from the sea air; these wines sing of the place in which they grow.
The bright acidity of these wines is elevated by the “meltemia,” a cool wind that blows across the island in the summer, which causes a shift to cool night temperatures.
This growing method also means that everything in the vineyard must be done by hand.
The vineyards of Santorini cover about 1200 hectares.
Volcanic Wines of Santorini
We tasted 2 wines, one from the largest co-op on the island, the other from a younger company exploring the boundaries of Greek wine.
Santo Wines
“Santorini Vine & Wine Protection Fund” was founded in 1911. It is the island’s largest organization, with 1,200 members, representing many of the family vineyards in Santorini.
In addition to the winery, their facility includes a tomato processing plant and a Wine Tourism Center. The winery is state-of-the-art and has gravity flow. The tomatoes of Santorini have their own PDO, and their plant is now the only processing facility on the island.
They are located in Pyrgos, overlooking the Caldera, providing an exceptional place to learn about the wines of the region.
Santo Wines Santorini Nykteri 2019
Nykteri means “staying up all night.”. This traditional wine is primarily Assyrtiko with a bit of Aidani and Athiri thrown in. The grapes are pressed the night after being harvested, thus “staying up all night” wine.
This 2019 vintage showed notes in the wine that intensify with aging. It was a medium gold color, with honey, lemon zest, and cooked pears on the nose. You also get honeysuckle, warm baking spices, dried fruits, and a bit of lanoline (the note I most associate with Semillion).
SRP $39 abv 14%
Gai’a Wines
Founded in 1994 by Yiannis Paraskevopoulous and Leion Karatsalos, Gai’a looks to transform the wines of Greece, pushing boundaries and being a little provocative. They focus on wines from Nemea and Santorini.
The Santorini wines are made in a winery on the beach on the island’s east side. They revitalized a tomato factory built in the early 1900s to house their winery.
Gai’a Assyrtiko Wild Ferment 2022
100% Assyrtiko, but not in the typical style. Do you remember I mentioned that some of the vines on the island have root systems that have been around for up to 300 years? These vines do. The vines themselves are 70-80 years old.
The grapes are cold soaked for 12 hours and then spontaneously ferment with the indigenous years. Then, they break up the juice with 45% in stainless steel, 45% in barrels, and the final 10% in ceramic spheres.
While tasting this wine, the notes of the sea were dominant, with chalk, salt, and sea spray followed by green fruit, like unripe peach and lemon. After it opens a bit, you get light notes of warm honeycomb and spice.
It is clear in the glass but smells cloudy…how to explain…it is a wine that has melded. While still bright, picking out the individual notes is difficult because the wine has melded, like a good stew on the 2nd or 3rd day.
SRP $49 abv 13.5%
Pairing with Avgolemono
Avgolemono might be familiar to you if you are familiar with Greek food. It was not familiar to me, but it sounded delicious.
I had just come across a recipe for this dish by Erin of Platings and Pairings, and it sounded delicious. I went on to find several other recipes. I eventually settled on a combination of Erin’s recipe and one from Eva at Adventures in Cooking.
My updated version, combined the orzo and whipped egg whites of Eva’s recipe with the dill of Erin’s. (recipe below)
In the end, I had a bright, lemony soup that was clean and delicious, and I found it went well with both wines.
Michael found it too lemony for him and craved a bit of richness in the soup. So, I returned to the drawing board to try a second version.
This time, I opted for Erin’s trick to thicken the soup by blending 2 egg yolks with a cup of cooked rice and lemon juice and pureeing until smooth. I kept the orzo (I was set on that texture), but I opted for dark meat chicken this time and blended a bit of garlic, “better than bouillon,” to give the broth more depth. (this recipe is below also)
This made the soup thicker and richer and was much more to Michael’s taste. Again, this paired beautifully with both wines.
I invite you to try both versions and see which you enjoy better!
Perhaps some dessert?
After enjoying these wines and this dish, perhaps you should finish up your meal with a delicious Vinsanto from Santorini and a bit of Baklava! Check out our post and recipe here!
Avgolemono – egg and lemon soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups of broth
- ¾ cup of orzo
- 2 eggs
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 1/2 cups white meat chicken
- Fresh dill
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- Lemon slices
- Lemon zest
Instructions
- Heat 4 cups of stock to boiling
- Add orzo and cook.
- Whisk egg whites until foamy
- Add egg yolks and lemon juice mix
- Ladle in 2 cups of the warm broth (not too hot)
- Whisk until foamy
- Return to broth
- Add chicken to heat
- Stir in ½ of your fresh dill
- Season with salt and pepper
- Top with more fresh dill, lemon slices, lemon zest, fresh ground pepper, and drips of olive oil
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 308Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 113mgSodium 523mgCarbohydrates 25gFiber 1gSugar 10gProtein 23g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Avgolemono version 2 (a little richer)
Ingredients
- 5 cups of broth
- 1 tsp garlic "better than bouillon"
- ½ cup of orzo
- ½ cup cooked rice
- 2 egg yolks
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 cup of dark-meat chicken
- Fresh dill
- Salt
- Pepper
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- Heat 5 cups of stock to boiling – stirring in the "better than bouillon"
- Pull out 1 cup to cool slightly
- Add orzo to the remaining 4 cups and cook
- To a blender, add the egg yolks, cooked rice, and lemon juice mix
- Ladle in 1 cup of the warm broth (not too hot) and puree until smooth
- Return this mixture to the broth
- Add dark meat chicken to heat
- Before serving, stir in ½ of your fresh dill
- Season with salt and pepper
- Top with more fresh dill, lemon slices, fresh ground pepper, and drips of olive oil.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 370Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 174mgSodium 835mgCarbohydrates 37gFiber 2gSugar 13gProtein 25g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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