Santos Wine Tour, Santorini

We arrived at our hotel in Santorini before our rooms were ready, so we stored our bags and joined the trip to the Santos Winery.  Our guide had said the views from the winery were spectacular, and he was right!  It was one of many OMG moments!  Below is the view as we approached the main gate of the winery.

The wine tour was the usual walk through the crushing area, then on to where the sediment is drained and collected, and then to fementation.  For the reds we saw the barrels for aging, and then finally bottling. But what made this tour more interesting was to learn about the different technique needed to grow grapes in Santorini.  Because the climate is so dry and the sun intense, the grape vines are not strung up on trellises as in most places.  Instead, the vines are trained into a circle on the ground, about the size of a  wreath you might put on your door for the holidays.  The leaves of the plants are kept on the outside and the fruit is in the middle under the protection of the vines and leaves.  This protects the fruit and each night the plant collects some moisture  as the ground cools from the heat of the day.  The fields of grape vines with circles on the ground are strange at first, but you see them everywhere on Santorini.  It is a technique unique to the island.

At the end of the tour we gathered on a beautiful terrace for lunch and tastings of three of the Santos wines.  Again the views were fantastic!  White wine is is their best product and we enjoyed trying their offerings.  Below are a few of the photos from the terrace.  Watch for the full set to be uploaded to the photo library.

Below is the caldera with Fira at the upper right and Oia at the farthest point north.  The dries ship is anchored directly in front of Fira.  Notice the sediment layers visible in the side of the cliffs.

Below is the volcano crater, standing above the water as it's own island.  In the distance is another island that was once part of Santorini when it was a circular island.  

Enjoying the OMG views, with Fira visible in the rim.