Vin Santo … A Style of Wine Older Than Old

What usually comes to mind when the Greek island of Santorini is mentioned; boom, big boom, humongous boom. Santorini was the site of the largest volcanic eruption to have ever occurred in recorded history. You probably didn’t catch it on the evening news because it happened about 3600 years ago. That eruption is credited by some as the cause of the fabled city of Atlantis disappearing beneath the sea. The Biblical story of the plagues of Egypt and the splitting of the sea by Moses has also been suggested as having been caused by the aftershocks of that monumental catastrophe.

One would expect that the entire island of Santorini would also have disappeared as did most of the island of Krakatau did in 1883 when the Krakatoa volcano erupted. Some of Santorini remained and, in its own way, the island resurrected itself. Today Santorini is one of the prime stops for the Greek island tours and a place where local and often little known grapes are made into incredibly deep and interesting sweet wines called Vin Santo (Holy Wine) that mirror a style of wines of ancient Greece.

Although the ancient Greeks would often mix tree resins with their dry wines, they drank their sweet wines without that turpentine like resin. Santorini Vinsanto wines are very close to the wines of old because they are still made from the local grapes by a formula described by the poet Isidoros in the seventh century BCE. Selected gapes are late picked and set out on straw mats to dry into raisins and it is these raisins that are made into Vinsanto. The Santorini Vinsanto wines are truly the history and personality of Greece and the Greek people and if you are planning a toga party or something else Greek, these are the perfect wines for or with desert.

Santo Wines Vinsanto ($30). A true expression of Greece and the Greek love for the sweet wines specifically, those that come from Santorini. This wine is made in the classical tradition with 85% Assyrtiko, 15% Aidani grapes, and then aged for 8 years. The aroma is alive with chocolate, toasted coffee beans, honey, dried nuts, and sour cherries, which dominate the flavor and the extraordinarily long finish. This wine should be served with or as desert.

Giai Vin Santo ($44). Made from the Assyrtiko grape with small amounts Athiri and Aidani added in for extra depth. Only a portion of the grapes were sun dried while the remaining portion was shade dried to enhance fruit freshness. It is the freshness of this wine that is its hallmark and what lifts the Giai Vin Santo to great heights of quality and enjoyment.

Sigalas 2004 Vinsanto Santorini ($46). Another variation of the classical Vin Santo formula which in this case, the wine has been made from Assyrtiko 75%, Aidani 25% grapes and displays an inviting amber color and the aromas of raisins and apricots. The flavor is a whirl of all of the sweet fruits you have ever loved backed up by fruit acid that enhances the tasting experience then ending in a long lasting finish that is almost indescribable.

2006 Artemis Karamolegos ($35). When this wine is opened, the room fills with the aromas of dried fruits and jams, nuts, citrus and honey, with the accent on the honey. The flavor is as big as the aroma and presents an enjoyable wine with which to the end a meal or evening.

Gavalas 2006 Vinsanto ($32). This wine abounds with the flavors and aromas of figs, prunes, honey, and dried nuts. As with all of the Santorini Vinsanto, is a perfect accompaniment to dark chocolate or chocolate desserts.

2006 Canava Roussous Vinsanto ($34). We are running out of superlative for the sweet wines of Santorini, the 2006 Canava Roussous Vinsanto, as are all of the other Vin Santo wines, is a sensory fiesta and not a negative thing to be found. Do try them. They are well worth your interest.