Ask any sommelier to name Greece’s greatest white grape and you will get one answer: Assyrtiko. Born on Santorini’s volcanic slopes, it has become one of the most admired white varieties in the world. Here is what makes it special – and how to taste it at the source.

A grape forged by a volcano

Assyrtiko has grown on Santorini for centuries, in soils of volcanic ash, pumice and lava rock with almost no rain and constant Aegean wind. The vines survive by being woven into low basket shapes – the famous kouloura – that protect the grapes and harvest moisture from the night fog. Because phylloxera never took hold in the sandy volcanic soil, many vines grow on their own original roots, something almost unheard of in Europe.

What it tastes like

Great Assyrtiko is bone-dry and electric: citrus and green apple up front, a stony, smoky minerality underneath, and a saline finish that people describe as tasting the sea – or the volcano. Unusually, it keeps razor-sharp acidity even in Santorini’s heat, which is why it ages beautifully and pairs so well with grilled fish, tomato dishes and fava.

Beyond the dry style

The same grape leads Santorini’s two other signatures: Nykteri, a richer, often barrel-aged style traditionally harvested at night, and Vinsanto, the amber sweet wine made from sun-dried grapes and aged for years in oak.

Taste it where it was born

Reading about minerality is one thing – tasting it 300 metres above the caldera is another. Our small-group wine adventure compares Assyrtiko across three contrasting wineries with a certified sommelier, and the sunset edition ends with a glass as the sky turns gold. Curious which estates to visit? See our sommelier’s shortlist of Santorini wineries.