Greece

The wines of Santorini are exceptional. The picturesque island is one of the most heavily touristed places on earth, but they somehow still maintain an under-the-radar wine region that can compete with the rest of Europe at the highest levels.

Wine has been made on the Cycladic island for around 3,500 years, and in that time, the growers developed special techniques to protect the grapes from the high winds, called the Meltemi, that rip through the island. At many places on the island, you see little woven vine baskets called kouloura, where the few bunches growing on the 100+-year-old vines hang on the inside, safely protected from the wind.

This wine comes from Argyros, one of the leading estates on the island, who calls this their most important bottling as it represents everything they stand for: depth, definition, and concentration.

The vines are over 100 years old and are located in the best vineyard locations on the island: Messaria, Karterados, Pyrgos, Megalochori, and Akrotiri. It is a perfect example of what makes Santorini Assyrtiko so special. It shows purity and raciness without excesses; even better, it can age for at least a decade.

For a little extra credit if you ever visit Santorini or some of the nicer wine bars in Athens (Say hello to everyone at Oinoscent or Heteroclito) keep your eye open for Matthios Argyros’s other project Volcanic Slope Vineyards which only makes one transcendent wine called “Pure.”

-Will