# SantoWines Winery

Activity company en Pyrgos

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/companies/santo-wines

## Who they are

SantoWines is the brand of the Union of Santorini Cooperatives, which began in 1911 as a fund to protect the island's vines and wine and to defend its farmers. Today it brings together some 1,200 active members, practically all the growers on Santorini. It works with the native varieties that grow in volcanic soil, above all assyrtiko, and makes white wines with the Santorini designation of origin, the sweet vinsanto, reds, rosés, sparkling and organic wines. It has a small organic vineyard of its own of 0.2 hectares, with assyrtiko, athiri, aidani and mavrotragano, and a nursery of local varieties for study.

## The Pyrgos winery

The current winery was finished in 1992 on the edge of the caldera, next to the village of Pyrgos. It is built on several levels that imitate the vineyard terraces of the cliff, and moves the must and wine by gravity, without pumps, from the arrival of the grapes to bottling. It has a capacity of 4,000 tonnes and ages whites, reds and vinsanto in oak barrels. The cooperative also has a factory in Monolithos, the only one still processing tomatoes on the island, where it also makes protected-designation Santorini fava, capers and other products.

Next to the winery it opened a wine-tourism centre that, according to the cooperative, receives more than 600,000 visitors a year. The terrace looks over the caldera and the volcano, and Wine Enthusiast magazine recommended it as the best place in Santorini to taste wine while watching the sunset.

## What you can do

The centre opens all year. It offers a guided tour of the winery, in which a member of the team explains the winemaking; they recommend it before the tasting. The tastings are à la carte: individual wines from any of its lines, guided flights and old vintages from its wine library. There is also a tasting of the Santo Roots extra virgin olive oils, from the island's olive trees, a Mediterranean restaurant with produce from the members, a documentary screening and a shop of wine and cooperative products. They organise weddings, events and conferences, and have a separate service for groups of more than ten. They have opened a second space, Santo 1911, at Vlychada, in the south of the island.

The website does not publish opening hours, tasting prices or the length of the tour. To enter the website you are asked to confirm the legal drinking age; if you go with children, ask when you book.

## How to book and languages

Tastings, the tour and the restaurant are booked in the Book online section of its website or by phone on +30 22860 22596 or +30 22860 23137. For sunset, in summer, it is worth booking a few days ahead. The website, in Greek and English, does not detail cancellation terms or in which languages the tour is given. The winery is on the road between Fira and Pyrgos, in the centre of the island.

## What they run

- [Assyrtiko and vinsanto tasting at the inland wineries](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/south-aegean/santorini/things-to-do/assyrtiko-winery-tastings), in Santorini. Wine Flight Tastings on the Terrace over the Caldera. Open all year. Book on its website

Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.

## Practical details

- Phone: +30 22860 22596

## Contact

- Web: https://santowines.gr/
- Coordenadas: 36.387, 25.433