Before booking this wine tour, I had no idea that Santorini was famous for its wine. The island is best known for white and dessert wines, including Assyrtiko, Nykteri, and Vinsanto. There are some reds produced on the island, Mandilaria and Mavrotragano, but they make up the minority. So if you only drink red wine this may not be the place for you.
We booked our small-group tour through Santorini Wine Adventure. These tours are with groups of 10 or less, and they have a daytime or sunset option. If you’re looking for something more intimate, they have the option for private tours as well. Keep in mind the private tours are a little pricier – starting at €600 ($700) for 3 people. Our sunset small group tour was €150/per person ($164/pp). This price included three wineries as well as snack pairings.
Many of the roads in Santorini are narrow/not car friendly, so it’s not always possible to be picked up directly where you’re staying. So after purchasing your tickets, you’ll inform them of where you’re staying so they can confirm a pick-up location. Thankfully our hotel was just off one of the main roads in Fira, making it easy to reach the meeting point down the street. We were whisked around the island in an air conditioned Mercedes sprinter van.
Looking for more to do in Santorini? Check out my 2-day itinerary!
A Pre-Winery Pitstop
Our guide Marina first brought us out into a vineyard to learn some of the history surrounding vineyards in Santorini. Conditions in Santorini are unique: the soil is mainly volcanic pumice, it hardly ever rains, and irrigation is not allowed except under certain conditions. Because of all this, and the strong winds, the vineyards themselves look different than you may be used to. You won’t find traditional rows of vines and trellises. Instead you’ll see what looks like a random assortment of wreath or basket shapes close to the ground. The purpose of this structure is to protect the grapes, which grow in the middle, from the sun and high winds. Every year the new vine growth is woven into the existing basket, until the 5 year mark when it is cut back and the process is begun again.
Wine Tour Stop #1 – Hatzidakis Winery
Hands down, Hatzidakis Winery had the best wines of the three wineries we visited. Which honestly surprised me, considering it was a small, family-owned, organic-certified winery. The tour started where the stainless steel production tanks are housed and ended with a tasting in the large underground barrel aging cellar. All the wines made here are unfiltered, meaning you’ll see some sediment in the bottom of the bottles. My favorites were the Rosette and the Nykteri. I enjoyed them so much that I may be ordering from their New York City distributor in the near future.
Wine Tour Stop #2 – Santo Wines
Santo Wines is situated on the edge of the caldera, giving it some AMAZING views. So it makes sense that we stopped here just before sunset. It was easily the largest and most touristy of all the wineries we visited. Santo is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Hatzidakis, in that it is a large co-op of growers and producers. Their website boasts over 1,200 members. There was also a ‘tourism center’, aka wine/gift store, we were able to peruse before heading to the next winery. Pro tip: if you go at sunset or in the shoulder seasons, make sure to bring a cardigan or jacket because it was pretty windy.
We were each given an unexpectedly large meat and cheese plate to go along with our tasting. My favorite wine here was a tie between the Assyrtiko and the Brut.
Wine Tour Stop #3 – Anhydrous Winery
If I’m being completely honest, I remember next to nothing about the wines at Anhydrous Winery. All the other wine we drank during the day is probably to blame. I do recall having one of the few reds of the entire tasting here, but there’s a chance that’s just because there is photo evidence! I did enjoy the small bites we were given, especially the meatball on pita. Before we left, they even brought out a birthday desert so we could all sing happy birthday to my mom.
Overall Thoughts
I’ve done a few self-guided wine tours across the Finger Lakes region, as well as one in Lancaster County Pennsylvania (which surprisingly had a few good options!), but this was my first real wine tour. It was nice not having to make one person in the group be the designated driver for once. And thanks to having a guide, we learned more about the wines and grape varieties than we would have on our own. This is a tour I’d definitely take again! But in case you still need more convincing, check out the over 3,000 reviews people have given them on TripAdvisor.
These are my main pros and cons if you’re considering booking this tour as well:
Pros:
- We were given a lot more food than expected. Before going on the tour, our group purposefully ate a large lunch just in case the ‘bites’ were only a couple pieces of cheese and crackers.
- We also got to try a couple more glasses than the 12 that was advertised.
Cons:
- I wish I’d gotten a list of which wines we tried at each place and/or that I’d taken notes. A couple bottles stand out in my memory, but for the most part the names all blended together since we tried them in such quick succession.
- We also didn’t buy any wines during the tour, as the cost to ship them back to the US is a bit crazy. You could probably try putting a bottle or two in a checked bag, but we only used carry-ons for this trip.
Have you been on a wine tour in Santorini? What other wineries did you visit/enjoy?
Let me know in the comments!
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