WINE & SPIRITS

THE MYTHICAL ISLAND PRODUCES A NOTEWORTHY VITICULTURE THAT MAY BE GREEK TO YOU

Ihave traveled far and wide to taste the world's best wines—including those on our beloved Long Island—but in the Cyclades Islands of Greece, on Santorini, I came upon what surely must be a wine estate with the most sublime view on earth. Santo Wines sits on a high volcanic cliff some 1,000 feet above the azure Aegean Sea with an arresting view of a caldera, a dramatic semi-circle of sheer vertical cliffs carved out by the collapse of a volcanic cone after an eruption in 1600 b.c. In the distance are several smaller, uninhabited islands, cruise ships, sailing yachts and hillsides studded with shimmering white stucco houses, looking like snow atop the undulating peaks. Here, from Santo's terraced perch, I sipped a crisp Santorini AOC white wine and thought about mythology—specifically Dionysus, my favorite god.

DEEP BLUE SEE (click photo for larger view)

They've been making wines in the land of The Iliad and The Odyssey since the 17th century b.c. (wine presses have been found dating from the Minoan Age). Santorini has enjoyed 3,000 years of viticulture, thanks to a most unusual vine-trellising system: grapes grow within a basket formed from intertwining vines; a thicket of leaves, protecting the grapes from the hot sun, grows over the baskets, which have some of the oldest ungrafted rootstock in the world.

Vines made to suffer from a lack of nutrients and water can produce incredibly complex and flavorful wines. Shielding themselves from the island's constant winds, these grape baskets huddle along the ground and suck humidity from the porous volcanic stones. The island's main grape variety, Assyrtikoi> (often simply called "Santorini"), is a wine that must have excited Dionysus into a frenzy for its aromas of jasmine and white flowers and tastes of citrus and minerals. The wine is like a spray of lemon when paired with seafood, and will certainly delight fans of unoaked white varieties.

Elsewhere on the island, at Domaine Sigalas, I viewed the rugged hilly vineyards with vine-basket roots up to 100 years old and tasted Sigalas's expressive, hand-crafted wines, including wines made in the last decade; Santorini ages well because of its naturally high acidity and takes on honeyed notes and even a bit of petrol, like Riesling. At Boutari, one of Greece's leading wineries, the otherworldly views of the caldera challenged Santo's—as did its charming whites. But it was at a tiny certified organic winery, Hatzidakis, built into an underground cave, that I discovered the best Assyrtiko of the island. Oenologist Haridimos Hatzidakis makes thrillingly fresh Santorini with lemon, orange and grapefruit notes and a lingering finish. Before you know it, the word Santorini will be whispered in revered tones and give celebrated whites like Chablis, Sancerre and Grüner Veltliner some serious competition on the world stage.

WHERE TO FIND SANTORINI WINES CLOSER TO HOME:
Amagansett Wine & Spirits | 209 Main St., Amagansett, 631-267-3939
Domaine Franey Wine & Spirits | 459 Pantigo Rd., East Hampton, 631-324-0906
McNamara Liquors | 2102 Montauk Hwy., Bridgehampton, 631-537-1230
Wainscott Wine & Spirits | 354 Montauk Hwy., Wainscott, 631-537-2800
Wines by Morrell | 74 Montauk Hwy., East Hampton, 631-324-1230