Grape variety
Assyrtiko
Assyrtiko, Santorini’s white grape: volcanic soil, kouloura baskets, high acidity, saline freshness. Origin and spread across Greece and to Australia.
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Santorini (Cyclades), native to the island
- Main regions
- Santorini; other Aegean islands, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese; Australia (Clare Valley)
- Training
- Kouloura: shoots wound into a basket, mostly ungrafted vines
- Typical aromas
- Lemon, lime, white flowers, salt, flint; with age honey and nuts
- Classic pairing
- Grilled fish, octopus, seafood, feta
Assyrtiko is Greece’s best-known white grape and comes from Santorini, a volcanic island in the Cyclades. Its special quality is that even at full ripeness and in the heat of the Aegean summer it keeps a high, fresh acidity, which is rare in warm regions. The wines are dry, mineral, often saline, with a tension one usually expects from cool sites; many are made from the variety alone.
The soil, called “aspa” in Greek, is made of volcanic ash, pumice and lava rock and contains almost no clay; barely more than 400 millimetres of rain fall in a year and in summer the meltemi blows. Phylloxera finds no hold in the loose volcanic sand, so many vines grow on their own roots. Against the wind the growers developed the kouloura: the shoots are wound into a flat basket, the bunches hang sheltered inside, and the night mist settles on the leaves. Yields are tiny.
Young Assyrtiko from Santorini is strict and steely, with lemon, lime, white flowers and a saline, flinty note; sweetness plays no part, the acidity carries the wine. Some producers age it in barrel, others in steel; both can last five to ten years and more, then showing honey, nuts and dried fruit. Anyone who likes Petite Arvine from Valais will recognise a salty, grapefruity tension. On Santorini Assyrtiko is the backbone of the Santorini appellation, which requires a majority of it; Athiri and Aidani are added, and Vinsanto is a sweet wine from sun-dried grapes.
From Santorini the variety has spread across Greece: it now grows on other Aegean islands, in Macedonia, in Central Greece and in the Peloponnese. On the mainland, cooler and wetter sites give a purer, more fruit-driven style, while in warmer ones herbal notes such as thyme appear. Because it holds its acidity in the heat, it also interests producers in other hot countries: in the Clare Valley in South Australia the Jim Barry estate planted Assyrtiko in 2012, and a few plantings are reported in California too.
At the table Assyrtiko is a fish wine: grilled fish, octopus, seafood, feta and vegetables in olive oil; its acidity also suits sushi and lemon chicken. Serve it well chilled, at 8 to 10 degrees.