Santorini Travel Guide
Santorini Food & Wine
What to eat and drink on a volcano: the island produce grown in ash and pumice, the dishes to order, the wines that made Santorini famous, how to plan winery visits and tips for eating well without paying only for the view.
Santorini looks barren, and in a sense it is: rain is rare, the soil is volcanic ash and pumice, and the wind blows hard for much of the summer. Yet out of that harsh ground comes some of the most distinctive produce in Greece, and one of the most admired white wines in the world. Eating and drinking well here is one of the great pleasures of a visit, as long as you know what to look for.
The produce of the volcano. Island farmers grow without irrigation, relying on the moisture that the porous volcanic soil traps from sea mist and dew, and the result is small, intensely flavoured crops. The most famous are the cherry tomatoes, tiny and sweet, traditionally sun-dried or made into paste; the fava, a yellow split pea grown here for thousands of years and cooked into a silky puree; the white aubergine, sweeter and less bitter than the purple kind; capers and their leaves, which grow wild on the cliffs; and chlorotyri, a soft, slightly sour fresh goat cheese. You will find all of them in local tavernas and as souvenirs in delicatessens.
What to order. Start with fava, served warm or at room temperature, topped with olive oil, raw onion and capers. Order tomatokeftedes, the fritters of local tomatoes, onion and herbs, crisp outside and soft inside, and melitzanosalata made with white aubergines. Look for salads with chlorotyri and capers, grilled or fried fresh fish by the harbours of Ammoudi, Vlychada and the south coast, and grilled octopus. For a quick lunch, souvlaki and gyros are everywhere and good value. Desserts include the island melitinia, little sweet cheese pastries made at Easter, and anything with Vinsanto.
The wine. Santorini has made wine for thousands of years, and its vineyards are unique. The volcanic soil kept out the phylloxera pest that devastated most European vineyards in the nineteenth century, so many vines grow on very old roots. To protect them from the wind, growers train them into low round baskets, the kouloures, with the grapes ripening inside. The great grape is Assyrtiko, which makes dry white wines of piercing acidity and mineral, almost salty, character that age well and pair perfectly with seafood. Nykteri is a traditional style of Assyrtiko, once made from grapes picked at night and aged in barrel. Vinsanto, a protected sweet wine, is made from sun-dried grapes and aged for years, becoming deep amber with flavours of dried fruit, honey and caramel. Look out too for reds from Mavrotragano, a local grape revived in recent decades. Old wineries were often dug into the rock as cave cellars called canaves, some of which now house tasting rooms.
Visiting wineries. Santorini has more than a dozen wineries open for visits, many around Pyrgos, Megalochori, Exo Gonia and Messaria. Santo Wines, the cooperative winery of island growers on the caldera edge at Pyrgos, is the best known, with a huge terrace facing the volcano, tailor-made tasting flights, a restaurant and an olive oil tasting; book online, especially for sunset. Smaller family wineries offer more intimate tastings with the winemakers. If you want to visit several, take a small-group wine tour or a guided island tour with a winery stop, so nobody has to drive; the island day tour sold through Tiqets includes a winery tasting along with Akrotiri and the Oia sunset. At Vedema, in Megalochori, the Canava Wine Bar of the resort, which grew from a four-hundred-year-old winery, hosts a daily tasting just after sunset.
Eating well, not just with a view. The restaurants on the caldera edge in Fira, Imerovigli and Oia charge for the view, and some do not justify it with the food. A good strategy is to have a drink or a light meal with the sunset on the rim, then walk a few streets back, or drive inland, for dinner. The tavernas of Pyrgos, Megalochori, Exo Gonia and the fishing harbours of Ammoudi and Vlychada are often better value and more authentic. Book ahead for popular places in high season, and remember that Greeks dine late. For a special occasion, some hotel restaurants are destinations in their own right, including Varoulko Santorini at Grace Hotel, Lure at Mystique, Petra at Canaves Oia and Mr. E at Istoria.
Cooking classes and food tours. Several farms and wineries offer cooking classes in which you learn to make fava, tomatokeftedes and other dishes with island produce, often followed by lunch with wine. They are a fun way to spend a hot afternoon and a good activity for families.
Seasons. Restaurants follow the tourist season: from April to October the choice is huge; from November to March many close, especially in Oia and on the beaches. Fira and Pyrgos keep the most places open in winter, and wineries may reduce hours, so check before you go.
What to bring home. Sun-dried cherry tomatoes and tomato paste, fava, capers, Vinsanto and bottles of Assyrtiko, and local honey and herbs. Wineries can often ship cases home, and delicatessens in Fira and Pyrgos pack products for travel.