In the Aegean, Volcanic Vines Make Mythical Wines
Beneath the beauty of Santorini and Lemnos lies a volcanic legacy that shaped their landscapes and winemaking. These Aegean islands, forged by eruptions, now yield extraordinary wines, with volcanic soil enriching the vines and crafting unique flavors.
The beauty of the Aegean is almost too much to behold. Each day in the Cyclades, a flaming sun rises on whitewashed houses carved into rugged cliffs, which tower above the twinkling, turquoise waters of the Mediterranean. But what makes islands like Santorini and Lemnos truly striking is that they were once ugly ducklings; laid waste to and levelled by a series of volcanic eruptions in prehistoric times.
Olga Gavrilova
The most well-known of these disastrous events is the Theran eruption of 1600 BC, which hastened the extinction of the advanced Minoan civilisation from Crete. This eruption and many others created Santorini as we know it today — with its vast, sunken caldera, it was reborn from its own ashes over the course of several hundred years. While little traces of destruction remain, the Cyclades’ volcanic past continues to tell a story today, through its dark, arid, soil medium and what prospers there today; grapes that grow coiled in little baskets, which are harvested to make some of the finest wines in the world.
Much of Greek mythology and history has been wrapped up with the ritual of drinking wine; it was an activity around which the key tenets of life and pleasure revolved: philosophy, art, poetry, religion, music and — while not entirely pleasurable — politics.
Alexandros Michailidis
The Aegean’s most famous grape variety is, of course, Assyrtiko. It is a grape that produces incredibly dry white wines that pick up on the essence of its surroundings, with hits of sea-salt, lemon and a pleasing fecundity.
Peter McCombie, a wine consultant and commentator who holds a Master of Wine, tells us that Assyrtiko is an “extraordinary” grape.
“It is unusual if not unique in being a Mediterranean white grape that holds its acidity, which is important for freshness and ageability. It has sheer class. That class is in evidence beyond Santorini; Assyrtiko makes excellent wines on its own and in blends, elsewhere in Greece.” For his part, McCombie believes that Greece’s best white wine is made from an Assyrtiko Semillon blend on nearby island of Tinos.
But if we are to unpack what makes the Aegean’s wines so special, we must first begin with the ground, its volcanic soil. Wine procurers all over the world have waxed lyrical about its flavour-enhancing properties, but as McCombie explains, it is difficult to pin down exactly what flavours this kind of soil can impart to wine. “It’s absolutely crucial,” he says, “but winemakers can be a bit prone to waffle, so we have to be careful about the claims we make! I think it is more what it brings in structure and taste. What it seems to do is enhance the natural acidity and bring a note of minerality. Minerality is a bit of a tricky concept, however. Sometimes we can find a kind of salinity, which we might call mineral. We can also find a sense of freshness and tanginess that brings extra dimension and lip smacking delight.”
Read more: A Wine Lover’s Guide to Morocco
But to get that delicious glass of wine to our table in the first place, it must be harvested.
Like everything that grows on the dry plains of the Cyclades, the Assyrtiko grape is a survivor. While volcanic soil may be essential to the style of the wine, McCombie points out that the climate: “the heat and the wind and the Assyrtiko grape in and of itself” is key.
Sven Hansche
By nature, the Assyrtiko grape is incredibly resistant to drought and fungal diseases, but the earth does its part too. Vineyards are embedded into pumice soil, and while there are remnants of ash and lava, thankfully there is no clay, meaning that the infamous crop-destroyer, phylloxera, has never been able to run rife. Plus — the roots go deep, with some reportedly reaching the wise old age of 400. These in turn, are given a stronger start by the Cyclades’ morning mists, which create a humid environment that encourages them to dig in even deeper. This daily water stress has a taste benefit: resulting in a greater concentration of flavour and nutrients.
Read more: A train ride around Europe’s most active volcano
Still, these are islands we are talking about, and so wind poses a real threat. Grecian winemakers have had to adapt to trellises being blown away by pruning vines to take the shape of a ring-like basket, known as “koulouri.” This formation protects the young grapes inside, sheltering them from harsh heat, wind and sands.
Robert Paul van Beets
This method of raising the grapes is also used to cultivate some of the island’s other renowned white grapes like Aidani and Athiri — which are being increasingly blended with Assyrtiko — as well as the red Mavrotragano grape. The latter was brought back several times from the brink of extinction by Haridimos Hatzidakis, of the now-acclaimed Hatzidakis family winery. These small, thick-skinned grapes, which are harvested entirely by hand, recall red currants and spices on the palate, and as I can attest to, are incredibly moreish to imbibe.
These wines then, so unprecedented as to be miraculous, seem fated to prosper. Indeed, much of Greek mythology and history has been wrapped up with the ritual of drinking wine; it was an activity around which the key tenets of life and pleasure revolved: philosophy, art, poetry, religion, music and — while not entirely pleasurable — politics. Greeks also worshipped Dionysus, the god of wine, pleasure and fertility, who was notable for inciting festivity, hedonism and even ecstasy. He was the son of the chief god Zeus, and Semele, the daughter of a king, hence his high status.
Read more: How Greek myths inspire Sicilians to embrace the here and now
For our purposes, the Cyclades have always been significant when it comes to wine. Santorini has been renowned for its wine since ancient times, with Theran-era mosaics at the Athens Archaeological Museum showing several scenes revolving around the wine and the vine. But if we’re really talking about the wines of antiquity, we need to look at another island in the Aegean, Lemnos.
Shutterstock
Per ancient Greek mythology, Lemnos was fittingly the island of Hephaestus, the god of fire and volcanoes. Myth tells us that he arrived on this remote island when his mother, Hera — goddess of family, childbirth, marriage and women — threw him from Mount Olympus due to his looks. When he landed, he broke his leg and remained lame. He was cared for by the island’s inhabitants, and in return he taught them the art of metalworking. It makes sense then that such a historic myth-laden island would be frequented by some of the country’s greatest minds — in fact, it is said that Ancient Greek writers including Homer, Aristotle, Hesiod and Polydefkis drank the native Limnio grape — a variety that still thrives to this day. This would make it the oldest referenced grape in the world, and thus a priceless artefact of viticulture.
Read more: Cultivating Resilience in Mendoza
The red variety of the Limnio grape is a standout volcanic dry wine. Incredibly herbaceous with hints of bay leaves, it also boasts a hint of cherry. Turning to McCombie, he illuminates that it is typically planted on the mainland, but performs best in cooler, higher vineyards, most often in blends with international varieties. “It typically has high alcohol and contributes colour and good acidity to these blends, along with herbal complexity,” he continues, adding, to my disappointment: “It is said to be one of the most ancient varieties still cultivated in Greece, though there is not much real evidence that the ancient Greeks were talking about the same grape.”
While the ancestry of the Limnio grape will forever be called into question, one truth remains — the wines of the Aegean are sui generis. Fortified from the earth, they are irrevocably wrapped up in the Greece of ancient times. Drinking them, then, harkens to the past to remind us of one of life’s enduring pleasures: drinking a fine glass of wine. I think we can all cheer to that.
