Since 1922 when the first wine was produced, three generations of our family have been making wine. Our passion and love for wine continue to flourish
The beginning for us and the effort of KALLISTON Winery & Vineyards is our place and the love for our roots… Our Santorini. A place with unique landscape, volcanic soil composition & unique winemaking tradition.
The history of the island is connected to viticulture and naturally it is connected to the history of our families. The goal of KALLISTON Winery & Vineyards is sustainable agriculture and guide our values such as respect for the place and landscape, responsibility, and persistence in highlighting the expressiveness of Santorini wines.
A historical wine terroir with an age of more than 4,000 years and with an amazing historical continuity, since its only interruption was for a period of 2-3 centuries immediately after the great eruption of the Santorini volcano in 1613 BC, when the volcanic ash “ aspa” covered the island from end to end destroying every kind of life.
Prehistoric viticulture in Kallisti (one of the ancient names of Santorini) is confirmed by a number of finds in Akrotiri, excavations such as charcoal from vine wood, scattered seeds in the settlement but also a number of amphorae and more. Cadmus and then the Dorians of Thera ( the founder king of Santorini ) continued the viticulture on the island, in an inhospitable dry soil as fine as powder, which was plagued by strong winds and eroded by winter storms. It took centuries to collect the petrified black lavas stones and create the ‘drystones,’ vineyard terraces.
Through time, the experience, patience and dexterity of the Theraean viticulturist had to be enlisted to create the two unique pruning systems the “turned” or “crowned” and the “cup-shaped with coils” (kouloura system) that have been preserved unchanged up to nowadays , passing from generation to generation . The E.U. understanding the importance of these pruning supports them financially as important environmental practices.
The continuity of the historic vineyard of Santorini was not disturbed even when the terrible insect of the vine phylloxera destroyed the vineyards of the whole world, and it was necessary to graft the American vine rootstock with the European varieties in order to perpetuate the species. In Santorini, the inhospitable volcanic soil of the island prevent the phylloxera to survive. The Santorini vineyard preserves a large number of ancient indigenous varieties of the Cyclades with great oenological and scientific interest. Among these varieties, the dominant variety is Assyrtiko, which is ranked among the finest white varieties of the world vineyard. In the harsh soil and climate conditions of Santorini, Assyrtiko developed excellent adaptation and a special chemical composition capable of producing very high-quality wines of different types.
The beginning for us and the effort of KALLISTON Winery & Vineyards is our place and the love for our roots… Our Santorini. A place with unique landscape, volcanic soil composition & unique winemaking tradition.
The history of the island is connected to viticulture and naturally it is connected to the history of our families. The goal of KALLISTON Winery & Vineyards is sustainable agriculture and guide our values such as respect for the place and landscape, responsibility, and persistence in highlighting the expressiveness of Santorini wines.
A historical wine terroir with an age of more than 4,000 years and with an amazing historical continuity, since its only interruption was for a period of 2-3 centuries immediately after the great eruption of the Santorini volcano in 1613 BC, when the volcanic ash “ aspa” covered the island from end to end destroying every kind of life.
Prehistoric viticulture in Kallisti (one of the ancient names of Santorini) is confirmed by a number of finds in Akrotiri, excavations such as charcoal from vine wood, scattered seeds in the settlement but also a number of amphorae and more. Cadmus and then the Dorians of Thera ( the founder king of Santorini ) continued the viticulture on the island, in an inhospitable dry soil as fine as powder, which was plagued by strong winds and eroded by winter storms. It took centuries to collect the petrified black lavas stones and create the ‘drystones,’ vineyard terraces.
Through time, the experience, patience and dexterity of the Theraean viticulturist had to be enlisted to create the two unique pruning systems the “turned” or “crowned” and the “cup-shaped with coils” (kouloura system) that have been preserved unchanged up to nowadays , passing from generation to generation . The E.U. understanding the importance of these pruning supports them financially as important environmental practices.
The continuity of the historic vineyard of Santorini was not disturbed even when the terrible insect of the vine phylloxera destroyed the vineyards of the whole world, and it was necessary to graft the American vine rootstock with the European varieties in order to perpetuate the species. In Santorini, the inhospitable volcanic soil of the island prevent the phylloxera to survive. The Santorini vineyard preserves a large number of ancient indigenous varieties of the Cyclades with great oenological and scientific interest. Among these varieties, the dominant variety is Assyrtiko, which is ranked among the finest white varieties of the world vineyard. In the harsh soil and climate conditions of Santorini, Assyrtiko developed excellent adaptation and a special chemical composition capable of producing very high-quality wines of different types.
