Sigalas

Domaine Sigalas is one of the most famous wineries in Greece and represents one of the best excellences of Santorini, the famous Aegean island. Its success is mainly due to Paris Sigalas, who has been able to enhance and make known worldwide the particularity of the island's terroir and in particular its iconic grape variety: the Assyrtiko. Paris Sigalas, at the time of his university studies, spent his vacations in Santorini and participated in the harvest of the family's small estate. The world of wine thus began to fascinate him more and more, until he decided to devote himself completely to viticulture, taking over the vineyards and his grandfather's valuable teachings.

The island of Santorini is a small universe apart. It is located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea and its history is also unique. The tradition of vine cultivation dates back to the 17th century B.C., but in 1630 B.C., the island was destroyed by a very violent volcanic eruption, which plunged much of Santorini into the sea. Today what remains is the outer rim of the ancient crater, a reminder of one of the most important cataclysms in human history. Only several centuries after the catastrophic eruption did life begin again on the island and the ancient vineyards were restored. Since then the custom of cultivating vines has always been part of the tradition of the place and still represents one of the most important activities for the inhabitants.

Santorini is an island with unique soil and climate characteristics. The climate is hot and dry, typically Mediterranean, always very windy thanks to the presence of the Meltemi, which blows violently from the northern quadrants throughout the summer months. The soils are of volcanic origin and consist mainly of black sands, rich in minerals. Thanks to these special conditions, the vineyards have never been attacked by phylloxera and there are still over 100-year-old free-standing vines. To avoid wind damage and to collect the little morning moisture, the vines are trained on the ground with the shoots forming a kind of circular basket. Domaine Sigalas owns a 40-hectare estate near Oia, in the northern part of the island, cultivated mainly with the native Assyrtico vine, as well as with the other white grapes Aidani, Athiri and red grapes Mandilaria and Mavrotragano.