Vinsanto

Today was our trip to the wineries day.  First stop, Boutari Winery (they won International Winery of the Year for 12 Years).  Since this was our first vineyard on the island we did the grand tour plus tasting.  Our guide took us out to show us how they wrap the new vines around the wreath shaped stems so they are closer to the ground, unlike in the USA where we grow them upwards.  This is so they are not ruined by the strong "Meltimi" winds plus the volcanic rock absorbs moisture and keeps the vines moist since they don't have a lot of irrigation systems here.
 
Next we saw a 15 minute video on how wine came to be on Santorini.  Then on to the tasting.  This winery produces only white wines.  My favorite is the dessert wine called Vinsanto…only produced on Santorini.  They sun dry the grapes for at least 7 days to increase the sweetness naturally from the sun.  Then they leave it in the barrell for 3-5 years.
After leaving Boutari with our many purchases (everyone picked a bottle of their favorite to bring home), we stopped for lunch at Senior Zorba’s, the only Mexican Restaurant in Santorini…what a treat it was…and oh what a view!  They made the best Salsa!  During conversation we found out that the owners wife is from Denver, hence the road sign for Denver, 11,661 km. 

The next winery we visited was Santos.  We skipped the tour at this one and went straight for the tasting.  They produce Rose’ and Red Wines as well.  After enjoying the fruits of the vines, we headed home to enjoy the coolness of the Cave House.