AKRA CHRYSSOS’ SANTORINI PDO REFLECTS THE CHRYSSOS FAMILY’S DEEP-ROOTED CONNECTION TO WINEMAKING. IT IS PRODUCED FROM THREE PRIVATELY OWNED VINEYARD PLOTS LOCATED IN SOME OF THE ISLAND’S MOST RENOWNED WINEGROWING VILLAGES: PYRGOS, MEGALOCHORI, AND AKROTIRI. THE ASSYRTIKO VINES ARE UNGRAFTED AND OVER 50 YEARS OLD, ROOTED IN POOR, LOW-ORGANIC SOILS. PRUNING, SHOOT THINNING, PLOWING, AND HARVESTING ARE DONE ENTIRELY BY HAND, BY SPYROS AND HIS FATHER. AT THE WINERY, THE GRAPES ARE HANDLED WITH CARE USING GENTLE, LOW-INTERVENTION METHODS. ONLY FREE-RUN JUICE IS USED, FOLLOWED BY SPONTANEOUS FERMENTATION WITH INDIGENOUS YEASTS IN STAINLESS STEEL TANKS. THE WINE REMAINS ON FINE LEES FOR SEVEN MONTHS BEFORE BOTTLING. EACH VINEYARD—VASAGIA, KOUKOUNARIA, AND POSTA IS VINIFIED SEPARATELY, WITH THE FINAL BLEND CAREFULLY SELECTED AFTER MULTIPLE TASTINGS. THE RESULT IS A SANTORINI WINE OF INTENSITY, COMPLEXITY, CONCENTRATED FRUIT, STRIKING MINERALITY, AND SHARP ACIDITY.

AN APPROACH TO THE TRADITIONAL NYKTERI, INSPIRED BY THE WINE’S HISTORICAL ROOTS, OFFERING ITS MOST REFINED AND ELEGANT EXPRESSION. THE GRAPES COME FROM THE RENOWNED “LOUROI” VINEYARD PLOTS, LOCATED AT 160 METERS ALTITUDE IN PYRGOS KALLISTIS. TERRACED SLOPES AND VOLCANIC SOIL SCATTERED WITH PIECES OF SOLIDIFIED BLACK LAVA AND PUMICE SHAPE AN IMPRESSIVE, ALMOST LUNAR LANDSCAPE. THIS VINEYARD FEATURES EXTREMELY LOW YIELDS, SOUTHERN EXPOSURE, OVER 100-YEAR-OLD VINES TRAINED IN THE TRADITIONAL “KOULOURA,” AND ORGANIC FARMING PRACTICES PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS. THIS RARE SET OF CONDITIONS PRODUCES OUTSTANDING RAW MATERIAL—ASSYRTIKO GRAPES OF REMARKABLE CONCENTRATION, YIELDING WINES OF INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION. VINIFICATION FOLLOWS THE SAME GENTLE APPROACH AS IN THE VINEYARD: WHOLE CLUSTERS, INDIGENOUS YEASTS, AND SPONTANEOUS FERMENTATION IN 500-LITER OAK BARRELS, WHERE THE WINE RESTS ON FINE LEES FOR 7 MONTHS. MINERALITY, COMPLEXITY, CONCENTRATION, AND VIBRANT ACIDITY DEFINE A MULTI-LAYERED WINE THAT EVOLVES BEAUTIFULLY OVER TIME.

THE PREMIUM, SINGLE-VINEYARD LABEL “SKAFIDA” REFLECTS THE FULL ENERGY AND POWER OF ASSYRTIKO TO PRODUCE RARE WINES WITH EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF COMPLEXITY. SHAPED LIKE A TROUGH, THE “SKAFIDA” VINEYARD APPEARS TO ALMOST HOVER DUE TO ITS STEEP SLOPE AT 180 METERS ALTITUDE IN PYRGOS, A VILLAGE WITH A LONG VITICULTURAL HISTORY, AS EVIDENCED BY ITS UNGRAFTED VINES—OVER 150 YEARS OLD—TRAINED IN THE TRADITIONAL “KOULOURA” SYSTEM. THIS EXTREME SITE IS DEFINED BY A VOLCANIC SOIL MIX OF BASALT, PUMICE, ASH, AND SOLIDIFIED LAVA, IMPARTING A STRIKING MINERALITY THAT SPEAKS TO THE WINE’S VOLCANIC ORIGIN. THE EXCEPTIONALLY LOW YIELDS OF THESE ANCIENT VINES OFFER LIMITED BUT INTENSELY CONCENTRATED FRUIT, WHICH IS HANDLED WITH CARE DURING VINIFICATION. COLD MACERATION, SPONTANEOUS FERMENTATION WITH INDIGENOUS YEASTS IN STAINLESS STEEL TANKS, AND MINIMAL USE OF SULFITES ALLOW SKAFIDA TO CAPTURE THE ISLAND’S VITICULTURAL HERITAGE AND UNIQUE TERROIR IN A SINGLE BOTTLE.