Domaine Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko

Santorini PDO, Greece

Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko is the reference wine for the appellation — unoaked, pure, from 70-200+ year old basket-trained vines on volcanic pumice and ash. Assyrtiko naturally produces wines of extraordinarily high acidity (sometimes under pH 2.8) and deep saline-mineral character from the island's volcanic soils. The wine ages magnificently — 10-20 years in great vintages.

Pairing intelligence

• main: Grilled sea bream (the great Mediterranean fish) with olive oil-lemon sauce (ladolemono). Sigalas Assyrtiko's saline volcanic mineral and electric acidity is the perfect match for Mediterranean fish — the wine's salinity mirrors the Aegean sea environment.
• main: Sigalas Assyrtiko and grilled octopus over lava rock is Santorini's defining food-wine experience: the wine's volcanic mineral character and the octopus's sea-char are born from the same volcanic landscape
• main: Assyrtiko's powerful acidity and volcanic mineral character were made for Greek oven-baked fish; the herb-tomato base bridges the wine's citrus-mineral character
• aperitif: Taramosalata's briny, oily fish roe needs Assyrtiko's powerful acidity and saline mineral character to cut through; the wine's volcanic mineral echoes the seafood's depth
• fish course: Sigalas Santorini's volcanic mineral bridges the grilled horse mackerel; a Cyclades wine for the Aegean's daily catch
• casual: Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko is produced on the same volcanic island as the grilled octopus; the purest terroir pairing
• casual: Sigalas Santorinis and the island's yellow lentil purée (fava) are both from the same volcanic terroir; a pure island pairing
• amuse: Saganaki's crispy-melting cheese needs a wine of acidity; Assyrtiko's lemony precision and mineral depth cleanse the frying fat while the volcanic character bridges with honey