Assyrtiko

Santorini's volcanic white — saline, high-acid, mineral.

Assyrtiko is the indigenous white grape of Santorini and increasingly Greece's flagship white. The volcanic island's vines are trained in basket-shapes (kouloura) close to the ground to protect against fierce winds; the volcanic ash and pumice soils plus brackish irrigation produce a strikingly saline, high-acid wine with lemon and wet-stone character. Mainland and other-island plantings offer fuller-bodied versions; vinsanto from Santorini is the dessert tier. The grape has spread to Australia and California in tiny quantities.