Domaine Sigalas

How to Complete

3 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 🍷 1

   Find the Grape a Mathematician Saved From Extinction

   wine $$

   Mavrotragano - 'black and crispy' - was nearly gone. Paris Sigalas brought it back.

   Paris Sigalas was a mathematician, spending summers helping his family on Santorini. In the 1990s he noticed a red grape growing on the island that no one was paying attention to - a variety called Mavrotragano ('mavro' = black, 'tragano' = crispy). Everyone had abandoned it for easier grapes. Sigalas started making wine from it, got obsessive, and rescued it from near-extinction. It is now a Slow Food Presidium - an officially recognized endangered food culture worth preserving. The wine itself: dark color, firm tannins, wild berries, coffee, mineral edge. On the wine list at the tasting counter, ask specifically for Mavrotragano. When poured, look at the color against the light - deep ruby-purple, nearly opaque. Ask your host: 'Was this grape really almost gone?' Listen to how they tell the story - it is always told with pride.

   🔄 BACKUP: The estate also makes Barrel Assyrtiko (8 months French oak, 6+ months on lees) - a rarer style. Ask to compare it against the unwooded Assyrtiko to understand what oak aging does to volcanic terroir.

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2. ⛰️ 2

   Walk the 3,000-Year-Old Vineyard at Baxedes

   adventure Free

   These Baxedes plains near Oia may be the oldest continuously cultivated vineyards in the world.

   The Baxedes plains have been cultivated for 3,000+ years. Before Paris Sigalas turned mathematician, before Sigalas the winemaker, before Greece as a modern country existed - vines were already here in basket form. The volcanic soil beneath your feet has never been treated with pesticides since Sigalas joined an organic farming program in 1994. Since 2025 the estate was acquired by Kir-Yianni, but the organic program and the ancient parcels continue. Stand at the vineyard edge on the Baxedes plains, near Finikia village on the outskirts of Oia (the tasting room faces the vines - you can step outside before or after tasting) and look toward the caldera. The grey-black soil against white cubic houses against blue Aegean - this is the image. Find a kouloura basket and crouch to look inside the wreath. This is free: no tasting ticket required to walk the vineyard perimeter.

   🔄 BACKUP: The €100 tasting tier includes a 2-hour vineyard tour with explanation of the organic regime. The €12 basic entry still gets you a view of the vines from the tasting room.

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3. 🍷 3

   Taste the First Wine Ever Labeled PDO Santorini

   wine $$

   The 1991 vintage was the very first wine to carry the Protected Designation of Origin.

   Paris Sigalas left a mathematics career and made his first commercial vintage in 1991 - which became the FIRST wine in Santorini's history to be labeled with a Protected Designation of Origin. He essentially co-created the legal framework that now protects every Santorini wine on the market. His philosophy: purity, balance, authenticity. Not manipulation. At the tasting counter, request the estate Assyrtiko - it is the direct descendant of that 1991 first PDO bottling. When tasting, concentrate on the minerality. Critics describe it as 'piercing' and 'steely' - like sucking on a wet volcanic rock with citrus. This is low-potassium volcanic soil expressing itself in a glass. Ask: 'Is this the barrel Assyrtiko or the standard?' - knowing the distinction marks you as someone who has done the reading.

   🔄 BACKUP: Advance booking is required for all tastings. Standard: €12-15 for basic tasting. Premium vineyard tour + 10 wines + food: €100. Six-course menu + 6 wines: €150. Book via sigalas-wine.com.

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