Winning the Special Award at the Gastronomos Quality Awards was no coincidence. Whenever Santorini wine is mentioned, whether overtly or in passing, the name Paris Sigalas inevitably comes up.
Though born in Santorini, Paris grew up in Piraeus. Still, each summer brought him back to the island and his grandfather, who tended vineyards and made his own wine. It was there that student friends would gather to harvest grapes, turning the work into a celebration of Dionysian spirit.
Paris studied mathematics and taught in Piraeus. Wine became his favorite hobby, and he began experimenting with winemaking in a corner of his family home in Baxedes, Oia. I clearly remember the summer of 1991, in that quitter, undiscovered Santorini we once knew, when the buzz of the season was: “Paris bottled his own wine!”
The landscaped courtyard of the winery next to the sea.
The visionary and innovative mathematician from Santorini began to apply his talents to the island’s demanding grapevines. Gradually, he left teaching behind and moved to Santorini for good. In 1998, he founded Domaine Sigalas, a small winery nestled among the vineyards of Baxedes, ushering in a new era that would redefine Santorini wine, especially Assyrtiko, which was about to make history. And Paris Sigalas would become one of its most essential architects.
Passionate, persistent, and uncompromising, Sigalas did not shy away from controversy. Through constant experimentation, he often challenged the status quo, drawing sharp reactions from some quarters of the wine world. But he remained undeterred. He was a tireless advocate for land-use protections to safeguard Santorini’s ancient vineyards from unchecked development. He fought for international recognition of the “Santorini” designation and wasn’t afraid to raise prices if he believed the wines deserved greater esteem.
Sigalas explored every imaginable vinification technique for Assyrtiko, highlighting its complexity and the distinctiveness of each terroir and culminating in the celebrated 7 Villages series. His name became associated with some of Greece’s finest white wines. In the early 2000s, he turned his attention to Mavrotragano. “I have reason to believe there’s potential here for a good red wine. There’s a commercial gap for a Santorini red,” he once told me during a vineyard drive in his old Fiat. His interest in red wine was deeply personal, and Mavrotragano did not disappoint.
Over the past 30 years, Santorini has written a unique chapter in the story of Greek and international wine. Assyrtiko now appears on wine lists around the world, and Paris Sigalas’ pivotal role in that transformation is widely acknowledged and celebrated.
Time has passed. The island has changed. So too has Domaine Sigalas, which is now under new ownership. But no one expected Paris to simply “retire,” quietly watching developments from the sidelines. Instead, the curtain rose on a new project, with Assyrtiko in the leading role. His iconic family home once again served as the launchpad for a new beginning: the creation of his boutique winery, OENO P, where he continues his work with Assyrtiko.
Oenologist Eva Athanasopoulou is responsible for the wines produced at the OENO P. winery.
Summer 2023 finds us at OENO P, a space that overlooks the sea, combining minimalist aesthetics with natural beauty. “Now I have the luxury of doing exactly what I love,” he says. At this stage in his journey, his focus is on elegance. He seeks wines with finesse and precision, the kind that echo the grace of a great white Burgundy. To that end, he employs a Champagne-style press from Campania to produce delicate, refined musts. He vinifies in amphorae, which bring the benefits of aging in barrels without the influence of wood.
The three wines created here – Tria Ambelia, Tria Ambelia Pithari 6, and Akulumbo – are a deep exploration of the island’s viticultural heritage. A story written in wine, as unique as the island, its Assyrtiko, and Paris himself, who has added his own unforgettable chapters in the history of modern Santorini winemaking.
The 17th Quality Awards of Gastronomos were dedicated to the producers of the Cyclades. At a crucial crossroads in the history of the Cyclades, where a number of circumstances have converged to limit local engagement with the agricultural sector, the awards highlighted the exceptions – those who persist in working the land and tending to livestock, producing cheeses and traditional cured meats, cultivating edible native plant varieties, honoring Cycladic traditions and steadfastly preserving the Cycladic way of life.
This article was previously published in Greek at gastronomos.gr.
