Giannis Nomikos, who is 58 years old, was born and raised among the fields his parents owned in Exo Gonia, Santorini, playing hide and seek among pistachio trees. It was there that he learned to sow fava beans, harvest tomatoes, tend to the vineyards, and, above all, respect the land. In many ways, Giannis’ destiny was set from a young age: the idea of creating an agricultural estate took deep root inside him early on. His dream as a young man was to one day see his family’s products packaged under their own label, instead of being sold in bulk to the island’s wholesalers as his parents did. In the end, he did become one of the first farmers to send Santorini’s then-famous peas and fava beans to the markets of Athens. But realizing his dream in full was no easy journey.

Nomikos left his beloved island to study Statistics at the University of Piraeus. After completing his military service in 1993, he chose to return to Santorini, while most of his classmates stayed in Athens to pursue their careers. Seven years later, working alongside Haridimos Hatzidakis, he managed to make his first batch of wine, having cultivated a significant quantity of the rare Mavrotragano grape. However, ongoing disagreements with his father, Giorgis, who was hesitant to take the leap toward product packaging, led Giannis to venture into the restaurant business in Fira. Finally, in 2005, he established Nomikos Estate and, after three years, launched his first packaged products: fava beans and pistachios, branded Nomikos Estate Santo Volcano.

Life in the Fields

“When I was young, I would hide from my father so he wouldn’t take me to the fields. Those were tough times. I often left the fields early to go home and cook something simple like manestra (a Greek pasta dish) for my parents. I remember once during a garlic harvest, I fell ill because I had nothing else to eat but garlic all day long. After that, I didn’t touch garlic again for over twenty years,” Nomikos recalls, smiling.

Working alongside his father, Giannis learned the subtleties of each crop. “As I grew older, I wanted to help him, even though working conditions were harsh. Even when my back ached, particularly from bending over to hoe the vineyards, I never stopped. The most important advice he gave me was to observe the land. For example, he told me that, if you pay close attention, you’ll know when a vineyard is thirsty.”

Nomikos also learned humility and patience. “Only when you hold the fava beans in your hands can you say you have a harvest,” his father would remind him. “So often, you’ll end up losing the crop at the last minute.”

What the farmer loved most was the silent contemplation that came while working the land. “The land carries solitude. My father and I spent hours together, but without speaking. Sometimes I felt I could hear myself thinking; in a way, I had more conversations with myself than with anyone else.”

Gradually, he deciphered his father’s rural philosophy and later drew on those childhood experiences to influence his modern cultivation methods, always keeping tradition at the core.

A Modern Farm

On his 27-acre estate of white volcanic soil, Nomikos uses only his own local seeds, preserving the “taste memory” of Santorini’s authentic flavors. He rigorously follows minimal-intervention practices, mixing traditional planting techniques with modern technology.

He collects rainwater in a vaulted cistern, avoiding the more saline water from desalination plants and wells, which is unsuitable for sensitive crops.

His estate is divided into two sections: one dedicated to cultivation, processing and storage, and the other to product tasting and visitor experiences. Thanks to state-of-the-art sorting equipment, he even packages fava beans sent from neighboring Cycladic islands.

Visitors to Nomikos Estate can learn about and sample the four types of native Santorini tomatoes:

• The classic ribbed variety,
• The “Kaisa” small and hardy tomato,
• The “Gkotiki” industrial tomato,
• And the “Aponomeritiki,” cultivated mainly in Oia.

“Most people abandon the land because they encounter many difficulties, such as a shortage of farm workers. Tourism undoubtedly prevails. I’ve been trying in recent years to combine traditional farming with visitor education, creating immersive experiences at the estate. After all, the essence of Santorini lies in its land – not its hotels,” Nomikos says.

Dreamers like him never stop chasing their vision. That’s why he still lives surrounded by his beloved pistachio trees.

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.