In a warm celebration bridging Greek tradition and Swiss terroir, Santorini was honored as a featured wine-producing region at an event on November 8 in the Valais Canton, Switzerland’s premier wine country. The gathering highlighted the island’s renowned wines and regional flavors, deepening cultural and economic ties between Greece and Switzerland.

Held at the Musée du Vin in Sierre and co-organized by the Economic & Commercial Affairs Office of the Greek Embassy in Bern, the event is part of a larger exhibition running from March to November 2025, showing traditional winemaking practices from around the world – with Santorini as a standout standing out as one of the most distinctive and ancient terroirs represented.

During her remarks, Niki Stefanidou, Head of the Commercial Affairs Office, expressed heartfelt thanks to her Swiss hosts: the Musée du Vin for its excellent collaboration, the Municipality of Sierre for its warm hospitality, and Santo Wines for showcasing Santorini’s wines and flavors with clarity and passion. She also acknowledged the support of the Municipality of Thera and the Greek National Tourism Organization in Vienna.

From the Swiss side, officials emphasized the value of sharing iconic regional products across borders. The Municipality of Sierre welcomed the Greek delegation with enthusiasm, praising the partnership between the Wine Museum and the Greek Embassy in Bern and noting the strong potential for future cultural and economic exchanges.

Why Santorini’s Wines Are So Special

For Swiss audiences, the event offered a rare chance to taste the volcanic character of Santorini: wines shaped by harsh winds, blazing sun, and an island that seems sculpted from fire and ash. Santorini’s vineyards – some with root systems over 400 years old – survive in deep, sandy volcanic soils of pumice, lava, and ash, a composition that naturally protects them from vine-eating insects (phylloxera), and gives the wines their unmistakable mineral edge.

Winemakers here cling to time-honored methods, most famously the “koulouri” system, in which vines are tightly woven into low baskets that cradle the fruit against the island’s fierce winds. Yields remain deliberately small, concentrating flavor and character.

At the heart of the island’s vinicultural identity is Assyrtiko, Santorini’s flagship grape and one of Greece’s most celebrated exports. High-acid, saline, and intensely mineral, it reflects the volcanic terroir with remarkable purity. Alongside it grow other indigenous varieties – including Mavrotragano, Mandilaria, Aidani, and Athiri – each contributing its own expression of Santorini’s rugged landscape.

By spotlighting Santorini in Switzerland  a country with its own proud winemaking heritage – the Musée du Vin event placed the island’s ancient vineyards on a broader international stage. For Swiss wine lovers, it offered a taste of one of the world’s most singular terroirs; for Greece, it marked another step in showcasing the country’s traditional products abroad and strengthening the cultural ties that unite these two mountainous, wine-loving nations.

Source: moneyreview.gr with information from ΑΠΕ–ΜΠΕ