Manolis Roussos

I was born in Pyrgos, the village in the middle of Santorini, and my family has grown Assyrtiko there since long before anyone came to the island for sunsets. On Santorini the vines are trained into low baskets called kouloures, lying on the volcanic soil to protect the grapes from the wind. Some roots are more than 400 years old, because phylloxera never reached the island. I worked for eight years at a cooperative winery and studied oenology in Athens. My tours visit three wineries, a large one on the caldera, a small family one in Megalochori and one that makes Vinsanto from sun-dried grapes, with local cheese, tomato keftedes and fava. During the August harvest I also run a morning in the vineyards. I keep it simple: good wine, facts, no show. I now guide live on video from Santorini, with my phone as the camera and time for your questions all the way through.