Santorini Wine Museum

There are museums where you come in, explore ... and then forget about them.

There is, however, another breed of museums in which your body and senses teleport into time, space, flavors and aromas. Museums that create lasting 4D memories in your mind - not necessarily historical facts, rather sensations, smiles, emotions.

Such is the Koutsoyanopoulos wine museum in Santorini , one of only 10 museums in the world dedicated to the Dionysian drink.

Built by the Kotsoyanopoulos family (who have been engaged in wine production since 1870) in a natural cave, 8 meters below the ground, the museum tells the long, extensive and very clear history of the Santorini island wine production from 1660 to 1970.

As soon as you cross the threshold of the museum, you find yourself in a blooming garden with flowers, vineyards, oak barrels and merry-go-rounds, counting the meters, which you can walk to the entrance of the only wine museum in Greece .

The wine tour begins with a 300-meter walk in the cool rocky labyrinth, where at your desired pace (as you will get a comfortable audio guide - it's in 14 languages, including in Bulgarian - with a nice translation), you will hear the story you will see the exhibits in the museum. All of them are real cannons of wine-making, passed down from generation to generation in the Kotsoyanopoulos family.

You will learn curious wine facts about Santorini , for example, that the emblematic white wine "Nicter" (the Greek Nykteri - Nighthill "night work") is said to be so because in the past, and often now, the grapes were baking at night was pressed before sunrise to avoid high temperatures and to obtain a wine of delicate color, of high acidity and minerality, with fresh citrus notes.

During the trip to the museum will have enough time for photos or just contemplation of huge barrels filled with wine Vinsanto and Kamaritis ... Yes, take her a minute or two of contemplation - though you're on vacation, and it is in Greece , and it's on an island, and you know that island life is running at a rate inversely proportional to the wine (or ouzo) that has been ripened :)

The wine tour continues with a tasting of four wines in the modern tasting room where a technologist will briefly tell you about each of the wines.

The intoxicating emotion ends in the museum's shop. It looks more like a wine bar with exceptionally polite bartenders who, with a smile, will tell you about the blame you failed to taste during the tasting.

And the story of a self-respecting bartender is, of course, in a liquid state, served in a fine glass.

How to get to the museum: If you drive by car from Fira, you drive along the road to Kamari and the airport. At the crossing at the village of Messaria, turn left towards Kamari and the airport. At the next intersection, turn right in the direction of Kamari. After about 400 meters you will see the wine museum on the left.

By Bus: Take a bus from Fira Station in the direction of Kamari and get off at Koutsoyannopoulos Station.