Santorini Wine Tour – 3 Wineries, Private

The Santorini Wine Tour in Full

This Santorini wine tour is four and a half hours across the island’s wine country with three wineries and all tastings included in the price. You are not paying at each door and you are not driving, which between them are the two things that ruin most wine days.

It is a private tour in an air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed local guide, priced per vehicle: 650€ for two guests, 725€ for three, 800€ for four, 875€ for five, and on up to 1,550€ for fourteen. Because the tastings are covered, the Santorini wine tour price is the whole cost of the afternoon rather than the starting point of it.

The estates sit around Megalochori, Pyrgos, Exo Gonia and Episkopi Gonia, in the south and east of the island where the vineyards are. A Santorini wine tour that stays on the caldera rim is a sightseeing tour with a glass in it; this one goes where the vines are.

What the Santorini wine tour price includes

Pickup and drop-off anywhere on the island including both ports, four and a half hours with a licensed English-speaking driver-guide, a private vehicle, fuel, tolls, parking, bottled water, and tastings at three wineries. Not included: bottles you buy to take home, food beyond what the estates serve with the tasting, and museum entry if you add a stop.

Santorini wine tour cost against the alternatives

A shared minibus wine tour runs 90€ to 150€ per person with tastings sometimes extra. Renting a car and driving yourself costs about 50€ plus tasting fees of 15€ to 25€ a head at each estate – and somebody has to stay sober. The santorini wine tour cost here is 650€ for the whole party with everything covered, which for four people is 200€ each and for six is 133€ each, with nobody driving.

Why Santorini Wine Is Unlike Anywhere Else

Every Santorini wine tour is really a tour of an extreme growing environment, and the wine only makes sense once you have seen it.

Ungrafted vines

Phylloxera, the root louse that destroyed nearly every vineyard in Europe in the nineteenth century and forced the continent onto American rootstock, never established itself in Santorini’s soil. The sand and ash do not suit it. So the vines here are own-rooted, and some root systems are estimated at three or four hundred years old, propagated continuously by layering rather than replanting. There are very few places in the world where you can drink wine from pre-phylloxera roots, and this is the most accessible of them.

The koulara basket

The vine is trained into a low woven basket, coiled around itself close to the ground, with the fruit growing on the inside. It is a response to two problems: the meltemi, which would strip an upright vine, and the total absence of rain, since the basket traps the morning humidity that condenses out of the sea air. This is the only irrigation most Santorini vineyards ever get. Your guide on the Santorini wine tour will stop the vehicle so you can look at one properly, because a photograph does not convey how strange it is.

The soil

Volcanic ash and pumice, laid down by the eruption around 1600 BC, over a bed of older lava. Porous, mineral-rich, almost no organic matter, and it drains instantly. Yields are tiny – a fraction of what a mainland vineyard produces per hectare – and everything the plant makes is concentrated into very few grapes.

The result

Wines with searing acidity, a mineral and faintly saline character, and an ability to age that surprises people who expect a holiday white. This is why a Santorini wine tour is worth doing even if you would not normally book one.

The Grapes and the Wines

Assyrtiko

The reason the island is on wine lists worldwide. Bone dry, very high acid, citrus and flint and a salinity that reads as the sea. It holds its acidity in heat better than almost any white grape, which is why it is now being planted in Australia and California – though nowhere else has the ash. On a Santorini wine tour you will taste it in at least three forms.

Nykteri

Assyrtiko taken riper and fermented or aged in oak. The name means “working through the night”, because the grapes were traditionally pressed after dark to keep them cool. Fuller, rounder, and a serious wine.

Athiri and Aidani

The blending partners. Softer, more floral, lower in acid, and used to round out Assyrtiko in the classic white blend.

Vinsanto

The island’s historic wine and the one that made its fortune. Grapes are sun-dried on mats for up to two weeks, concentrating the sugar, then pressed and aged in oak for a minimum of two years and often for decades. It is amber, intense, and balanced by the same acidity that makes the dry wines work. This was exported by the barrel to Russia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and it paid for the mansions you will drive past on the Santorini wine tour.

Mavrotragano and Mandilaria

The reds. Mavrotragano was nearly extinct thirty years ago and has been brought back by a handful of growers; it is dark, structured and increasingly sought after. Mandilaria is lighter and often blended. Most visitors do not know Santorini makes red at all.

How the Santorini Wine Tour Runs

Four and a half hours, three estates, ordered around the wineries’ own day and the cruise schedule.

The first estate

Usually a larger producer with a proper tour of the facility – the canava, the presses, the tanks – so that you understand how the wine is actually made before you start tasting it. Five or six wines, including a Vinsanto.

The second estate

A smaller, family-run producer where you are more likely to meet the person who made what you are drinking. Fewer wines, more conversation, and usually the better tasting of the day.

The third estate

Chosen for the view as much as the wine – a terrace over the vineyards or the caldera, and the point in a Santorini wine tour where people stop taking notes and start enjoying themselves.

The vineyards between

The drive matters. Your guide will stop at the roadside where the basket vines are clearest, and in September you will see the harvest happening.

Each estate serves something with the tasting – bread, tomatokeftedes, fava, local cheese – but a Santorini wine tour is not a meal. Eat before, or ask us to add a taverna stop and we will extend the tour.

Which wineries

We rotate among the estates we rate, based on the day, the season and what you tell us you like. If you have a particular producer in mind, name it when you book and we will build the Santorini wine tour around it where they take visitors.

Who the Santorini Wine Tour Suits

People who already drink wine seriously. Ungrafted vines, an indigenous grape with genuine world-class credentials, and a sweet wine with three centuries of export history. There is real substance here.

People who do not. Equally welcome, and the guides pitch it accordingly. Nobody will make you spit.

Couples and groups of four to six. Where the economics work best – 163€ each at four, 133€ at six, with all tastings included and nobody driving.

Repeat visitors. If you have already done the caldera villages, the Santorini wine tour is the obvious second-trip choice.

Anyone who would otherwise drive. This is the practical argument. Tasting at three estates and then driving Santorini’s roads is a genuinely bad idea, and the roads are narrow, unlit in places and busy with scooters.

Not for you if you want the headline viewpoints – take the sightseeing tour – or if you are on a standard cruise call, where the shore excursion is timed to tenders.

Booking a private santorini wine tour

Send your dates and party size. An 80€ deposit confirms it and the balance is paid on the day. Santorini wine tour booking is handled by us directly rather than through a marketplace, and cancellation is free to seven days before. For a private santorini wine tour book two to three weeks ahead in high season and around the September harvest, when the estates limit visitor numbers because they are working.

Santorini Wine Tour 2026

For the santorini wine tour 2026 season all three tastings are included in the headline price, which was not always the case in the market and is worth checking when you compare. The santorini wine tour 2026 price on this page is what you pay; there is nothing added at the estate.

Availability for the santorini wine tour 2026 is tightest during the harvest in late August and September, when several estates restrict visits, and through July and August generally. The best santorini wine tour dates are in September and October – the harvest is visible, the light is good and the estates have time.

Season by season

April and May. The vines are pruned back into their baskets and beginning to shoot. Quiet estates, unhurried tastings, and the new vintage often just bottled.

June to mid-August. Hot and busy. The Santorini wine tour runs in the late afternoon by preference, when the terraces are bearable.

Late August and September. Harvest. The best time to come and the hardest to book. You will see fruit coming in and presses running.

October. The quiet after the harvest, with the new wine in tank and the growers willing to talk about it.

November to March. On request. Fewer estates open, but those that are will give you an hour of their time.

What to Expect at a Tasting

If you have not done this before, nothing here is intimidating and a Santorini wine tour is a good place to start.

You will be poured five or six wines at each estate, in small measures, usually working from dry white through oaked white to Vinsanto. Somebody will talk you through each one. You are welcome to ask anything, including what you should be tasting, which is the question people are most embarrassed to ask and most want answered.

Spitting is normal and nobody minds. Three estates is a lot of wine and there is no obligation to finish a glass.

Buying is never expected. If you do want a bottle, the estate is where it is cheapest – a Fira gift shop will charge half again for the same label.

Shipping can be arranged by most estates, which is worth knowing if you fall for a Vinsanto and are travelling hand luggage only.

Food comes with the tasting at each stop, but it is small. Eat lunch before the Santorini wine tour or ask us to build in a taverna.

Pace. Four and a half hours across three estates is unhurried. If you would rather do two estates properly than three quickly, say so and we will change it.

The History Behind the Santorini Wine Tour

Wine has been made on this island for at least 3,500 years. Grape pips and wine jars have been excavated at Akrotiri, the Bronze Age town buried by the eruption, and the canava – the vaulted underground cellar cut into the pumice – is an architectural form unique to Santorini.

The island’s commercial peak came in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when Vinsanto was exported by the barrel to the Russian Orthodox Church, which used it as communion wine. That trade built the mansions in Megalochori and Pyrgos that a Santorini wine tour drives past, and it supported a fleet of merchant ships out of Oia.

It collapsed twice. The Russian Revolution ended the export market overnight. The 1956 earthquake destroyed much of the island’s infrastructure and drove a generation to Athens and abroad. By the 1970s the vineyards were shrinking and tourism was arriving.

The revival is recent and deliberate. From the 1990s a handful of producers began treating Assyrtiko as a serious wine rather than a bulk commodity, and the island now holds a PDO with strict rules on grape variety and yield. The pressure now is land: a hectare of vineyard is worth far more as a hotel, and the island’s planted area has fallen sharply. Growers on your Santorini wine tour will talk about this if you ask, and it is the most interesting conversation of the afternoon.

Food and Wine Pairing on Santorini

What grows together goes together, and the island proves it.

Assyrtiko with fish. The obvious and correct pairing. The acidity and salinity handle grilled fish and seafood better than almost anything.

Assyrtiko with tomatokeftedes. The island’s own pairing. The sweetness of the tomato fritters against the bone-dry wine is why both exist.

Nykteri with white aubergine or anything roasted. The oak gives it the weight to handle richer vegetable dishes.

Athiri blends with fava. Softer wine, softer dish.

Mavrotragano with lamb or goat. The island’s red with the island’s meat.

Vinsanto with melitinia, or on its own. It is intense enough to be dessert rather than to accompany one, and it is very good with hard cheese.

If food matters to you as much as wine, our food tour puts a producer visit and a full sit-down meal at the centre of the day, with a winery alongside. The Santorini wine tour is the wine-led version of the same afternoon.

Practical Notes

Eat first. Three tastings on an empty stomach is a poor plan. The estates serve small plates, not lunch.

Do not drive. The entire point. Santorini’s roads are narrow, frequently single-track through villages and busy with inexperienced scooter riders.

Sun. Vineyards have no shade. Hat and sunscreen from April.

Shoes. Flat and comfortable – the canava cellars have steps and the vineyard soil is loose.

A layer. Underground cellars are cool even in August.

Cash or card. Both accepted at the estates for bottles. Nothing else on the Santorini wine tour needs paying for.

Shipping. Ask at the estate. Most will send a case home for you.

Timing. Four and a half hours, usually early afternoon so it ends before dinner. Ask for a later start and it can finish with the light on the vineyards.

Pickup. Anywhere on the island including both ports. Hotels on pedestrian caldera paths have a vehicle point agreed at booking.

Payment. 80€ deposit, balance on the day, no booking fee.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Santorini Wine Tour

How long is it? Four and a half hours, pickup to drop-off.

How much does it cost? From 650€ per vehicle for two guests, up to 1,550€ for fourteen. Per vehicle, not per person, with all three tastings included.

Are the tastings really included? Yes, at all three estates. Bottles you buy are not.

How many wines will we taste? Typically five or six at each estate, so fifteen to eighteen across the afternoon, in small measures.

Which wineries do you visit? We rotate among the estates we rate. Name a producer when you book and we will include it where they take visitors.

Is food included? Small plates come with the tastings. It is not a meal – eat beforehand or ask us to add a taverna.

Can we buy wine? Yes, and the estate is where it is cheapest. Most will ship.

Is it suitable for non-drinkers? Yes. The vineyards, the cellars and the history stand on their own, and nobody is obliged to drink.

Can children come? Yes, and most estates are relaxed about it, though it is a long afternoon for young children.

Is hotel pickup included? Yes, from anywhere on the island including both ports.

When is the best time? September for the harvest, or April, May and October for quiet estates.

What languages? English as standard and Greek any date; our santorini guided tours cover six languages with notice.

How does it compare with your other tours? It is the only wine-led itinerary. Every route and all santorini tours prices are on the santorini tours page – our santorini day tours, santorini private tours, santorini island tours, santorini excursions and santorini tour packages run from an hour to a full day.

Book the Santorini Wine Tour

Send your dates and party size and we will confirm the same day. To reserve directly: wine tour booking, food experience, sightseeing, north part, south part, full day, famous sights, sunset, shore excursion, historical, personalised, horse riding.

An 80€ deposit confirms the Santorini wine tour. We are licensed by the Greek National Tourism Organisation and take no commission from the estates we visit, which is why the recommendation is worth something.

Ways to Shape Your Santorini Wine Tour

None of these variations cost extra, because a Santorini wine tour with us is a private vehicle rather than a fixed departure.

Two estates instead of three. More time at each, a longer conversation with the grower, and an unhurried afternoon. The version we would choose ourselves.

The sunset finish. Shift the Santorini wine tour later so the last tasting is on a terrace as the light goes. The most requested variation and the best one for an anniversary.

The harvest visit. Late August and September only. You see fruit coming in and the presses running, and the Santorini wine tour becomes a working visit rather than a tasting.

Wine and food. Add a taverna stop and the Santorini wine tour extends to five and a half hours with a proper meal in the middle.

Wine and villages. Megalochori, Pyrgos and Emporio between the estates, so the Santorini wine tour doubles as a tour of the inland south.

A specific producer. Name the estate when you book. Where they take visitors we will build the Santorini wine tour around it.

Red-focused. Mavrotragano and Mandilaria rather than Assyrtiko throughout. Fewer estates make serious red, so tell us early and we will route the Santorini wine tour accordingly.

Santorini Wine Tour Compared With the Alternatives

Against a shared minibus tour. 90€ to 150€ per person, eight to sixteen strangers, a fixed route and tastings sometimes charged separately at the door. For one or two people it is cheaper; from four upward the private Santorini wine tour costs less and gives you the vehicle.

Against driving yourself. About 50€ for the car, 15€ to 25€ a head in tasting fees at each of three estates, and one person in your party sober all afternoon. By the time you have paid the fees the Santorini wine tour is close to the same money with nobody driving.

Against a self-guided walk. Two estates in Megalochori are walkable from each other and nothing else is. Fine for an hour, not a day.

Against a cruise line excursion. Priced per person, coach-based, and rarely reaching the small family estates. If you are on a ship, our shore excursion is the right booking and we can build wine into it.

Against our food tour. The food tour is producer-led with a full meal and one winery. The Santorini wine tour is three estates with all tastings and small plates. Choose by which one you would talk about afterwards.

Common Questions Before You Book a Santorini Wine Tour

Will I be expected to know anything? No. A good Santorini wine tour works for someone who reads tasting notes and for someone who just likes a cold glass, and the guides pitch it to whoever is in the vehicle.

Is three estates too many? For some people, yes. Say so and we will do two properly. There is no discount for it and no penalty either.

What if I do not like Assyrtiko? Unlikely, but the estates make oaked whites, reds and Vinsanto as well, and the Santorini wine tour will find something.

Can we do it as a group of ten? Yes – the Santorini wine tour scales to a minibus and the estates handle groups, though the smaller family producers prefer notice.

Is it worth it if I only have two days? If wine matters to you, yes. If it is one interest among several, take the full day tour with a winery in it instead and save the Santorini wine tour for a second visit.

Do you get a commission from the estates? No. That is why we rotate and why we will tell you honestly which tasting was the weak one.

Booking, Deposit and Cancellation

Send your dates and party size and you will get a reply from a person on the island, usually the same day, with availability for the Santorini wine tour and a suggested shape for the afternoon.

An 80€ deposit confirms the Santorini wine tour. The balance is paid to your guide on the day, in cash or by card. There is no booking fee, no fuel surcharge, and no charge for pickup anywhere on the island including both ports.

Cancellation is free up to seven days before, with the deposit refunded in full. Inside seven days the deposit is retained but transfers to any other date in the same season. If we cancel the Santorini wine tour – weather, an estate closing, a vehicle problem – you are refunded in full without having to ask for it.

Book two to three weeks ahead for July and August and for the September harvest, when the estates limit numbers because they are working. Outside those windows a few days is usually enough, and a Santorini wine tour in April, May or October is the easiest booking of the year.

Every Santorini wine tour is operated by us. We are licensed by the Greek National Tourism Organisation, the guides are our employees, and nothing is resold to a subcontractor you have never heard of.

Everywhere the Santorini Wine Tour Can Reach

Any of these can be built into a private itinerary. Each has its own page with what to see and how long to allow.

Caldera villages: Fira · Firostefani · Imerovigli · Oia · Finikia · Baxedes

Inland villages: Pyrgos · Megalochori · Emporio · Mesaria · Karterados · Vothonas · Vourvoulos · Exo Gonia · Mesa Gonia · Pigadia

Beaches: Perissa · Perivolos · Kamari · Vlychada · Monolithos · Red Beach · White Beach · Agios Georgios · Agia Paraskevi

Sites and landmarks: Akrotiri · Ancient Thira · Akrotiri Lighthouse · Nea Kameni · Palia Kameni · Thirasia · Athinios Port

All our tours: All Santorini tours · Full day tour · Sightseeing tour · Personalised tour · North part tour · Famous sights tour · South part tour · Sunset tour · Shore excursion · Caldera tour · Food experience · Historical tour · Horse riding · Small group tour

Planning and services: Private transfers · Transfers to Oia and Finikia · Transfers to other villages · Villages of Santorini · History of Santorini · Tours near you · Languages we guide in · Food and fun tours · Gay friendly tours · Our tour buses · Daily tours · Day tours · FAQ · Gallery · Tour photo gallery · About us · Contact · Blog