ClassificationPDO Santorini / PDO Vinsanto / PGI Cyclades
VarietalsAssyrtiko, Aidani, Mandilaria, Mavrotragano, Voudomato, Katsano
OwnerGavalas family (George Gavalas, fourth generation; Vagelis Gavalas, fifth generation)
WinemakerGeorge Gavalas
Founded1900
TastingYear-round; intimate tasting room at the family canava in central Megalochori. Tasting flights include monovarietal bottlings of the rare indigenous Katsano (white) and Voudomato (red), seldom vinified as single varieties on Santorini.
NeighbourhoodMegalochori

Signature wines: gavalas-santorini, gavalas-katsano, gavalas-voudomato, gavalas-vinsanto

Tip: Visit specifically for the Katsano and Voudomato; monovarietal bottlings of these heritage island grapes are uncommon at other Santorini cellar doors.

Location

Address: Megalochori 84700, Santorini, Greece

Also in Megalochori

Antoniou Winery ★ 4.4

PDO Santorini / PDO Vinsanto / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, Athiri, Mavrotragano, MandilariaFounded 1903Antoniou familyMegalochori

Historic Megalochori cellar of the Antoniou family, founded 1903, with a multi-level rock-cut layout running down the caldera escarpment. The traditional canava is a working stop on most island wine tours.

Tasting: Year-round; bookable tasting visits at the restored historic cellar on the caldera side of Megalochori. Programme emphasises the multi-level gravity cellar layout and the Vinsanto-ageing chamber cut into the rock.

Signature wines: antoniou-santorini, antoniou-nykteri, antoniou-vinsanto

Tip: The rock-cut Vinsanto barrel chamber is an atmospheric tasting space; pair the visit with a stroll through central Megalochori afterwards.

Domaine Mikra Yi ★ 4.2

PDO Santorini / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, MavrotraganoFounded 2007Megalochori

Small estate working ungrafted kouloura parcels in the Megalochori area, founded in the late 2000s as part of the post-2000 boutique-winery wave. Limited production, by-appointment-only visits.

Tasting: Boutique by-appointment visits; small parcel of own-rooted kouloura vines near Megalochori, with a tasting room focused on single-vineyard Assyrtiko and a tiny Mavrotragano production.

Signature wines: mikra-yi-santorini, mikra-yi-mavrotragano

Tip: A hidden-gem stop for serious visitors who want a quieter, smaller cellar experience away from the cooperative-rim Santo Wines circuit.

Domaine Vassiliou Santorini ★ 4.0

PDO Santorini / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, MavrotraganoFounded 2010Vassiliou familyMegalochori

Small Vassiliou family operation at Megalochori producing estate-bottled PDO Santorini Assyrtiko in limited quantities. By-appointment visits only; output is mostly sold direct.

Tasting: By appointment only; small family cellar offering a focused PDO Santorini tasting and a Vinsanto tasting on request.

Signature wines: vassiliou-santorini-assyrtiko

Tip: A reservation-only stop for visitors who want to taste an older-style family canava away from the major tasting-room operators.

Full Megalochori food guide →

More vineyards in Santorini

Antoniou Winery ★ 4.4

PDO Santorini / PDO Vinsanto / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, Athiri, Mavrotragano, MandilariaFounded 1903Antoniou familyMegalochori

Historic Megalochori cellar of the Antoniou family, founded 1903, with a multi-level rock-cut layout running down the caldera escarpment. The traditional canava is a working stop on most island wine tours.

Tasting: Year-round; bookable tasting visits at the restored historic cellar on the caldera side of Megalochori. Programme emphasises the multi-level gravity cellar layout and the Vinsanto-ageing chamber cut into the rock.

Signature wines: antoniou-santorini, antoniou-nykteri, antoniou-vinsanto

Tip: The rock-cut Vinsanto barrel chamber is an atmospheric tasting space; pair the visit with a stroll through central Megalochori afterwards.

Art Space Santorini ★ 4.3

PDO Santorini / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, MavrotraganoFounded 1999Antonis ArgyrosWinemaker Antonis ArgyrosExo Gonia

Dual gallery and winery opened by Antonis Argyros in 1999 inside the 1861 family canava at Exo Gonia. Small production (a few thousand bottles) of estate-grown Assyrtiko, Aidani and Mavrotragano alongside rotating contemporary art exhibitions.

Tasting: Year-round; tastings combined with the on-site sculpture and painting gallery. The space is built into the 1861 Argyros family canava at Exo Gonia.

Signature wines: art-space-santorini-assyrtiko, art-space-mavrotragano

Tip: Lesser-known than the Argyros family's larger Estate Argyros; a quieter alternative for visitors who want to combine wine with art in a working historic cellar.

Koutsoyannopoulos Winery (Volcan Wines) ★ 4.4

PDO Santorini / PDO Vinsanto / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, Athiri, Mandilaria, MavrotraganoFounded 1870Koutsoyannopoulos familyVothonas

Koutsoyannopoulos family canava at Vothonas (between Fira and Kamari), founded 1870 and operating since the 1990s with the on-site Wine Museum, an 8-room cave display covering 300 years of Santorini viticulture.

Tasting: Daily year-round; the visit combines the working winery, the underground Wine Museum (an 8-room cave tracing 300 years of Santorini wine history), and a tasting flight of the estate's Volcan Wines bottlings.

Signature wines: volcan-wines-assyrtiko, volcan-wines-nykteri, volcan-wines-vinsanto

Tip: The cave Wine Museum is the most child-friendly wine attraction on Santorini and one of the few rainy-day options on the island; the tasting flight afterwards is solid value.

Domaine Mikra Yi ★ 4.2

PDO Santorini / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, MavrotraganoFounded 2007Megalochori

Small estate working ungrafted kouloura parcels in the Megalochori area, founded in the late 2000s as part of the post-2000 boutique-winery wave. Limited production, by-appointment-only visits.

Tasting: Boutique by-appointment visits; small parcel of own-rooted kouloura vines near Megalochori, with a tasting room focused on single-vineyard Assyrtiko and a tiny Mavrotragano production.

Signature wines: mikra-yi-santorini, mikra-yi-mavrotragano

Tip: A hidden-gem stop for serious visitors who want a quieter, smaller cellar experience away from the cooperative-rim Santo Wines circuit.

Domaine Vassiliou Santorini ★ 4.0

PDO Santorini / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, MavrotraganoFounded 2010Vassiliou familyMegalochori

Small Vassiliou family operation at Megalochori producing estate-bottled PDO Santorini Assyrtiko in limited quantities. By-appointment visits only; output is mostly sold direct.

Tasting: By appointment only; small family cellar offering a focused PDO Santorini tasting and a Vinsanto tasting on request.

Signature wines: vassiliou-santorini-assyrtiko

Tip: A reservation-only stop for visitors who want to taste an older-style family canava away from the major tasting-room operators.

Volcanic Slopes Vineyards ★ 4.1

PDO Santorini / PGI CycladesAssyrtiko, Aidani, MavrotraganoFounded 2010Akrotiri

Boutique estate working parcels on the southern (Akrotiri) end of Santorini, where the most-exposed cliffside vineyards sit above the Vlychada black-sand beach. Small production focused on Assyrtiko and Mavrotragano.

Tasting: By appointment; visits focus on the southern Akrotiri vineyards above the volcanic black-sand beaches, with a tasting flight emphasising the southern-exposed, wind-scoured style.

Signature wines: volcanic-slopes-pure-volcanic-assyrtiko, volcanic-slopes-mavrotragano

Tip: Worth combining with a visit to the Akrotiri archaeological site and Red Beach; the southern-exposure style is leaner and more saline than the central-island norm.

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