Go to section: Assyrtiko tasting characteristics | Origins of assyrtiko | How to pair food with assyrtiko | Serving temperature for assyrtiko | The best Australian assyrtiko regions
Assyrtiko wine
Assyrtiko is a Greek grape variety that produces fresh, crisp and dry white wines. You'll like assyrtiko if you like chablis, riesling, sauvignon blanc, or other citrus-forward, high-acid, mineral wine.
Assyrtiko tasting characteristics
More of a textural variety than an aromatic one, assyrtiko wines are crisp, mineral and structured with high acidity – a trait retained even when the grapes are super ripe. While examples from Santorini tend to show more freshness, power and minerality than those from the rest of Greece (especially those aged in oak), common characteristics include lemon, lime, passionfruit, flint and saline.
Origins of assyrtiko
Assyrtiko is native to Santorini, where its vines are trained in a basket shape and kept close to the ground to protect the grapes from the island’s harsh sun and high winds.Today, assyrtiko is widely planted in the volcanic soil of Santorini, where it produces the lean, mineral and concentrated PDO Santorini wines, but it is increasingly being grown in many other Greek wine regions. There are even small plantings in the United States.
Try these examples from Greece: 2020 Estate Argyros Assyrtiko (Santorini), 2021 Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko (Santorini), 2021 Kir-Yianni Assyrtiko (Amyndeon).
How to pair food with assyrtiko
Pair assyrtiko with anything you’d eat on a Greek island: shellfish, grilled fish and octopus, salad with tomato, feta and olives, even lamb.
Serving temperature for assyrtiko
The ideal serving temperature for assyrtiko is 8–10 degrees.Sign up to view these tasting notes and ratings
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The best Australian assyrtiko wine regions
In Australia, Jim Barry Wines in the Clare Valley is the country's only commercial producer of assyrtiko. Third-generation winemaker Peter Barry first planted the variety in 2012 at the family’s Lodge Hill vineyard after tasting it while on holiday in Santorini in 2006.Immediately understanding it to be a natural partner to both Australia’s climate and cuisine, Barry began the process of importing cuttings from Argyros Estate in Santorini, before releasing his first vintage in 2014.
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