Οινοποιείο Βενετσάνου

Venetsanos Winery

Useful Information

Location:	Caldera Megalochori, Santorini Island 847 00. (36.3826643, 25.4316313)
Open:	16-JAN to MAR daily 10-16. APR daily 10-20. MAY to OCT daily 10-21. NOV to 14-DEC daily 10-16. [2024]
Fee:	Wine Tour: Adults EUR 12. Wine Tasting: Adults EUR 35-44. [2024]
Classification:	Cellar Santorini Cave Houses
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=40 min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Venetsanos Winery, Caldera Megalochori, P.O. Box 510, Santorini Island 847 00, Tel: +30-2286-021100. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Οινοποιείο Βενετσάνου (Venetsanos Winery) is a family-run winery from 1947 with unique architecture, terrace, café, guided tours and events. Located right above the port of Athinios, the terrace is overlooking the magnificent caldera of Santorini. The Venetsanos family has a long tradition of making wine, they are one of the most important wine producers in the Aegean. Originally they made the wine for the locals, they started to export their wine all over the world. A main customer was Russia.

When they built this new winery in 1947, it was the first industrial winery on the island. The designe was optimized to use gravity for the transport of wine from one step of the production process to the next. The fact that it was dug into the cliff face made this possible. This was not based on eco-friendliness, it was a necessity as the village was not electrified at that time and the available power sources were expensive. Nevertheless, the winery had its own generator which was powered by a steam engine.

The winery is today a museum, which shows all the machinery, tools and instruments which were used around 1950. The buildings were recently renovated. The wine tasting experience takes place on the Main Hall Terrace. It includes some traditional local snacks and a great view on the caldera.

While the buildings from 1947 are used as museum and wine tasting location the winery is still operational. Venetsanos Winery manages 15 hectares of vineyards, mostly with Assyrtiko grapes. Other grapes are Athiri, Aidani, Platani, Mavrotragano, and Mandilaria.