Vassaltis Vineyards | by T. Kartali #14

Photos by Yiorgos Kaplanidis

Yiannis Valambous holding his wine Plethora 

Arriving on the island almost 10 years ago to take up the vineyards his late father had left him, Valambous managed to build his own winery, a state-of-the-art facility which today produces 10 labels, but he didn’t do it alone. Valambous is working in consultation with Ilias rousakis, an oenologist who has worked with one of the most well-known Santorini producers, Paris Sigalas, and with yiannis Papaeconomou, a traveling oenologist with winemaking experience gained in famous wine regions around the world. “It hasn’t been easy,” Valambous says, “having to overcome the obstacles of Greek bureaucracy, especially during the height of the economic crisis.” As for details regarding his output, Valambous is forthcoming: “About 30% of the production comes from the privately owned vineyard, the biggest part of which has been replanted in the last seven years.” The rest of the grapes, he explains, come from rented vineyards managed by his team along with fruit sourced from different growers. The varieties planted in Valambous’ vineyard are the traditional varieties of Santorini, mainly Assyrtiko, Aidani and Athiri.

It all started in 2012. Having arrived fresh from London where he had completed his master’s degree and had worked briefly in finance before deciding to make a complete uturn in his career, Valambous proceeded to sell the grapes produced in the family vineyard to other producers, following his father’s business model. “That year we sold all of our production but, instead of being happy, I felt an extreme sense of emptiness inside me. It was at that moment that I turned to my partner, Ilias roussakis, an oenologist with vast expe- rience of the Santorini terroir, and asked him if he’d be willing to start producing our own wine instead of selling our grapes to others. There was no hesitation in his answer, and this is what set it all off.” The building of the new winery began in 2014, and was completed a year and a half later. It was baptized Vassaltis (“Basalt“) Vineyards, taking its name from the volcanic rock formed by the cooling of lava. Great emphasis was given to the architectural design of the building, which now sits on the coastal road to Oia, in the area of Vourvoulos. “We tried to combine modern elements with the traditional architecture of Santorini, making the winery an efficient production unit while still creating an inviting space for our visitors.” The winery officially opened its doors in 2016, and today organizes wine tastings based on four different flights, where the visitor has the opportunity to experience a deeper understanding of the potential of Santorini’s unique terroir.

Vassaltis produces between 55,000 and 60,000 bottles annually, far from its production potential of 100,000. The rising cost of grapes on the island is one of the biggest problems Valambous has to face, a concern shared by the majority of the island’s wine producers. Santorini’s overall vineyard holdings have shrunk considerably during the last few decades, due to the boom in tourism and, some say, a series of decisions by the Greek state which were meant to protect the wine industry, but which, according to many producers, have led to its further decline.

The arrival on the island of a number of well-known winemakers from mainland Greece seems to have created a further strain on the limited grape production, pushing prices upwards and increasing the competition amongst the wineries. “When I started out, the price was one euro a kilo. Now it’s four, and it’s rising,” says Valambous, stressing that a continued rise in prices will end up having a negative effect on Santorini wines sales, “especially in greece where consumers are not accustomed to paying higher prices for a bottle of wine.”

On the other hand, he argues that Santorini is a unique terroir, producing singular wines, and it must be recognized as such: “Being such a unique terroir, of course it’s inevitable that it will attract more and more producers who wish to experiment with the Santorini Assyrtiko. Competition is good for all, as long as everything is done in the right way.”

Valambous certainly seems to have found the right way for himself. What is the secret to this young man’s success? “Well, for me,“ he says, “the most important thing is to recognize your mistakes and learn from them. Having said that, I believe that what really helped us was good timing; I think Santorini was ready for something new.” Valambous seems to have it all very clear in his mind. he recognizes that coming from a totally different background, he will never become a winemaker himself, lacking the knowledge and the knowhow. So, instead he leaves the winemaking to the rest of the team, Ilias Rousakis and Yiannis Papaeconomou, while he takes care of the finances, the sales and the marketing of the wines. “You need to know where you stand. let an oenologist take care of the finances and an economist make the wine, and you have the recipe for disaster,” he says, laughing.