Pirates of the Aegean Part 3: Santorini and Vassaltis

By Terry Kandylis

‘Never was anything great achieved without great danger’ said Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian political philosopher circa around the dawn of the 15th century. And probably this is what Yannis Valambous had in mind in 2010 when he decided to leave his beloved London and a rather brief but successful finance career in the city to invest in Santorini and start the winemaking project of Vassaltis winery literally on the peak of the economic recession that hit the country. Back then it was the youngest winery on the volcanic island in the southern Aegean, that has become the cornerstone of Greece’s modern wine success story. Vassaltis derives from Basalt, a metamorphic rock of volcanic origin which is particularly associated with the terroir of Santorini.