he most important of the island is the grape. It is said that the variety grown is the same that once flourished in Monemvasia and from which the legendary Malmsey was made. When the vineyards there fell into ruin, cuttings were taken and planted in Cyprus and Santorini.
The truth of the matter is that there are a number of varieties under cultivation, each with its own special name in the local dialect, and all of them are the very finest quality -as is the wine made from them. In the past the only types of wine known were the red, dry 'brusco', the 'Bordeaux'-type wines, the 'night-wine' (see below) and the sweet red wine from sun-dried grapes -from vino sancto, or Communion wine.
One of the Santorini wines was made from untrodden grapes: the last loads brought each evening by the muleteers and which would be trambled next morning lay all night heaped in the press, which caused the grapes to burst of their own accord and the juice to run out. This juice was collected in a special container and from it the 'night wine' ('nychteri') was made.

f one excepts the grape there is something peculiar about all the agricultural produce of Santorini. Take the tomatoes, for instance -the second most important crop of the island. Though their tiny size -you can find cherries which are bigger than Santorini tomatoes- their taste is delicious. Another of the strange products is the chick-pea ('fava' in Greek). It's a pulse, smaller than a dried pea, about the same colour as lentils and completely irregular in shape. Even more pecular are the fruit and vegetables grown on the island. The aubergines are white. There are white water-melons, too -the meat of the fruit , not the skin- with jet-black pips.

So you shouldn't miss to taste these delicious local products during your visit to the island!...

Photos and text taken from "Santorini - Today and yesterday" (Toubis Editions)

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