It is hard to imagine a better two-day event on a particular wine region than Santorini’s Vedema. The inaugural edition was in 2022, and I was lucky enough to attend the second, running September 29–30, 2023. Based at one of Katikies five-star hotels—Katikies Garden, a beautifully converted former monastery in Fira, the largest town—it is the brainchild of the charismatic and dynamic Athens-based Greek Master of Wine Yiannis Karakasis, who is doing as much as anybody to highlight the distinctive personality and sheer quality of the island’s wines—not only through this annual event but also through his magisterial book The Wines of Santorini (2021) and his 50 Great Greek Wines project, involving no fewer than seven of his fellow MWs.
A remarkable Santorini tour d’horizon
The amazing setting—luxury accommodation, privacy, tranquillity, and spectacular views out over Santorini’s famous caldera—is of course part of the appeal, as is the culinary excellence of the Selene restaurant under its Michelin-starred executive chef Ettore Botrini and the passion and professionalism of the genuinely warm and welcoming young staff. But what makes the event perhaps uniquely satisfying and stimulating is the combination of focus and range: The entire event takes place in the same charming, convenient, and intimate surroundings but includes almost all of the island’s 21 producers (there are as many as 1,000 growers, but that’s another part of the story); in 2022, there were 17 at the all-afternoon walk-around tasting on the second day, and in 2023, 19. (One resident sommelier said
This Article was originally published on World of Fine Wine
