Santo Wines is the winery most visitors to Santorini end up at, and for a good reason: its terrace above Pyrgos looks straight across the caldera to the volcano, and the sun goes down right in front of it. That also makes it the busiest tasting room on the island at the hour everyone wants. Here is how to book a table, what the flights cost and pour, and three ways to get there.
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How we chose these ways to visit Santo Wines
Santo Wines is not a family estate. It is the winery of the Union of Santorini Cooperatives, founded in its first form in 1911 and today counting about 1,200 growers, which is why its range covers almost every style the island makes. The winery and tasting center in Pyrgos opened in 1992, and the cooperative says more than 600,000 people have visited.
Because so many tours stop here, we looked for the options that actually change the visit rather than repeat it. One is booking the tasting yourself, which is the cheapest way in. One is a small-group tour that saves Santo for sunset after two smaller cellars. One is a private transfer for travelers who want the terrace without a tour. Each had to name Santo Wines in its itinerary, publish what is included and show its price up front. Our criteria are set out in our editorial methodology.
Booking Santo Wines yourself
1. Santo Wines Tasting Flights, Booked Direct
Why it’s on the list. It is the same terrace and the same wines as every tour that stops here, for a fraction of the price, and you choose how long to stay. The winery sells its tastings through its own booking page, where you pick a date, a time slot and a flight for each guest.
The trade-off is that nobody drives you and nobody explains the island’s vineyards on the way. From Fira or Imerovigli a taxi up to Pyrgos is the simple answer; if you want the story of the basket-trained vines as well as the view, one of the tours below adds it.
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Book a tasting on the Santo Wines site →
Visiting Santo Wines on a tour
2. Santorini Day Tours: Two Cellars, Then Sunset at Santo
Why it’s on the list. It is the tour built around Santo Wines rather than one that passes by: the first two stops are smaller wineries, chosen from Estate Argyros, Sigalas, Gaia and Anhydrous, and the van reaches the caldera terrace in time for the sunset. Hundreds of reviews and a near-perfect score make it the safest booking of the three.
The guide walks you through a vineyard on the way, which is the part a direct booking misses. It suits a first trip to Santorini and anyone who does not want to drive after twelve tastings. The catch is the clock: the sunset departures are the ones everyone wants, so book as soon as your dates are fixed.
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3. Private Transfer and a Reserved Visit at Santo Wines
Why it’s on the list. It answers the question many couples actually have: how to get to the terrace at sunset, with a table waiting, without joining a group. The operator arranges the reservation and drives you there and back in a private car, at the time you choose.
Be clear about what you are paying for. The price covers the car and the reservation; the wine and any food are paid at the winery, and the listing mentions a minimum spend that depends on where you sit. Split among four to seven people it is good value; for two, the direct booking plus a taxi costs less. There are no Viator reviews yet, so it suits travelers who value the convenience more than a track record.
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Want to see every sunset wine tour on the island?
Small-group and private departures, many ending at a caldera winery.
How to book a sunset table at Santo Wines
The terrace is the reason to come, and the hour before sunset is when every seat is wanted. The winery itself says Wine Enthusiast named it the best place on the island to taste wine while watching the sun go down over the caldera, and the crowd agrees. Three things make the visit smoother.
- Book online, not at the door. The booking page sells tastings by time slot and opens two days ahead at the earliest, so plan it before you land. Choose the slot that ends near sunset, not the one that starts at it.
- Decide between a tasting and dinner. The restaurant at the same center serves Mediterranean food built on island produce, daily from 14:30 to 22:30, with the same view. It is a separate booking from the tasting flights.
- Go early if you want the cellar. A guided winery tour (€14) and a short documentary on the cooperative’s history (€8) can be added to a tasting, and both work better in daylight than at the sunset rush.
If the Pyrgos terrace is full, the cooperative also runs Santo 1911 on Vlychada beach, on the south coast: a restored tomato factory turned into an exhibition on the island’s farming, with Santo tastings, open Monday to Saturday from 15:00 to 22:30.
What to order at Santo Wines
Almost everything here is built on Assyrtiko, the white grape that dominates the island and keeps its acidity even in Santorini’s heat and wind. The flights are the easiest way in, and they step up clearly:
- Three wines (€35): two PDO Santorini whites and a dry red, the introduction.
- Four wines (€40): a wider selection from the range.
- Five wines (€45): three different expressions of Assyrtiko, a red and the Vinsanto. This is the one to choose.
Vinsanto is the island’s historic sweet wine, made from grapes dried in the sun before pressing and then aged for years in barrel; tasting it next to a young, salty Assyrtiko shows how much range one grape has. If you can, ask about Nykteri too, the oak-aged white whose name recalls the old habit of harvesting at night. For a slower visit, the winery’s Vinotheque pours rare older vintages by request.
To eat, the plates are sized for two or three people: aged cheese and cold cuts or a seafood plate (both €39), or a Cycladic cheese plate (€30). Santo also produces PDO Santorini cherry tomatoes and fava, and both turn up on the menu and in the shop. If a bottle comes home with you, our guide to shipping wine home to the US covers the rules.
Prices are indicative and set by our booking partners.
Which island cellars to add to the day
Santo Wines shows you the island’s range in one place; the smaller estates show you how individual it can be. Estate Argyros in Episkopi Gonia, founded in 1903, farms more than 120 hectares with vines that average over 70 years old. Venetsanos, which calls itself the island’s first industrial winery, pairs its tastings with a light lunch. And the Koutsogiannopoulos Wine Museum, in a cave eight meters underground, explains the island’s wine history before you taste it.
A good plan is one smaller cellar in the late morning, a long lunch, and Santo Wines for the evening. Our guide to Santorini wineries maps the villages and how the basket-trained vines work, and our comparison of Santorini wine tours covers the full-day options if you would rather someone else plan the route. For a base close to Pyrgos and the caldera cellars, see where to stay in Santorini for wine lovers.
The island is small, and most cellars are a short drive apart, but Greece’s drink-driving limit is lower than in most US states. If you plan to taste at more than one winery, let a tour or a taxi do the driving; our notes on renting a car for a wine trip explain when a car still makes sense.
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Staying on Santorini for more than a day? A small car makes the villages easy.
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