5 Best Sights in The Cyclades, Greece

Founded in 1870, the Koutsoyannopoulos Winery offers a tour of its old facility, now a multiroom museum that is picturesque, authentic, and mostly underground. Tools, techniques, and the original business office are from a world long gone—but the wines, as the ensuing tasting proves, are contemporary and refined. The Wine Spectator rated their Assyrtiko among the world's top 100 whites. To add your own kudos, note that this admired winery is open year-round.

The first of the island's wineries to open to the public puts on a big show, with a bright, view-filled tasting room surrounded by vineyards. A distinctly Santorini experience is a taste of Kallisti, a version of the Assyrtiko variety, and the exceptional Estate Argyros Vinsanto, an international award winner.

Growing the best Greek grapes has everything to do with the land, and the oenologists at Domaine Sigalas, on the ancient plain of Ia, are happy to share their knowledge of the unique Santorini soil and over three millennia of winemaking on the island. A respected name in Greek wines, the family-run winery has opened up its lush inland vineyard at Baxes for tastings and food pairing sessions. Groups are kept small and are priced from €50 per person.

One of the oldest vineyards, this winery has been exporting its distinguished produce since the days when mules carted wine-filled goatskins to the port in Fira. Tastings in the atmospheric old storage and pressing rooms include Voudomato, a native dry rosé, and Nykteri, a sophisticated white from the island's indigenous Assyrtiko grapes—the name means "working the night away," because the grapes have traditionally been harvested at night to avoid damage from the heat.

In the back of their quaint neoclassical house, the Vallindras family has supplied Naxos and Greece with kitro liqueur from their distillery since 1896. Before you take the free tour, sample various flavors and strengths of the Greek aperitif that is marked with a Protected Destination of Origin (PDO) status. In the distillery room, examine the more-than-100-year-old copper equipment, which continues to produce the island's strong, traditional aperitif.