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The winery is located in a refurbished tomato processing factory adjacent the famous black sand beach that stretches the length of the island’s Eastern coast; this distinctive turn of the century stone building is rare relic of the commercial activity that once flourished in Santorini.

Gaia completely refurbished the building and it now houses a state of the art winery where for well over a decade one of the island’s most renowned white wines ‘Thalassitis’ is produced from the hardy Assyrtiko grape.

Here visitors can tour the winemaking facilities, become acquainted with Santorini’s unique viniculture and gain an insight into the production process. In addition they will have the opportunity to taste the full range of Gaia wines – including those produced in their Nemea estate on the Peloponnesian peninsula.

Before leaving, visitors can also visit the traditional cellars where small quantities of a rare barrel-aged aromatic vinegar are produced.

The winery is open to visitors daily from 10:00 to 18:00.

Contact numbers : (+30)22860 71884, (+30)6932190994

Find Gaia Santorini Winery on Facebook

I am a resident of Santorini for more than 20 years now…I think we all locals don’t look at the signs almost at all because we know where we are going…So we are sign blind if you get what I mean.

So here are a few that I must show you…I hear that they will replace them with new ones this year but I still have to share this.

Here we go Sign Number one:

This is a sign that should have been on the correct side of the road and should give information to the visitors that “this is Akrotiri”? follow this road to Akrotiri? Oh and yes maybe it is time to put a new one up that a tourist couls read…and not guess.Just my thought.

Here is Number 2

This is the official Sign of Pirgos village.It is in the correct place but this also has to be replaced, it looks really bad for Santorini………..

Here is Number 3

Tell me what you think about this one…The sign indicates “MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT OF VOTHONAS MUNICIPALITY OF THERA” I believe that if a visitor reads this maybe he will believe that THIS is the Municipal Department of Vothonas……..?!But it really is just the bus station, a bit confusing if you ask me.

Here is Number 4

Well I can only tell you that this sign is about Exo Gonia village….No more comments here.

Number 5

This sign must be around 20 years old…Looks like this one has to be changed as well.

I have many more pictures of terrible signs to upload but I think you get my point.Santorini is among the most visited islands of Greece.The municipality of Thera or Thira must make the signs clear and easy to understand…No wonder so many tourists are stopping in the middle of the road imagining if they are on the right way to wherever…they want to go.But get me wrong here I love Santorini like no other place in the world but things like that make my angry.

I wish that these signs will be replaced in 2011 and make us look like we are really interested to point people to right direction.

Επισκέψιμο Οινοποιείο.

Από τις αρχές Μαΐου θα είναι ανοικτό σε επισκέπτες το πανέμορφο οινοποιείο της ΓΑΙΑΣ που βρίσκεται στην ανατολική ακτή του νησιού, στη θέση Βραχείες, μεταξύ του Καμαρίου & του Μονόλιθου.

Το παλιό αυτό πετρόκτιστο βιομηχανικό κτίριο, στέκει εκεί από τις αρχές του περασμένου αιώνα, δείγμα μιας βιομηχανικής δραστηριότητας που κάποτε ανθούσε στη Σαντορίνη, αυτής της επεξεργασίας της ντομάτας.

Η ΓΑΙΑ Οινοποιητική του ξανάδωσε ζωή μετατρέποντάς το σε ένα σύγχρονο οινοποιείο όπου εδώ και πάνω από μια δεκαετία παράγει ένα από τα γνωστότερα εμφιαλωμένα κρασιά του νησιού, τον ΘΑΛΑΣΣΙΤΗ.

Εδώ ο επισκέπτης θα ξεναγηθεί στους χώρους οινοποίησης, θα ενημερωθεί σχετικά με την παραγωγική διαδικασία και φυσικά θα δοκιμάσει μια σειρά από τα κρασιά της ΓΑΙΑ. Παράλληλα θα ξεναγηθεί και στους χώρους του μικρού οξοποιείου όπου με μεράκι και υπομονή παράγεται, σε ελάχιστους όγκους, ένα σπάνιο παλαιωμένο αρωματικό ξίδι.

Το οινοποιείο θα είναι ανοικτό στους επισκέπτες σε καθημερινή βάση από τις 10:00 μέχρι τις 18:00. Τηλέφωνα επικοινωνίας : 22860 34186, 22860 71884, 6932190994 & 6945777814.

By 31 December, possibly earlier, the shelter of prehistoric Akrotiri site would be restored, while the May 31, 2011 the project will be complete delivered to archaeologists in order to organize the space to be opened to the public. The episode of the fall of a roofs section, which among others killed a man will be considered closed. However, it has since passed (23 September 2005) much longer than necessary to restore the damage, caused by defects in materials, static failure, manufacturing process etc. The consequences of this delay also measured in many ways regarding to both tourism and science, as the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri remained locked and inaccessible to visitors and scientist.

A Briton and a Swiss is now head of the project after the study on the collapse causes and roof restoration  dedicated to the company Ove Arup & Rartners. Three cranes are currently working feverishly and, as Professor of Archaeology Ch. Doumas says, the only problem is the weather since the winds hinder their work. The ‘zero’ point is approaching and yet to be installed four columns from the 94 supporting the protective shelter.

‘The damage has made changes throughout the shelter in seismic bearings and columns that support it,’ says the bioclimatic shelter architect Mr. N. Fintikakis. As he explains, the entire roof was replaced and now consists of solid metal beams, and also all the columns and seismic bearings are replaced. Over the metal roof will be installed as insulation and in accordance with the original design, the roof surface will be planted greenery.

According to Mr. Fintikakis, the remaining work is the installation of the ceiling, the windows on the perimeter doors and windows, and walkways (inside and outside). The biological treatment is already completed and the intermediate attic that was placed above the ancient to protect them is now removed.

‘The archaeological work was stopped at Akrotiri on the day of the accident. So stpped in the middle of the museological study for the ancients findings emergence. That means that after the shelter will be delivered, not everything will be completed. We have serious work ahead of us once we deliver it‘ says Mr. Doumas. Specifically, within the site remains a road map for visitors, promoting the building of the settlement and thematic exhibitions of ancient findings will be placed on wooden shelves, closed with glass. ‘Akrotiri is an ancient city, not a museum, so all operations in the archaeological area will be requiring attention. The shelves should not be confused with the ancient nor cause great opposition‘ says Mr. Doumas. Externally provided a road map from the country line to the entrance of the site (about 150 meters) and a special place for visitors and guides at the entrance.

Recalled that the project developer is the Archaeological Society and the contractor J & P-AVAX. As for the budget, it is 30 million.

The shelter at Akrotiri was constructed in 2000 to replace the original, which was handy. This bioclimatic construction of stainless steel, wood and earth and has a life prediction of 300 years.

It covers 13.5 acres excavated archaeological site, which is a small part (!) of the city flourished in the Aegean in the second millennium BC

Akrotiri was unearthed by archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos in 1967

I was still within sight of the scooter rental shop when I discovered my ATV didn’t have reverse. Greek traffic being what it is, a delivery truck in front of me decided to back up the one-way street to avoid a cluster of mopeds that had tangled with a crowd in the intersection.

“Get off and push!” yelled the guy who rented it to me, Basilis Baritimidis, who also happened to be the coach of the Greek Olympic downhill ski team (which trains in Bulgaria, he explained, when I lifted an eyebrow).

Thanks, Coach.

When I had rented the ATV for 10 days, he had looked shocked. Most tourists stay only a few days in Santorini before hitting their next Greek island. With such a commitment, he said, I might actually get to see the real side of the crescent-shaped sunken volcano where tourists outnumber locals most months of the year.

“Just stay away from Fira,” he warned.

“Efkharisto,” I said, thanking him. Then I revved the engine and made a beeline for Fira.

There, I pressed through the throng of cruise ship day-trippers, down alleys lined with shops selling engagement rings, strappy Grecian sandals, sea sponges, $2 pieces of lava rock and Byzantine-era religious icons for $150.

Up to nine cruise ships offload here in Santorini’s capital city daily, carrying several hundred to several thousand passengers each. Newlyweds and retirees ride a tram or a donkey from the Aegean port in Fira up 566 twisting cliff steps. The camera-toting crowds lent a paparazzi atmosphere, and the donkey droppings gave it that rustic farm smell.

Basilis was right: Fira had about as much cultural authenticity as Cabo.

Driving the ATV south the next day, the bustle of Fira gave way to small villages of cave houses, with laundry lines and vineyards. I pulled into a gallery, where a woman who recreates the 17th century Minoan urns and wall paintings of ancient Akrotiri wanted to tell me about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s recent visit.

“Yeah, but where do you go on your lunch break?” I asked.

She steered me to Dolphins, a fish taverna, where the waves literally crash onto the floor, and fishermen pull up in boats to give their catches to ya ya (grandma) in the kitchen.

In answer to my request for “white fish,” the waiter brought me a fish called Pandora – eyeballs, fins and all. I devoured the body, and slipped the rest to the pug/Pekinese dog with the cartoonish underbite begging at my feet.

I watched fishermen dock their boats, hook their fingers into the gills of fish the size of their legs, and lug them into the kitchen.

A few days later, I met the professor.

Frank Morris taught Greek and Latin classics at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. He spoke fluent Greek with a southern drawl, and it was his 16th trip to Santorini with his students. After 35 years in academia, he was hosting his Big Fat Greek Retirement Bash, and he scribbled the address on a piece of binder paper.

His send-off took the top floor of a restaurant in Pyrgos, (pop: 500) where the owners played traditional Greek songs on the bouzouki while all 30 0f us danced in a circle, our arms around each other. Step, step, kick, reverse. Step, step, kick, reverse.

I forgot how many times we shouted “Opa” that night. It felt as if we had been friends since childhood. When I ran into Morris, his two daughters and son-in-law a few days later at the lighthouse, and again at the secluded Red Beach, Santorini was my hometown, if for just a minute or two.

By the end of my stay, I had neighbors. My favorite was Yiannis Kafiris, who sprinted in running shoes with surprises from the kitchen of Iris, a cliff side restaurant in Imerovigli not found in any guidebooks.

“No, no, let me bring you,” he likes to say, whisking the menu out of your hands.

It took me three visits to realize Yiannis prefers to skip the menu because he was taking orders then racing to the kitchen to cook them. He’s the combo maitre d’, sommelier, waiter, busboy and chef.

Close to closing time in his kitchen one night, he dropped his tourist smile and told me his story: His wife and 4-month-old baby live upstairs, and he was about to buy the restaurant with his father when someone swindled the family.

Yiannis showed me an altar with a burning candle he keeps in the kitchen for his father, now ailing with a broken heart. “Now it’s just me, every day from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. I just work.”

He offered his guests a shot of ouzo, and we toasted his father. Then Yiannis wiped his tears and checked the grilling octopus.

With just a day left on the island, I boarded a 38-foot Blue Lagoon catamaran for a sunset cruise of the caldera. Three newlywed couples and I snorkeled in hot springs, dined on Captain Jimmy Nichols’ grilled squid and danced on deck to Journey songs Nichols blasted through his onboard stereo.

Everyone on board had just arrived to the island, and when they discovered I was on my 10th day, they wanted recommendations.

“Stay away from Fira,” I said.

“If you want a meal that will stay on your mind for years, go to Iris, in Imerovigli. It’s not listed. Ask for Yiannis. He’ll take care of you.”

(C) San Francisco Chronicle 2010