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Assyrtiko Food Pairing: 21 Delicious Matches

This Assyrtiko Food Pairing Guide will help you find the right foods with Greece’s best white grape. It’s the famous grape from the island of Santorini. It’s also grown throughout Greece and even in Australia! In 2009, I worked harvest at Sigalas Winery. I got to know the Assyrtiko grape on an intimate level; I was covered in grape guts for 6 straight weeks. It ranks among the worst experiences of my life but I did fall in love with the Assyrtiko grape. It is a delicious wine and pairing food with Assyrtiko can be an a-ha moment if done correctly. Because the climate in Santorini is unique, I’ve differentiated food pairing with Santorini Assyrtiko and food pairing with Assyrtiko from the rest of Greece.

Santorini Assyrtiko overlooking the caldera
Santorini Assyrtiko Food Pairing

Aromas and Flavors of Assyrtiko

Assyrtiko smells and tastes exactly how you’d imagine a grape grown in lava beside the Aegean sea would. Assyrtiko smells like lemons and limes, orange blossoms, wet rocks, seashells, and petrol.

What does Assyrtiko taste like?

On the palate, Assyrtiko is a very acidic wine with strong minerality and a undeniable saline quality. Your palate isn’t playing tricks on you; Assyrtiko has a tannin quality as well.

When pairing food with Assyrtiko, you need to remember that it is not some passive grape; its the star of the show. You can’t pound a bottle of Santorini Assyrtiko on the back porch. It’s a wine that demands respect and the proper food pairing.

Assyrtiko with Octopus and Lemon
Assyrtiko pairs with seafood like octopus and oysters

What food pairs with Santorini Assyrtiko?

As you can imagine, Assyrtiko pairs with almost anything coming out of the sea. If it grows together, it goes together. Sardines, grilled fish, fried calamari and grilled octopus with a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon are absolutely superb with Assyrtiko. Oysters and lobster are a no brainer with Santorini Assyrtiko, as well. Big disclaimer: Assyrtiko from Santorini DOES NOT PAIR with sushi unless you like the taste of aluminum foil. Sushi is way too delicate.

Santorini only grows a few other food products; capers, fava, and tiny tomatoes (notice they’re all vines). As you can imagine, these also pair with Assyrtiko, tomatoes especially. Another cool food pairing with Assyrtiko is anchovy pizza, go ahead, try it. Assyrtiko pairs well with strong salty cheeses like feta and haloumi. It also matches with Greeks spreads like taramosalata (fish roe dip) and ahinosalata (sea urchin dip). Sommeliers rejoice! It even pairs with notorious wine-killer asparagus, preferably in risotto form.

Grilled fish pairs well with Santorini Assyrtiko

Assyrtiko Food Pairing (rest of Greece)

Assyrtiko’s minerality and saline are toned down in grapes grown off of Santorini, but that citrus character is unrelenting. Assyrtiko smells and tastes like lemon, lemon zest, and lime with some stone fruit like apricots. Without the lava soils and extreme heat and wind, the vines are less stressed and don’t express minerality as strongly. Assyrtiko from the rest of Greece can accommodate even more foods in addition to the one’s above. Pair it with anything you’d squeeze a lemon on like horta, or wild greens, Greek chicken with lemon potatoes, or pork souvlaki sticks.

Oak aged Assyrtiko pairs well with heavier traditional Greek dishes like moussaka, pastitsio, and giouvetsi.

Assyrtiko Food Pairing Chart

Greek foods with Assyrtiko

  • Taramosalata
  • Sea urchin
  • Greek salad
  • Grilled octopus
  • Fava
  • Greek chicken with lemon potatoes
  • Psarosoupa (fish soup)
  • Roasted lamb with lemon
  • Pork souvlaki
  • Feta/Halloumi cheese

International foods with Assyrtiko

  • Oysters
  • Grilled lobster
  • Fried calamari
  • Asian style sea bass with black bean sauce
  • Asparagus Risotto
  • Grilled fish
  • Gazpacho
  • Spaghetti e Alici
  • Grilled chicken skewers
  • Capers
  • Pecorino/Chevre
Santorini vine in koulouri basket
Koulouri: Basket-like vine training on the island of Santorini

Where is Assyrtiko planted?

You’ll mainly find Assyrtiko grapes in Santorini. Santorini is a volcanic island between the mainland and Crete. The volcano erupted in 3500 years ago. The blast was so massive that it changed the landscape of the Aegean and possibly destroyed entire civilizations. What it left behind was 30 meters of pomace and lava soils. If you’re wondering, lava isn’t a hospitable soil type to grow much, except for vines.

The intense winds blowing through the Cyclades islands made it necessary to train Assyrtiko vines into baskets called koulouria. Experienced farmers train Assyrtiko grapes, as well as all other grapes grown on Santorini, to grow on the inside of the basket to protect them from the wind but also the sun. They are a nightmare to harvest. Santorini vines bake in the sun from April to September without a drop of rainfall. It is one of the most extreme terroirs, or grape growing climates in the world.

Farmers have planted Assyrtiko throughout the rest of Greece. Wineries are making beautiful expression of Assyrtiko in northern Greece, the rest of the Aegean, and on the island of Crete. These Assyrtikos are much less aggressive but very worthy of exploration. Mainland Assyrtiko is much more fruit-driven and floral. Even without the basket-trained vines, Assyrtiko is a sensitive grape to grow. The best part of these non-Santorini Assyrtikos is that they are half the price of Santorini Assyrtiko. Start with Assyrtiko from the rest of Greece if you’re warming up to wine. You can build up to the Queen in due time.

Serving Suggestions for Assyrtiko

Because Assyrtiko has intensity of flavor and high acidity, it also ages very well. Try to find Assyrtiko between 3 and 5 years old. Serve Assyrtiko very chilled in a wide bowled glass. Some older Assyrtiko wines may need to be decanted.


Top Assyrtiko Picks Available Online

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What about you? Do you like Assyrtiko? Who’s your favorite producer? Do you prefer Santorini Assyrtiko or the from the mainland or other islands? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Assyrtiko T-shirt
Grab an Assyrtiko T-shirt on my wine tour’s website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Assyrtiko taste like?

Assyrtiko has a strong citrus flavor of lemons, lemon zest, and lime. Assyrtiko from Santorini will also have a seaweed-saline character as well. When grown on the mainland, Assyrtiko also develops orange blossom and peach flavors as well.

How do you pronounce Assyrtiko?

Assyrtiko is pronounced Ah-SEER-tee-co. It can also be spelled Asyrtico or Assyrtico.

What is the best Greek wine?

Of course, this is a matter of taste, but Santorini Assyrtiko definitely ranks in the top 3 best wines of Greece. It is arguable the noblest white grape with the most unique character. Santorini Assyrtiko is age-worthy and competes with some of the best wine appellations in the world.

What is Greek wine called?

There are two words for wine in Greece: Krasi and oenos. Krasi is the familiar name and oenos is formal. No one would ask for a glass of oinos, they’d say krasi. However, a wine maker is called an oenologist.

Assyrtiko Food Pairing
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4 thoughts on “Assyrtiko Food Pairing: 21 Delicious Matches”

  1. Vassilis Arvanitidis

    Exellent pairing with Lab and small Goat as well, the strong character of the wine and the acidity paored beautifully with those strong taste meats!

  2. As a notorious Francophile, I have to say that Assyrtiko has replaced Muscadet as my favorite accompaniment to shellfish of all kinds.

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