Gaia Vinsanto, Santorini 2012

Not to be confused with Tuscany's version, Greek Vinsanto is always lusciously sweet - and this one is up there with the richest of them. Made from Assyrtiko grapes, some left to dry in the Aegean sun to intensify their flavours, it's an exercise in concentration. After ten days, the shrivelled grapes yield barely 100 litres of juice per acre, before ageing for over a decade in oak. The result? A deep, caramelised richness packed with dried fruit, warm spice, and an unashamedly sweet, lingering finish. Decadent, complex, and unmistakable.

Serve at around 10–12°C and let the richness shine. Perfect with rich chocolate, salty blue cheese, or sticky baklava - the intense sweetness balancing savoury depth, and syrupy pastry like a dream.

One of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution Gaia Wines was established in 1997 by Greek winemakers Leon Karatsalos and Yiannis Paraskevopoulos a PHD graduate in Enology from the university of Bordeaux. Operating two different wineries they make cutting edge wines in both Nemea on the Peloponnese peninsula and the idyllic island of Santorini in the Cyclades, some of the most promising wine producing areas in Greece. Gaia's main aim is to show off the potential of the indigenous Greek grape varieties worldwide. Over the years they've grown steadily, when they started production was less than 10,000 bottles, now it’s in the hundreds of thousands. At Nemea the reds made from Agiorgitiko take centre stage, while on Santorini it's the whites made from Assyrtiko.