Here in the UK, we’re extremely fond of weather comparisons: Best summer since? hottest day since? most rainfall since etc, etc. It not only gives us something to talk about, but currently helps take our minds off Brexs**t!

The recent UK weather has been pretty spectacular, so I’ve been tucking into some of this!

Initially, I thought there might be a smidge of Assyrtiko in it – due to a hint of fennel – but it is 100% Aidani, in all it’s peachy, muscaty glory. Fleshy, warm and chock full of rose and apricot flavours, each glug makes the sky seem that much brighter and the view from the terrace that much more like the Durrells.

Hatzidakis wines are perched on the outskirts of the village of Pyrgos Kallistis at a height of 150-300 metres facing nor nor-east – how’s that for seafaring slang – The vines are super gnarly, curled into bird’s nest shapes, on the bare ashy soil, to shelter the fruit from the strong winds coming off the sea.

The Aidani grapes, from non-irrigated, ungrafted, organic old vines, are given some skin, for around twelve hours, before fermentation and maturation in stainless steel, to give a peppery, pin sharp, lushly aromatic, pale yellow white that just oozes class.

And if that wasn’t romantic enough, I’m going to leave you with a snippet about Santorini, from my favourite wine writer Andrew Jefford – a man who, to my knowledge, has never used the word ‘smooth’ when describing a wine!

“Few wines taste of disaster and catastrophe… . It is, for me, the most pronounced vin de terroir in the world. In no other wine can you smell and taste with such clarity the mineral soup and bright sunlight which, gene-guided, structures the grape and its juice. As an unmasked terroiriste, there was no vineyard I was keener to visit… 

Definitely hotter than Greece!