Our Story

The story of Liora begins with a single belief: that the Assyrtiko grape, grown in the volcanic ash of Santorini's caldera, has something to say that no other variety in the world can say. Our founder, Elara Vance, planted her first vines on a small plot on the rim of the caldera in 1957. The first vintage was bottled in 1958 under a handwritten label that read simply: Liora — the light.

The volcanic soil — no topsoil, just pumice, ash and basalt — produces grapes with extraordinary concentration and acidity. The absence of phylloxera on the island means the island's vines are among the oldest in the world, many trained in the traditional kouloura basket shape that protects them from the Aegean wind.

Elara's son, Nikos Vance, inherited the estate in 1974 and spent five years quietly studying other Greek appellations before expanding. In 1979, he acquired a small parcel of old Xinomavro vines in Naoussa, in northern Greece's Imathia region — and a separate Moschofilero plot in Mantinia. His conviction was that Liora should express the full range of what Greece could produce, not just the island on which it was founded.

It was also Nikos who introduced the winery's commitment to organic viticulture — two decades before it became fashionable. Certified across all estate vineyards since 1994, the approach is not a marketing position but a practical one: the volcanic and limestone soils of the Greek appellations need no correction, only respect.

Sofia Vance, Nikos's daughter, returned to Santorini in 2011 after six years studying and working in Burgundy, the Wachau, and the Napa Valley. She completed construction of a new gravity-fed cellar — cut directly into the volcanic rock — in 2019. The result is a space where grapes move by gravity from reception through pressing to fermentation, reducing the mechanical intervention that can strip a wine of character.

Under Sofia's direction, Liora has received five consecutive Decanter scores of 90 points or above, a Berlin Wine Trophy Gold, and a “Best Greek Rosé” distinction from 50 Great Greek Wines. More importantly, the wines have found their way onto tables in thirty countries — served by people who have come to trust the Liora name as a reliable measure of quality and honesty.