THE REGION

Tinos is a northern island of the Greek Cyclades in the southern Aegean Sea. Extending over a little less than 200 km2, it is in the immediate extension of Andros and right before Mykonos. The island is dominated by the imposing rock of the Exombourgo at 640m of altitude and is formed of mica schists and granites. Its exposure to the northern winds, mainly the "meltemi", made it into ancient mythology the home of the god Aeolus. The island is also the center of the Greek Orthodox pilgrimage since the visions of the Virgin of St. Pelagia.

Legends and myths accompany the moon-like landscape of Falatados and Volax and the famous round granite rocks. It is said that they are the remnants of a mythical battle between gods and giants, that the volakes (large cannonballs) took their shape from the sea, or that they came from a shower. According to geologists, they are granite rocks that have been formed 15-25 million years ago and with the changes in temperature, in humidity, they have been induced by the wind, they have been developed and developed into a spherical shape.

The landscape of Tinos consists of terraces suggesting an intense agricultural activity. The origins of wine production dates to Prehistory with traces of the vine in this granite landscape, swept by violent winds, in Antiquity and then in the Middle Ages. Historically, the grapes were pressed and vinified on the spot, given the difficult access and distance to the villages. Wine presses were built in sheltered places to protect themselves from extreme wind. These stone places are the origin of the name of the place "Stegasta" ("covered" in Greek).