The People
Yannis Valambous is the founder of Vassaltis. He holds a BsC in Economics from the University of Reading and MSc in Investment Management from Bayes Business school. In 2010, Yannis gave up his previous career in finance in the UK to follow a more creative path and revive the vineyards left to him by his late father. Today, Vassaltis is his life. Yannis dedicates himself to running Vassaltis, doing anything from harvesting to marketing. His vision of creating a modern approach to wine while paying respect to the past in order to leave the next generation of winemakers with a truly sustainable industry is what drives the winery forward. When not traveling to spread the Vassaltis story, he spends his time between Santorini and Athens where his wife and two young kids reside.

Yannis Papaeconomou is one of our two incredibly talented oenologists. Yannis does not come from a traditional winemaking family. However, his love of wine developed at home where it was enjoyed and respected as an art by his family. He went on to pursue a degree in Oenology at the Technical University of Athens. While also a talented brewer and distiller, his passion lies in the art of making wine. A passion he chased around the globe in wineries including Vina Maquis in Chile, Michel Chapoutier in France, Oyster Bay in New Zealand, and more locally, Domaine Sigalas. One of the original team, at Vassaltis from the beginning, Yannis adds his imagination and creativity to our vision of crafting exemplary wines.
Elias Roussakis is is the first man on the ground. He met with Yannis in 2010 (way before a winery was on the cards) and took over the management of the family vineyards, before persuading Yannis to create a winery . He has been an indispensable part of building Vassaltis After graduating from the Athens University of Agronomy, Elias went on to earn a post-graduate diploma from the SupAgro University of Montpellier in France. After a brief stint in Tinos, Elias returned to his birthplace, Santorini, to realise his dream of vinifying world-class wines in his homeland. His long experience in Santorini and particularly, with the local Assyrtiko grape, are a great asset to our winery, making him a key member of the team and a driving force behind our success. Today Elias maintains a consulting role with Vassaltis, resides in Athens and is father to a lovely daughter.
Maria Papida, our Athens-based sales manager has been with Vassaltis since 2021. Her fascination with wine began as she started to realise what power lay within grapes; how they can produce such different wines and reflect their terroir. While she studied winemaking in Athens, her innate love for communication and sharing her enthusiasm for wine led her in a different direction. After earning a Master’s Degree in wine marketing in Bordeaux, Maria then broadened her education by interning at wineries in Italy and Spain. Now, as one of our most extroverted young team members, she channels her enthusiasm for wine and communication into helping grow our brand.
Kiriaki Katsipi is a native Santorinian and studied tourism and hospitality in Athens. Once back on the island, she worked in seasonal jobs until the COVID pandemic shut down tourism in Greece. Understanding then how fragile the tourism industry is, Kiriaki set her sights on a new career. That’s when we snapped her up as office assistant and jack-of-all-trades. Now an avid wine lover, Kiriaki comes to work every day with an attitude of both professionalism and joy.

In many ways, our hospitality manager Artemis Kardoula is the face of Vassaltis on Santorini for it is she who will greet you when you visit the winery for tastings and tours. After five years at our sister hotel, The Vasilicos, Artemis took over management of our tasting room in 2021. A gourmand and wine lover, Artemis became “addicted” to wine after moving to Santorini and now shares her passion every day with people from around the world who come to taste our wines.