Santorini PDO, kouloura and wire-trained vines: how can the island adapt without losing its identity?

The debate over wire-trained vines, irrigation and vineyard restructuring in Santorini opens a much deeper question: how can Santorini PDO adapt to climate pressure while protecting kouloura, old vines, dry farming and the typicity that made its Assyrtiko one of the world’s most distinctive wines?

By Yiannis Karakasis MW

Santorini stands at a vital crossroads. The future of its vineyard is now being discussed on several fronts: yields, grape prices, abandoned land, climate pressure, irrigation, new plantings and vine training systems. Yet the real question goes deeper. It concerns the future meaning of Santorini PDO itself. Can the island adapt to a changing climate while still protecting the viticultural principles that make its wines distinctive: the traditional vine-trained system (kouloura or kladeftiko), dry farming, old vines, low yields, concentration, salinity, and austerity?