Rethinking the vineyard of Santorini in a changing climate and preserving an historic wine region

Can Santorini inspire other regions?

Here is the link to “Rethinking the vineyard of Santorini in a changing climate and preserving an historic wine region”: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X26003422

Efstratios Guillaume Xyrafis, Olivier Yobregat, Marie Emmanuelle Saint-Macary, Alain Deloire

Highlights:

• A transition framework links vineyard recovery, adaptation, and regeneration.
• Soil restoration and drought adaptation are central to future resilience
• Indigenous grapevine diversity supports climate adaptation and wine quality.

The framework identifies a staged transition encompassing vineyard recovery, adaptive management, and regenerative redesign. Key intervention areas include increasing soil organic matter, enhancing rhizosphere functioning, evaluating drought-adapted plant material, applying biostimulants, optimizing canopy, yield and water management, integrating precision viticulture technologies, and conserving indigenous grapevine varieties and Assyrtiko biotypes. The analysis further indicates that long-term resilience depends not only on agronomic innovation but also on collective action, supportive governance, and appropriate policy frameworks. The proposed transition should therefore be understood as a non-linear process in which ecological, agronomic, technological, and socio-economic changes interact over time.