<strong>Positive effect:</strong> Santorini's modern wineries are helping the island to fight back against mass tourism, as wine cultivation offers an alternative to plowhing up fields to build hotels.
Positive effect: Santorini's modern wineries are helping the island to fight back against mass tourism, as wine cultivation offers an alternative to plowhing up fields to build hotels.
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<strong>Tourism burden:</strong> A sharp rise in visitors to Santorini over the last 15 years brought about a major hotel building spree that led to a loss of farmland on the island.
Tourism burden: A sharp rise in visitors to Santorini over the last 15 years brought about a major hotel building spree that led to a loss of farmland on the island.
Cha gia Jose/Flickr,Creative Commons
<strong>Disappearing farmland:</strong> "In the last 15 years the dramatic pace of hotel construction has made hotels a threat to farming on Santorini," says Markos Kafouros from the Santo Wines cooperative.
Disappearing farmland: "In the last 15 years the dramatic pace of hotel construction has made hotels a threat to farming on Santorini," says Markos Kafouros from the Santo Wines cooperative.
Pixabay / Creative Commons
<strong>Game changer: </strong>Santorini's wine has now become an integral part of its tourism industry, with Argyros Estate, founded in 1903, one of the many wineries on the island.
Game changer: Santorini's wine has now become an integral part of its tourism industry, with Argyros Estate, founded in 1903, one of the many wineries on the island.
Kate Tadman-Mourby
<strong>Changing focus: </strong>Nowadays 1,300 hectares of this 7,600 hectare island is given over to wine production and the average age of farmers has lowered from 65 to 53.
Changing focus: Nowadays 1,300 hectares of this 7,600 hectare island is given over to wine production and the average age of farmers has lowered from 65 to 53.
Kate Tadman-Mourby
<strong>Handpicked grapes: </strong>The grapes in Santorini are coiled into a basket shape at ground level to protect them from extremes of heat and cold, harvesting is always done by hand.
Handpicked grapes: The grapes in Santorini are coiled into a basket shape at ground level to protect them from extremes of heat and cold, harvesting is always done by hand.
Gavalas winery
<strong>Refined process</strong>: "Everything here is done by hand or donkey," says Stephanos Georgas, the manager of Argyros Estate, another local winery. "The roots go down 20 meters in places to extract every nutrient from this volcanic landscape, but that's why our wine tastes so good."
Refined process: "Everything here is done by hand or donkey," says Stephanos Georgas, the manager of Argyros Estate, another local winery. "The roots go down 20 meters in places to extract every nutrient from this volcanic landscape, but that's why our wine tastes so good."
Kate Tadman-Mourby
<strong>International success:</strong> Local family-run winery Gavalas, which is one of the oldest on the island, currently ships 70% of its output to the United States.
International success: Local family-run winery Gavalas, which is one of the oldest on the island, currently ships 70% of its output to the United States.
Gavalas winery
<strong>Wine tourism</strong>: The average cruise ship tour group spends about 45 minutes at the Santo Wines cooperative, where customers can taste wine for 50 cents a shot.
Wine tourism: The average cruise ship tour group spends about 45 minutes at the Santo Wines cooperative, where customers can taste wine for 50 cents a shot.
Pixabay / Creative Commons
<strong>Rising status:</strong> The growing popularity of Santorini's wine has made it hard for vineyards to keep up with demand -- but the structure of the island makes it impossible to mechanize the process, so standards won't slip.
Rising status: The growing popularity of Santorini's wine has made it hard for vineyards to keep up with demand -- but the structure of the island makes it impossible to mechanize the process, so standards won't slip.
Kate Tadman-Mourby