Over the last few years, Santorini’s Assyrtiko grape, with its authentic, unique, and terroir-driven character, has won great acclaim across the wine world. Whether it’s from Jancis Robinson MW and Tim Atkin MW, or from sommeliers at high-end hotels and restaurants, the buzz around Santorini is undeniably growing. Targeted at consumers who want to go beyond Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Assyrtiko, with its distinctive freshness and minerality, seems destined to be a success. But this success has brought Santorini’s Assyrtiko to a critical point, “one of great chance and high risk,” as Yiannis Paraskevopoulos of Gaia Estate says.
Now that Assyrtiko has opened the door for Santorini, what should happen next? On the island, there is a wide range of interests, along with diverse views on the premiumisation of Assyrtiko, a need to develop an efficient strategic plan for future development and to protect historic vineyards. These are just some of the questions with which producers are grappling.
Born from the ashes
Santorini, one of the islands of the Cyclades, and renowned for its picturesque white and blue houses gleaming in the sunshine, has a total area of approximately 76 square km with a total vineyard area of just 1,229 ha. About 3,600 years ago, it suffered one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, one consequence of which was the creation of a layer of naturally phylloxera-resistant, well-drained volcanic soil. A number of unique forms of agriculture have flourished, including the mineral, mouth-watering Assyrtiko grape.
Unfortunately, the beauty of Santorini and its appeal to tourists has brought a threat to vineyards, as arable land has had to compete with hotels and apartment blocks. As a result of this unequal fight, the vineyards were gradually whittled down from 45,000 ha at the beginning of the twentieth century to nearly 15,000 ha by 1997, and have now stabilised at approximately 13,000 ha.
Assyrtiko is the ‘diva’ of the island, being used for both dry and sweet PDO Santorini wines, and accounting for 65% to 70% of the plantings. The white grapes Athiri and Aidani cover nearly 10%, while the red grape Mavri Mandilaria has an 18% share. Mavrotragano, another indigenous red grape, is gaining year by year, though at present negligible quantities are grown.
The volume of grapes harvested every year allows the island’s 13 producers to harvest approximately 3,000 tonnes of grapes. The list of top-quality estates include Argyros, Gaia, Sigalas and Hatzidakis with Santo Wines, the island’s co-operative that is emerging as a premium player after a strategic alliance with Tsantali. Boutaris has also contributed greatly to the island’s reputation with the Kallisti label. Other up-and-coming producers are Gavalas, Koutsogiannopoulos and Karamolegos.
Encroachment
The legal protection of Santorini’s vineyards from further encroachment by housing is the primary concern that unifies the wine producers. Currently, the law states that if vineyard owners want to build on their land, they have to own a minimum of a hectare per project. “For the time being, [the legislation] has succeeded in controlling the anarchic activity of the previous years,” says Paris Sigalas, a premium producer from Santorini. “Yet we are not 100% satisfied, as we envision a premium wine region that will clearly separate the city from the vineyard. In this regard, a plan is needed to ensure that the vines will not border on grotesque building complexes. We need an image that will begin to resemble the historical, beautiful Santorini of the past.”
Another debate in Santorini is over the ways in which vineyards should be farmed. Organic producers such as Haridimos Hatzidakis believe that the extensive use of herbicide treatments have deteriorated the soil and jeopardised the quality of the wine. There is also a need to address the issue of old, unproductive vines.
Hatzidakis is among the established winemakers who take a positive view of the arrival of a new breed of wine producers such as Yiannis Valampous, Yiannis Tselepos from Peloponnese and Apostolos Mountrichas from Avantis Estate. Other producers are more circumspect and in some cases feel threatened by competition or, more reasonably, by the prospect of a growing demand for grapes whose quantity is already limited. Another fear is that newcomers may simply want to add Santorini to their existing portfolio in order to exploit its fame and popularity.
Stefanos Georgas, commercial director of Argyros Estate, makes the point that “anyone who has something to offer is welcome, but not when he comes with empty hands just to profit with nothing to give. As far as I am
concerned it is a prerequisite to first invest in the vineyards.” Similarly, Markos Kafouros, chairman of Santo Wines, comments that: “Each new effort can be both interesting and useful provided that it is focused on the land and the product and not used as a façade, a means to promote these wine producers’ other products.”
Branding Santorini
If it is clear that the island needs to create some effective marketing, what is the best way to brand Santorini’s Assyrtiko? One good starting point for producers might be to increase yields and improve quality by restructuring and investing in the vineyards, following the lead by well-established producers such as Sigalas and Argyros. Another contribution to quality would, Sigalas believes, be to increase the proportion of vineyards that currently grow Assyrtiko. ‘“We have made the proposal and it remains for the co-operative to agree. Varieties such as Athiri are inappropriate and very sensitive to rot. We should achieve greater potential if we expand the vineyard with more Assyrtiko, but we should all agree on such expansion and this seems difficult but not impossible.’’
Sigalas also proposes that the wineries should abandon the production of the bag-in-box format that has flooded the island’s taverns with cheap Santorini wine. Given the shortage of grapes, he says, producers should agree that the Santorini label will only go on wine of exceptional quality from prime regions.
