The unique and extreme vineyards of Santorini Island (Cyclades)

Abstract

Own-rooted and phylloxera-free vines have been cultivated on the volcanic soil of Santorini for thousands of years. All this time, vines have been cultivated by using two traditional training systems, the ‘Κouloura’, and the ‘Κladeftiko’, which are well-adapted to the specific climatic conditions of the island. This first report aims to share the scarce existing knowledge on Santorini’s training and pruning systems, looking at some important quantitative and qualitative ripening parameters over four consecutive seasons (2017-2020) and revealing similarities regarding their adaptation to climate conditions on the island.