Journal

Harvest Report 2021

A challenging vintage but with very good potential for high quality wines.

This year had peculiarities, since the combination of drought and heat created problems in grape ripening, however we are optimistic about the final result.


Timeline

Inauguration of this year’s harvest was in the context of the average start date of recent years, with the following timeline:

DATE  |  VARIETY (type)

2 August  |  Assyrtiko (white) For the sparkling wine from plots in Pyrgos village

4 August  |  Athiri (white)

7 August  |  Assyrtiko (white)

7 August  |  Mavrotragano and Voudomato (red)

18 August  |  Aidani (white)

23 August  |  Mandilaria (red)

All varieties were hand-harvested


Climatic conditions

Winter: Mild with a few moderate rainfalls, that helped the soil to hydrate. The total volume of rain from September 2019 to July 2020 was 329.8 mm (570.4 mm during the corresponding period of last year).

Spring: Warm, with poor rainfall (65 mm). The winds were moderate throughout the season, with one exception on April 16th when strong north winds affected partially the northern parts of Santorini vineyard.

Summer: Typical insular climate, without extremely high temperatures (25oC average). Brisk north winds were blowing all day and during the night from July 5th, which contributed to the good health of the fruits. The intense air humidity during August delayed slightly the ripening. Absence of heat waves

Overall, it was a particularly good year, especially in Spring time that is the most crucial for the production. The vines gave us healthy grapes with ripeness of good quality due to the lack of serious diseases.


Climatic conditions:

Winter: Mild with minimal rainfall. Total rainfall from September 2020 to July 2021 was 190mm (last year was 329,8mm respectively).

Spring: Mild, with no devastating winds, with the exemption of an intense north wind on March 31st that was accompanied by hail, which did not affect production cause budding had not yet fully developed. No rainfall.

Summer: Intense heat waves in June and July.

Generally, it was a very dry year. Until veraison, forecasts were indicating a production volume higher than the average Santorini yield. The combination of heat and draught stressed vines and in many occasions, grapes dried, while high temperatures led to a premature harvest. As a consequence, vines did not perform 100%, exhibiting uneven and imbalanced degree of ripeness, in some cases even in the same cluster.

 

2021 Production 

This year’s total production did not exceed 2000 tons of grapes. This translates to 30% reduction from the average yield figures in Santorini.

Vinification estimations: Despite the aforementioned problems, this year’s production reveals a high-quality potential, with grape musts indicating a very good result.

Fresh Santorini wines exhibit an aromatic bouquet of white flowers, citrus like lemon and grapefruit, white flesh fruit like banana, mellon, peach and pear. In the palate being lively, with good acidity and full body, in combination with the signature terroir driven minerality.

Alcohol content ranges from 13 - 14,5%, acidity depending on maturation level is from 6 to 6,5 gr/lt (expressed in tartaric acid), while pH is around 3,10 - 3,20 which make us feel confident that the 2021 harvest will be worthy of the high-quality Santorini wines and with great ageing potential.

Nikos Varvarigos
Winemaker – Production Dpt. Director

Please Verify your Age

Are you of legal drinking age in your country?

YES

YES

NO

NO

____________________

By entering this website, you affirm that you are of legal drinking age in your country