Santorini hosts its first wine tourism conference

Agricultural Development Minister Vangelis Apostolou vowed improvements to Greek legislation protecting the ancient vineyards of Santorini, telling Kathimerini that efforts will also be made to designate this wine-producing island a "high-yield zone" to curb the expansion of construction.

Apostolou was responding to a demand expressed by Santorini Mayor Anastasios-Nikolaos Zorzos at the First International Wine Tourism Conference on the southern Aegean island earlier this month where all the delegates agreed that the first step to developing wine tourism in any part of the country is a strong institutional framework and cast-iron protection laws.

Santorini has 1,200 hectares of vineyards, the majority of which are planted with the famed Assyrtiko variety, which has seen a spike in demand in recent years that in 2016 pushed the price to 3 euros per kilo, compared with 1...