Innovation in viticulture

Vineyard wire trellising

The soil was a rather disregarded factor in viticulture until a few decades ago. Since then, however, the importance of nitrogen, potassium, calcium and the other ingredients of the soil for the proper growth of vine stocks has been the subject of considerable study. The result has been extensive innovation in viticulture -depending on the type of farming (conventional, integrated, organic, biodynamic)- and the soil is now a "canvas" able to highlight the colorful palette of the new wines of Greece.
Equally important to where something is planted is what is planted. Agencies, producers, laboratories and university institutions carry out important research work in the field of determination and selection of the most appropriate clones for many local varieties. Some of this research has led to new plantings, spearheading innovation in viticulture and further strengthening the uniqueness of Greek wines.

New types of formations in many vineyards seem to point in the same direction. Taking also into account differences in climatic conditions, linear planting is tested and replaces other types of formation wherever it is proven more appropriate. This, of course, does not mean that tried and tested traditional systems (e.g. goblet- or basket-shaped vines) are abolished. If they prove more efficient, they are maintained along with innovation in viticulture. Furthermore, the density of planting increases in many Greek vineyards, leading to low yields per vine stock, which is the necessary condition for the production of high-quality wines.