Rethinking the vineyard of Santorini in a changing climate and preserving an historic wine region

CONTEXT Santorini's viticultural system is a unique Mediterranean agroecosystem shaped by volcanic soils, extreme aridity, strong winds, and centuries of human adaptation. In recent decades, the system has become increasingly vulnerable to climate change, chronic water scarcity, soil degradation, demographic decline, and rapid land-use change associated with tourism development. These interacting pressures threaten vineyard productivity, landscape integrity, and the long-term sustainability of the island's viticultural heritage. OBJECTIVE This perspective aims to develop a conceptual framework for the transition of Santorini viticulture from vulnerability and abandonment toward restoration, climate adaptation, and long-term agroecological regeneration. METHODS Evidence from scientific literature, historical information, climate analyses, and field-based experience was integrated using a socio-ecological systems perspective. Evidence was qualitatively prioritized according to its relevance to Santorini and the applicability of reported approaches to its environmental, agronomic, and socio-economic conditions. The framework links major transition stages with key system drivers, leverage points, measurable indicators, and expected outcomes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The framework identifies a staged transition encompassing vineyard recovery, adaptive management, and regenerative redesign. Key intervention areas include increasing soil organic matter, enhancing rhizosphere functioning, evaluating drought-adapted plant material, applying biostimulants, optimizing canopy, yield and water management, integrating precision viticulture technologies, and conserving indigenous grapevine varieties and Assyrtiko biotypes. The analysis further indicates that long-term resilience depends not only on agronomic innovation but also on collective action, supportive governance, and appropriate policy frameworks. The proposed transition should therefore be understood as a non-linear process in which ecological, agronomic, technological, and socio-economic changes interact over time. SIGNIFICANCE By conceptualizing Santorini viticulture as a coupled socio-ecological system, this perspective provides an integrated basis for climate adaptation, vineyard regeneration, future research, and landscape management. The inclusion of measurable indicators provides a basis for monitoring transition pathways and evaluating progress toward more resilient and sustainable viticultural systems. The framework may also provide a useful case study for the future adaptation of Mediterranean wine-producing islands facing climate change and evolving socio-economic pressures.