Editing Santorini (section)

== Economy ==
Santorini's primary industry is [[tourism]], particularly in the summer months. Agriculture also forms part of its economy, and the island sustains a wine industry.{{r|FE 2024/07/22}} The economic life of Santorini before 1960, when the flow of foreign visitors to the island for tourist purposes gradually began, was based on crops and trade.

=== Agriculture ===
[[File:Fava (3711746562).jpg|thumb|Sacks with [[fava Santorinis]]]]
In the middle of the 19th century, Santorini had great commercial activity with foreign countries and especially with Russia, where it exported all of its wine production.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Οδυσσέας Γκιλής. ΘΗΡΑ ΣΑΝΤΟΡΙΝΗ ΣΤΡΟΓΓΥΛΗ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗ |url=https://www.academia.edu/42216207 |language=el |last1=Gilis |first1=Odysseas |access-date=11 April 2023 |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412005548/https://www.academia.edu/42216207 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.in2greece.com/english/places/summer/islands/santorini.htm |title=Santorini information |access-date=11 April 2023}}</ref> Because of its unique ecology and climate – and especially its volcanic ash soil – Santorini is home to unique and prized produce such as the [[Santorini tomato|Santorini cherry tomato]].
[[Viticulture]], whose history goes back to prehistoric times, could not remain unaffected by the rapid increase in tourism, where there was a gradual decrease.{{r|FE 2024/07/22}} Viticulture is the most important sector of agricultural production in Santorini.

=== Wine industry ===
{{Main|Santorini (wine)}}

The island remains the home of a small [[wine]] industry, based on the indigenous [[Assyrtiko]] [[grape]] variety, with auxiliary cultivations of Aegean white varieties such as ''[[Athiri]]'' and ''[[Aidani]]'' and the red varieties such as [[Mavrotragano]] and [[Mandilaria]]. The vines are extremely old and resistant to [[phylloxera]] (attributed by local winemakers to the well-drained volcanic soil and its chemistry), so the vines needed no replacement during the great [[phylloxera epidemic]] of the late 19th century. In their adaptation to their habitat, such vines are planted far apart, as their principal source of moisture is dew, and they often are [[trained (vine)|trained]] in the shape of low-spiralling baskets, with the grapes hanging inside to protect them from the winds.<ref>An early observer of this was [[James Theodore Bent|Theodore Bent]] in January 1884: "[At] Santorin they always weave the tendrils of their vines into circles, the effect in winter being that each vineyard looks as if hampers were placed all over it in rows and at intervals of every two yards." (''The Cyclades, or Life Among the Insular Greeks''. London, 1885, p. 41).</ref>

The viticultural pride of the island is the sweet and strong ''Vinsanto'' ({{langx|it|"holy wine"}}), a dessert wine made from the best sun-dried ''Assyrtiko'', ''Athiri'', and ''Aidani'' grapes, and undergoing long barrel aging (up to twenty or twenty-five years for the top ''cuvées''). It matures to a sweet, dark, amber-orange unctuous dessert wine that has achieved worldwide fame, possessing the standard Assyrtiko aromas of citrus and minerals, layered with overtones of nuts, raisins, figs, honey, and tea.
[[File:Houses on the caldera, Santorini.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.81|Houses built on the edge of the [[Santorini caldera|caldera]]]]
[[File:Kasteli001.jpg|thumb|[[Emporio, Santorini|Emporeio]] village]]
[[File:Imerovigli 02.jpg|thumb|View of [[Imerovigli]], example of [[Cycladic architecture]]]]

White wines from the island are extremely dry with a strong citrus scent and mineral and iodide salt aromas contributed by the ashy volcanic soil, whereas barrel aging gives to some of the white wines a slight [[frankincense]] aroma, much like Vinsanto. It is not easy to be a winegrower in Santorini; the hot and dry conditions give the soil a very low productivity. The yield per hectare is only 10 to 20% of the yields that are common in [[France]] or [[California]]. The island's wines are standardised and protected by the "Vinsanto" and "Santorini" [[Protected designation of origin#Wines|OPAP]] designations of origin.<ref name="GREECE SANTORINI HISTORY">{{Cite web |title=Greece Santorini History |url=http://www.greecesantorini.com/santorinihistory2.htm |website=www.greecesantorini.com|access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-date=23 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223130226/http://www.greecesantorini.com/santorinihistory2.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Brewing ===
A brewery, the [[Santorini Brewing Company]], began operating out of Santorini in 2011, based in the island's wine region.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/01/16/greeces-handcrafted-beers-hit-the-spot/ |title=Greece's Handcrafted Beers Hit the Spot|website=greece.greekreporter.com|date=16 January 2018|access-date=22 August 2018|archive-date=21 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821223129/https://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/01/16/greeces-handcrafted-beers-hit-the-spot/|url-status=live}}</ref>