A breath away from the Columbus volcano area in Oia’s Baxeds, Paris Sigalas, a well -known winemaker and an emblematic figure in the area of ​​wine in Santorini, sits in his office, among hundreds of books, with a fireplace and two his dogs. Outside, the island is almost deserted, few “durable” locals, as the BBC writes have remained in their place.

In those days when the seismic activity on the island was particularly high and several of his fellow citizens were leaving, Mr. Sigalas returned to his home and his winery, OENO P, to Santorini.

“I returned to the island last Sunday after a business trip to London. Although I knew what was going on, I learned that people and some people were gone while others were left. There are some friends left, so there is a company in such unorthodox conditions. A tightening of relationships, reminiscent of the times of the pandemic, “explains Mr Sigalas to the Athens -Macedonian News Agency.

The day after a 5.2 earthquake on the Richter scale on the island, among the hundreds of wines with wines, RES-EIA met Mr. Sigalas and toured the old (now renewed) cannabis of his family.

The winemaker uses clay jars for fermentation and maturation as in this way, as he says it is given “more courtesy and refinement” in Assyrtiko wine.

However, the situation that prevails has put him in thought if he will eventually move his wine to stainless steals.

“If I see that the situation is heading to the worst, I can also transfer it to stainless steals, be safer. I think about it, “Mr Sigalas tells RES-EIA showing his huge jars. These are 750 and 1600 liter tanks of Italian origin, where each jar corresponds to a selected vineyard and is a continuation of the research that the winemaker began in 2015.

‘Vineyards need protection’

As he points out, the island has a long tradition of wine as it has been the main activity of all residents for many years. “The vineyard here is monoculture,” he stresses, explaining that the uniqueness of Santorini wine is due to volcanic soil.

“The soil of Santorini is very new soil, it is from the eruption of the volcano in 1600 BC. The island is covered with this soil at a depth of 30-40 meters, thus creating conditions for high quality wine. The whole island was a vineyard, “he points out in RES-EIA, adding that in the late 19th century, at the beginning of the 20th all the houses had cannabis to sell it to traders and then channeled it to the market.

At the same time, Mr. Sigalas also highlights the issue of protecting the vineyards of Santorini, not so much because of the increased seismic activity, as he says in this part he considers that they are protected, as of the reckless construction.

“It is necessary to have zones. Even in the spatial spaties they have now made there are no zones. It is stated that various areas that will be for agricultural production but do not enter. The bottom line is that the island must be designated on the island that is prohibited from building, where agricultural production and especially vineyard will be developed there. We are making some moves to include it before they are completed, “Mr Sigalas notes, stressing that” local lords and state cannot clarify what they want. “

“A high -level tourism may not have primary production. Santorini products due to its soil are high quality. It is reckless to say that the vineyard is lost because of tourism, “Mr Sigalas told RES-EIA.

As the Santorini vineyard explains, it is a world heritage as it has been operating and cultivated for 3,000 years without interruption. “It has a special pruning, special varieties, it has not been affected by phylloxera. These are rare vines with their own root system. It is therefore a vineyard, a museum, “he says, but he says it has little institutional protection.