The 2026 Harvests: A Year of Reality Checks

Given my job as both an oenologist and an agronomist, there was a good chance you’d have found me on a Silver Alert broadcast under the heading “Missing Senior Citizen” rather than on OinoWay.com during this time of year. Now that the harvest rush has finally eased, we at last have time to take stock and share our thoughts on the year behind us. There’s a lot to cover, so pour yourself a glass of wine and let’s get started.

Harvesting Sauvignon Blanc in Central Macedonia

2025: A blessing and a curse

In 2025, we experienced a harvest that went almost like a fairy tale. Favourable weather, limited disease pressure, healthy, high-quality grapes—and very high yields. That last point deserves a closer look.

Vine growers and winemakers watched their vineyards fill with grapes and their tanks fill with wine. What initially seemed ideal, however, revealed a major problem: the market’s inability to absorb the quantities being produced. The market for red wines, as we know, has been on a steady downward trend, while the rosé market has seen significant fluctuations. As a result, large volumes of wine remained unsold, “trapped” in winery tanks.

From surplus wine to falling prices

That set off a chain reaction that continued into the 2026 harvest. Many winemakers began this year without enough tank space for the new crop, as their tanks were still occupied by wine from the previous vintage.

This had a direct impact on grape growers. Alongside their own vineyards, many wineries also buy grapes from independent growers to meet their needs. This year, however, several wineries cut back on or stopped buying grapes altogether, unable to take in additional volumes.

The drop in demand led to a dramatic fall in grape prices, hitting growers hard. According to data from KEOSOE, producer prices fell by around 35%–40%, with declines reaching as much as 60% in some parts of the country. This puts considerable pressure on the financial viability of wine-growing businesses and highlights the challenges facing the Greek wine sector as a whole.

Harvesting on the slopes of Mount Paiko

Quantity and quality

In contrast to last year’s abundance of grapes in Northern Greece, 2026 brought smaller but highly satisfactory yields. Winemakers were able to manage their entire crop or carry out green harvesting where necessary. Both white and red grapes showed good sugar accumulation, satisfying acidity and excellent phenolic ripeness.

It was a year of ideal balance between quantity and quality—proof that fewer grapes can be preferable when they are genuinely good quality and provide the raw material for wines with character and the potential to age.

Further south, however, the picture changed dramatically—and became particularly bleak. Late spring frosts hit the vineyards of Nemea and Mantineia, reducing production by as much as 90% in some cases. On Santorini, the effects of climate change have become devastating. Prolonged lack of rainfall and a decline in the morning dew have led to a dramatic contraction in production.

In 2026, output was 30% lower than in the already difficult 2025 vintage, and down 90% compared with 2022, the last year of a normal harvest. Production has fallen from 2,500 tonnes of grapes to around 200 tonnes. With yields in some vineyards as low as 50 kg per stremma (500 kg per hectare), the issue is no longer just production—it is the very viability of viticulture on Santorini.

Diseases and pests that kept us busy

In most parts of Macedonia, downy mildew put vineyards under significant pressure during May flowering. In some cases, it naturally thinned the bunches, which helped bring yields into balance.

Toward the end of June, at the green-berry stage, powdery mildew appeared. In vineyards where crop protection had not been sufficiently thorough, it compromised grape quality. Botrytis, by contrast, does not appear to have been a major problem for growers this year. That was the general picture when it came to fungal diseases.

The greatest concern, however, came from insect pests. At the end of July, several areas of Northern Greece faced unprecedented infestations of locust swarms. The locusts fed on vine foliage, reducing the leaf area available for photosynthesis and, in turn, the vines’ ability to accumulate sugars.

There was also a rise in grape leafhoppers (Empoasca vitis), which cause direct damage by feeding on the sap in vine leaves. Their longer-term effects may become clearer in the years ahead, as they are important vectors in the spread of plant viruses.

Finally, the year’s biggest challenge was undoubtedly the European grapevine moth. Its larvae burrow into the berries, causing damage that encourages secondary rots such as Botrytis and sour rot. Managing the pest was particularly demanding, especially in organic vineyards. Its presence and the severity of infestations can vary considerably from year to year, but it has made a strong comeback in recent years—and all signs suggest it is here to stay.

We’ll take a closer look at these issues in future articles.

Harvested Sauvignon Blanc

Varieties that stood out

There is no doubt that 2026 was the year of the whites, with Sauvignon Blanc taking centre stage. I personally can’t remember tasting Sauvignon grapes as delicious as these. I believe the vintage was exceptional for the variety, producing wines with an intense, clean aromatic profile, freshness and excellent balance. The grapes themselves genuinely impressed me, so I urge you not to miss the chance to taste the 2026 Sauvignon Blancs at the upcoming Oenorama.

The Assyrtikos of mainland Greece also deserve special mention. They showed different and particularly intriguing expressions, shaped by the vine growth and the soil and climate conditions of each individual vineyard site.

Among the red varieties, mid-ripening grapes such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon seemed to benefit from the conditions, producing particularly interesting wines with expressive fruit character.

Late-ripening varieties were a different story, especially Xinomavro, which this year showed just how much vineyard site matters. In cooler areas, the variety retained firmer berries and coped better with the challenges of high temperatures. In warmer zones, by contrast, more pronounced berry shrivelling was observed, highlighting the variety’s sensitivity to changing climate conditions. This issue is closely linked to climate change and will probably get a fuller treatment in our next article—spoiler alert.

Looking back

The 2026 harvest brought a reality check after 2025. New challenges and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions are making life harder for growers, requiring constant vigilance and readiness to adapt.

The difficult part is that things seem to get tougher with every passing year. The good part is that we keep learning and adapting. And, of course, we never run out of new topics to write about. Stay tuned.

Till next time!