Nemea Wine Region

Nemea is where Greek red wine is taken most seriously, and it is essentially a one-grape region. Agiorgitiko is planted from the warm valley floor up to plateaux above 800 metres, and the altitude does most of the work: low vineyards give soft, dark, generous wine, high ones give something leaner and more structured that takes oak and time. The result ranges from young, juicy bottles meant for the year to reds that need a decade, plus a growing amount of rosé. Sub-zones like Koutsi and Asprokambos are named on labels now. The ancient sanctuary of Zeus, with its temple and stadium, sits in the middle of the vineyards.

What's there

• Agiorgitiko across styles - the same grape as young red, barrel-aged wine and rosé.
• The high vineyards - Koutsi, Asprokambos and the upper plateaux above the valley floor.
• Harvest - picking runs from late August in the low vineyards into October up high.
• Ancient Nemea - the temple of Zeus and the stadium of the Nemean Games among the vines.

When to go

September and early October combine harvest activity with comfortable weather, and the wineries are at their most interesting even if the staff are busiest. Spring is quieter and easier to book. Most cellars work by appointment rather than walk-in, especially the smaller ones, and Sundays are unreliable. Summer afternoons are hot and many producers shut in the middle of the day.

Practical notes

There is no usable public transport, so someone has to drive and not drink, which is the obvious problem with a tasting day here. Several of the larger facilities are functional industrial buildings rather than anything scenic. English varies a lot between producers. Appointments are genuinely required more often than the region's own promotion suggests, and turning up unannounced can waste an afternoon.

Nearby

Ancient Corinth and Acrocorinth are half an hour north, and Mycenae is a similar distance south.