HISTORY
The heart of the wine-growing zone of Nemea, called during classical antiquity "Fliasia country".
The Flias, settler City-State of Flious, mentioned in sources as wealthy thanks to the vines that had given him under the father of Dionysus. Indeed, the currencies of Flious had symbols of Dionysus, God of the vine and of wine.
At the vineyards were cultivated the vine Fliasia, from whose grapes produced the well- known Fliashium wine. The well - known Fliashium wine was known in an ’ international ’ audience, which flocked in the Nemean games, one of the most important games of Greek Antiquity.
The city Flious survived in Roman times, and during the early Christian centuries. But in the 13th century because of raids (Goths, Slavs), the populations were withdrawn from the lowlands and gathered around and over the Polyfeggos mountain, which dominates the Valley, creating two settlements: the upper and the lower St. George.
From ledgers of Franks, Ottoman and Venetian rule, it follows that St. George and surrounding villages had as main crops are cereals and vines. The wine was the most important product because it was marketable. In those years it was natural to change name and become the well-known Fliashium wine to Agiorgitiko wine and the vine Fliasia to be renamed Agiorgitiko grape.
In 1834, when the first legally constituted local government units of the Greek State, under two municipalities were created: the municipality of Phlious and the municipality of Nemea, which had headquarters in St. George.
In 1840, when it became the first municipality mergers, the municipality of Phlious was attached to the municipality of Nemea and St. George was renamed in 1923 in Nemea.
The grapes and the wine continued to be called Agiorgitiko, from the old name of the village. The wine of Agiorgitiko, "black, strong, the best wine of Moria", we refer to many foreign tourist travel books of the 18th and 19th centuries, but also in many Greek (historically, geographically, folklore) of the 19th century. Today, while still called grape Agiorgitiko, wine from the mid-19th century, began to bear the name of the municipality, named Nemeatiko. Since the Fliasion field of antiquity-the plateau of modern Nemea-surrounded by towering mountains and lack of asphalt roads until 1960, make difficult communications, but also the fact that the Agiorgitiko grape variety is not cultivated – until the last 15 years – in no other region of Greece or in another foreign country, fairly considered as Agiorgitiko autochthonous variety, with deep roots in time.
WINE COUNTRY
This is the largest zone producing Protected Designation of Origin wine in Greece and it covers a total of more than 2,000 hectares planted with the finest red variety of southern Greece, the Agiorgitiko or black Nemea.
The climate in the regions where the Agiorgitiko variety is cultivated is sub-arid to semi-dry, with an average annual rainfall 700-800 mm, and the average temperature ranges from 16-18oC. The soil is clay, deep, with good drainage and fertility, though the calcium carbonate content varies. In addition, the high solar thermal potential of the region, combined with the different local microclimates, create favorable conditions and opportunities to develop premium quality raw material.
Vineyard cultivation spreads across three altitudinal zones, the lowland (altitude 260-350 m), hilly (elevation 350-600 m) and mountainous (altitude 600-800 m). The vineyard in Nemea is planted in a two-sided linear fashion, with moderately dense planting (400-500 plants per acre).
GRAPE VARIETY
It is cultivated almost exclusively in Nemea, in the north eastern Peloponnese. Moderately vigorous and productive variety. It ripens in mid to late September, depending on the location and performance of vineyard.
The Agiorgitiko variety is commonly described as "multi-dynamic” because it can, depending on altitude, soil composition and individual production methods offer excellent rosé wines, fresh red, deep aged reds, sweet or semi-sweet wines, which are always a pleasant surprise to the palate.
The wines have a deep red color and an aroma characterized by red fruits (such as ripe strawberries), black currants and caramel. Aged wines have the aroma of jams or dried fruit such as figs, prunes, raisins. The tannins are soft and develop over time.