Nemea

The heart of the viticultural zone of Nemea was called in classical antiquity "Fliasia Chora".

Flias, the founder of the city-state of Flea, is mentioned in the sources as rich, thanks to the vineyards “offered” to the area by his father Dionysus the God of wine.

The coins of Flea had symbols of Dionysus, a proof of viticulture and wine production in the area.

The name of the variety was Fliasia and the name of the wine produced was  Fliasios.

Fliasios wine was known to an "international" public, which gathered in Nemea, every two years to participate in one of the most important games of Greek antiquity similar to the Olympic games.

The city of Flea survived in Roman and early Christian times. In the 13th century, due to raids (Goths, Slavs), the populations withdrew from the lowlands and gathered around and above the mountain Polyfengos, which dominates the valley, creating two settlements Ano and Kato Agios Georgios (Saint George).

Official records from the time of Frankish, Turkish and Venetian rule, indicate that Agios Georgios and the surrounding villages had cereals and vines as their main crops, with the wine been produces due to its commercial value.

It was at that time that Fliasia vine was renamed to Agiorgitiko grape and Fliasios wine to Agiorgitiko wine.

Later in 1834, when the first units of Local Government of the Greek state were established, two municipalities were founded in the area, the municipality of Fliountos and the municipality of Nemea, which was based in Agios Georgios village. In 1840, when the first mergers of municipalities took place, the municipality of Fliountos was annexed to the municipality of Nemea and in 1923 Agios Georgios village was renamed Nemea. That change did not influence neither the names of the grape nor of the wine and continued to be called Agiorgitiko.

The wine of Agiorgis, "black, strong, the best wine of Moria", was referenced in multiple foreign travel books of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as in multiple Greek (historical, geographical, folklore) of the 19th century.

Although the grape is still called Agiorgitiko, from the middle of the 19th century the wine, began to be called Nemeatiko linked to the name of the municipality it belongs to.

Agiorgitiko is considered an indigenous variety of Nemea with deep roots in time and, it was not cultivated, in any other region of Greece or in another foreign country up until 15 years ago.

Agiorgitiko normaly ripes mid to late September depending on the yield and vineyard. The versatile variety of agorgiotiko relates on the altitude of the vineyard, the soil composition, as well as the cultivation methods, offering excellent rosé wines, fresh red, deep aging red, sweet and semi-sweet reds.

The deep red color and strong aromatic profile wines, are normally characterized by red fruits such as ripe strawberries, black currants, and caramel. Whilst the aged wines bring aromas of jam or dried fruits such as fig, plum, raisin. Tannins are soft and evolve over time.