Terroir

The Peloponnese? We don't know where to begin telling the story of this place so loaded with mythology and history! This peninsula seems barely attached to the mainland, dipping its fingers in the Mediterranean. It's home to the city of Argos, considered the oldest in Europe, continuously inhabited for 5,000 years. The peninsula has witnessed encounters between gods and men; it's where Agamemnon, returning from his victory over Troy, was murdered, where Hercules began his twelve labors, where the Spartans were born and where the athletic contests that gave rise to the Olympic Games began, in the great temple dedicated to Zeus, of which only weed-covered ruins remain. Homer called this region "Ampeloessa", meaning "full of vines".

On this mythical land stand small villages with narrow streets, white houses with red tiles, and markets said to be the most beautiful in Greece. They bear as much traces of the Byzantine presence that left monasteries and convents, as of the Venetians who ruled for many years, exporting wine from the Peloponnese to the cities of London, Paris and Florence. Around the inhabited areas, citrus orchards, vast olive groves and vineyards stretch across the valleys, skipping the rocky paths and pebbles over which flocks of goats wander. The soil is white clay. The terrain is rugged, with high plateaus, valleys and plains, allowing for a variety of terroirs. The climate is continental, but allows for several microclimates.

Around Nemea, the city of wine, also known as "Little Tuscany" for its countless hills, some of which reach an altitude of 2,000 meters, vines have been grown for over 3,000 years. There are some 300 grape varieties, 200 of which are indigenous to the region, some of which are thought to date back to Ancient Greece. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant: everything here is part of the myth. But what is certain is that, of these vines planted between 300 and 800 meters, some are centuries old. The best known is Agiorgitiko, which has been present on this terroir for over 3,000 years, and is nicknamed "Saint George" or "Blood of Hercules" in reference to the blood of the lion killed by the Hero. Here, even grapes are part of the imaginary!