Grapes

Agiorgitiko

Agiorgitiko is the quiet power grape of the Greek vineyard and of yet unexplored potential. It is not only the PDO grape of Nemea, the largest region with such status but has the fame that spreads throughout Greece and so does its cultivation. It is also the most marketed grape domestically, to the extent that one can find agents selling wines of Nemea anywhere in Greece, even in the heart of other dedicated wine-producing regions. It performs well in hot climates and gives a variety of styles.

Thick-skinned of variable size, depending on the clone and with around 8 clones available commercially today. It is potentially high yielding, late budding and late ripening.

Producer

Barafakas

Young winemaker Christos Barafakas with a degree in Agriculture returned to his family’s 14-hectare large vineyard in Nemea and established his winery in 2002. He has been one of the few new producers, who expressed the Agiorgitiko variety in fresh styles, without the use of ageing wooden barrels. His vineyard plots have a varying altitude between 280 and 600m above sea level, with plants ranging in age between 5 to 45 years and overall low yields, 6-9 t/ha. Although generally straightforward and practical in his approach, he has created some unique wines, such as “Thousand Years”, a blend of Agiorgitiko and Cabernet Sauvignon, suitable for ageing in the cellar and the boutique Phylacto, sun-dried Assyrtiko in very limited quantities, a “mini-Vinsanto” (with a twist, as aged in acacia barrels) to be found outside Santorini.