Agiorgitiko
Agiorgitiko is the most widely planted red grape in Greece and one of its most commercially important native varieties. It is traditionally associated with Nemea in the northeastern Peloponnese, where it yields fruity wines with firm tannins and good ageing potential.
History
Ampelographers consider agiorgitiko indigenous to Greece, probably in the Argolis and Corinthia areas of the Peloponnese. Tales of its cultivation in ancient Greece circulate widely, but neither historical nor genetic evidence supports them.
The name means literally "St George's grape". One suggestion links it to the chapel of Saint George in Nemea, another to the saint's feast day, although that falls in November in some Orthodox churches, close to harvest, while in many Greek areas where the grape grows the feast is held in April or May, which weakens that explanation. A further theory holds that the grape took its name from one of the many Greek towns dedicated to the saint.
During the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries the variety spread across the country and became Greece's most planted red grape, ahead of xinomavro. In 2012 it covered around 5,200 hectares in Attica and over 3,200 in the Peloponnese, with further plantings in Macedonia and Epirus.
Culture
In Nemea, agiorgitiko wine is nicknamed the "Blood of Hercules", a reference to the hero who slew the Nemean lion. It is best understood as local tradition rather than documented history. Similarly, a story says the wine was a favourite of King Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War, but this is a legend without documentary support.
The variety is the only one permitted in the Nemea OPAP designation, where it is used exclusively for red wine and rosé is prohibited. Around Metsovo in Epirus it is often blended with cabernet sauvignon to make katoi, a traditional table wine.
Its styles are varied: light rosés, soft fruity reds made by carbonic maceration in the manner of Beaujolais, and very tannic reds with red fruit and spice notes that can age in oak. Some critics have likened its fuller examples to port, and its peppery character seems to be influenced by vineyard altitude. Quality depends heavily on the producer's skill and on harvest timing, since grapes picked too late can lose freshness and taste of dried or dead fruit.
Legend and fact
The stories of Hercules and Agamemnon circulate as local tradition rather than documentation about the grape. Likewise, the origin of the name linked to Saint George is an interpretation that cannot be confirmed, as none of the proposed explanations has conclusive evidence.