Day-by-day estate-visit plans for Nemea: weekend, first-timer and deep-cellar editions.
Day-by-day plans
Two days on the Nemea plain ★ 4.5
A weekend built around the three Nemea cellars that take visitors without an appointment, with the archaeological site and the town square filling the gaps.
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Day 1: Ancient Nemea and the valley floor
- Morning
- Start at the archaeological site at Ancient Nemea, five kilometres from the town: the temple of Nemean Zeus, the stadium where the games were run from 573 BC, and the site museum with finds from Phlious and the Aidonia tombs.
- Afternoon
- Walk across to Ktima Palivou in the same village, open daily 10:00 to 18:00 from April to September, and taste the estate Nemea without booking. Papaioannou is a few minutes away if you called ahead.
- Evening
- Eat at Estiatorio Sofos on the central square, which has been feeding the town since the 1960s and pours from every cellar in the zone. It serves until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
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Day 2: Koutsi and the town
- Morning
- Drive up to Koutsi for Gofas Winery, open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, where the reception room doubles as a picture gallery and the underground cave holds sold out vintages.
- Afternoon
- Back down to Nikolaou Estate outside the town, Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 15:00, walk ins welcome. Then the cooperative shop on Papakonstantinou for forty odd lines at cellar prices.
- Evening
- Finish at Venikos Wine Window on Plateia Iroon, ten labels open by the glass each day and a cheese and charcuterie plate to go with them.
Three days up to Asprokampos ★ 4.6
Three days spent climbing the zone, from the low vineyards around the town up through Koutsi and Petri to the Asprokampos plateau, where picking can run into October.
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Day 1: The town cellars
- Morning
- Barafakas Winery on Pindou street, Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:00 by appointment, twelve labels off 180 stremmata and a shop on site.
- Afternoon
- Ktima Bairaktaris on Eleftheriou Venizelou for tank and barrel tasting, then Mitravelas on Christopoulou, five generations of Agiorgitiko in the same town.
- Evening
- Ta Papoutsakia on Dervenakion, open from 20:00 to 01:00 Thursday to Sunday, with a bottled list drawn from the local cellars and a garden to drink it in.
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Day 2: Koutsi and Petri
- Morning
- Semeli Estate at Koutsi runs fixed tour times, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 at weekends. Gaia Wines is in the same village and takes bookings through its visit page.
- Afternoon
- Zacharias Wines on the Petri road for Sklava and Kydonitsa, two whites almost nobody else in the zone bottles.
- Evening
- Book the tasting room at Terra Vinum on Evangelistria and Papakonstantinou, sixty to ninety minutes with local cheeses, reservation required.
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Day 3: Asprokampos
- Morning
- Up to Bizios Estate at the entrance to Asprokampos village, a cellar of 25,000 bottles farmed organically, with Mount Zireia behind it.
- Afternoon
- Carry on to Lake Stymphalia, about forty five minutes on, and the Environment Museum on the shore. Six euros, closed Tuesdays.
- Evening
- Back down for dinner at 17 Choria on Dervenakion, which lists more than 120 wines from Nemea and the rest of the Peloponnese.
Four days, Nemea and the Argolida ★ 4.6
Four days pairing the Nemea cellars with Mycenae, Ancient Corinth and Nafplio, all of them inside an hour of the vineyards.
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Day 1: Arrive by way of Archaies Kleones
- Morning
- Coming in from Corinth, stop at Archaies Kleones. Sellas Winery opens Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 19:00 and pours an Agiorgitiko matured in amphora.
- Afternoon
- Lafazanis in the same village, Tuesday to Saturday 09:00 to 16:00, bookings to the visit address, with a shop and a kitchen on site.
- Evening
- Settle into the town. Dinner at Estiatorio Sofos on the square, wines from across the zone.
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Day 2: Mycenae and Leontio
- Morning
- Half an hour south to Mycenae for the Lion Gate and the Treasury of Atreus. Go at opening, the site has no shade.
- Afternoon
- Back up to Leontio for Ktima Raptis, a boutique cellar built over the family vine nursery that supplied resistant rootstock across the zone.
- Evening
- Venikos Wine Window on Plateia Iroon runs a food and wine pairing menu at weekends, and themed evenings by arrangement.
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Day 3: Ancient Corinth and the cooperative
- Morning
- Thirty minutes north to Ancient Corinth for the temple of Apollo, then up the hill to the Acrocorinth gate.
- Afternoon
- Return for the cooperative on Papakonstantinou, founded in 1937 and now more than five hundred growers. The tour and tasting is seven euros a head, booked by phone.
- Evening
- Ta Papoutsakia, open to 01:00, for grilled meat and a local bottle.
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Day 4: Nafplio by way of Malandreni
- Morning
- Head south through Malandreni to Domaine Skouras, Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:00 and Saturday 10:30 to 18:00, appointment required.
- Afternoon
- Down into Nafplio, the first capital of Greece from 1827 to 1834, for the old town under the Palamidi.
- Evening
- Stay in Nafplio or drive the fifty minutes back to Nemea. Epidaurus is a further forty minutes on if you are adding a fifth day.
Itineraries in Nemea, FAQ
When is the best time to visit Nemea for wine?
Peak wine-travel season in Nemea is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
Do I need an appointment to taste at Nemea estates?
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
What hours do Nemea cellars and tasting rooms keep?
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
How does tipping work at Nemea tastings?
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
What is the one wine to try in Nemea?
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Nemea rewards trust.