redaka Saint George, Agiorgitiko
The red grape the appellation was built on. It covers about 25,000 of the zone's 32,000 stremmata of vineyard, close to four fifths of the planted area, and own rooted plots up to 100 years old survive in the villages.
In the glass: Young bottlings are moderately deep purple red, with intense fresh red fruit, medium acidity and soft tannins. Given several months in oak the wines take on firm ripe tannins, deeper colour and aromas of red fruit, sweet spice and chocolate. Bunches are medium sized, tight and conical with small round berries under a thick blue black skin, and the variety ripens late, picked from the middle to the end of September. Dry reds and sweet wines can carry the PDO Nemea label; roses cannot.
pink-skinnedaka Moschofilero
A pink skinned Peloponnesian grape whose home is the Mantinia plateau an hour south, planted through the Nemea villages as a recommended variety and used here for aromatic whites and for lift in blends.
In the glass: Despite the reddish grey berries it is mostly vinified as a dry white, with some sparkling and a growing number of varietal roses. Expect citrus, green fruit and rose petal aromatics over a light body and brisk acidity. Rose from the grape cannot carry a PDO indication.
pink-skinnedaka Roditis
The most planted white grape in Greece and another pink skinned variety, grown across the Nemea villages beside Agiorgitiko, where it supplies the everyday whites and roses the cellars pour alongside their reds.
In the glass: Restrained yields, hillside sites and a short spell on the lees turn it from watery into something clear and lemony, sometimes mineral depending on the site, with light to medium body and refreshing acidity. It is the backbone of PDO Patras and part of the blend in many PGI wines.
whiteaka Assyrtiko
A Santorini native now planted through mainland Greece and down into the Peloponnese, including a good number of Nemea vineyards, where it gives the zone a structured white to set against its reds.
In the glass: It holds high alcohol in balance with crisp acidity and works on texture, extract and structure rather than overt aroma. Away from Santorini it keeps the crispness and the mineral edge but shows more primary fruit and a less dense frame. It ages well and takes oak when a producer wants it.
whiteaka Malagousia
Thought extinct in the 1970s and brought back by university researchers and a handful of growers. It is now planted widely on the Greek mainland and across the Nemea zone as a recommended white variety.
In the glass: Pale lemon green in the glass, with an expressive nose of peach, green pepper, fresh herbs and flowers, round and full on the palate but kept fresh. Most is fermented in stainless steel to hold the aromatics; a portion is sometimes fermented and aged in oak for weight. Late harvest sweet versions exist.
redaka Cabernet Sauvignon
First planted in Greece at Metsovo in the 1960s and now grown in every region. In Nemea it is a recommended international variety, used most often to lend structure to Agiorgitiko rather than to stand alone.
In the glass: Greek examples resemble Bordeaux from warmer vintages but with a fruitier palate and more balanced acidity, usually above 13 per cent alcohol, without the austerity of a typical French wine. Good bottles hold at least a decade. Blended with Agiorgitiko it adds acidity, body, structure and blackberry.
redaka Merlot
Merlot reached Greece at the same time as Cabernet Sauvignon, brought in for wines in a Bordeaux idiom. It is a recommended variety in the Nemea zone and several estates work it solo or in a Bordeaux style blend.
In the glass: Varietal bottlings followed the first plantings by some years and have held their place with producers and drinkers since. Greek growers use it to round out firmer native reds, where it plays down aggressive tannin and brings red and black fruit, and it shortens the time a wine needs before drinking.