Alternative tours Half Day Tours Nemea Wine Tasting Tour

Visit the biggest vineyard in Greece with our Nemea wine tasting tour. We leave Athens and drive south to Peloponnese. After a short stop at the Corinth Canal, we continue to Nemea where according to mythology, Hercules or Heracles (in Greek) killed the lion.

Not far away, there is also Stymphalia Lake where Hercules completes his second labor by killing the birds that were eating men with beaks made of bronze and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims. They were sacred to Ares, the god of war. Furthermore, their dung was highly toxic.

Nemea Wine Tasting Tour- History

The area of Nemea in antiquity had sports games that were called Nemean Games and they were celebrated in between of Olympic Games every two years. With the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games were held both the year before and the year after the Ancient Olympic Games and the Pythian Games in the third year of the Olympiad cycle.

The Nemean Games included Horse Racing, Running in armor in the Stadium, Wrestling, Chariot Racing, Discus, Boxing, spear-throwing,  and Archery. As well they also had music contests.

Like the Olympic Games, they were held in honor of Zeus. They were said to have been founded by Heracles after he defeated the Nemean lion; another myth said that they originated as the funeral games of a child named Opheltes.  Nemea region is one of the most important wine regions for the production of red wine in Greece.

Nemea Wine Tasting Tour – Nemea Wine Roads

Leaving Athens southwest, we drive for around 1 hour and we arrive at the Corinth Canal for a short stop to take some pictures. Then, we reach Nemea where we visit some of the best wineries there.

Including the temple of Zeus (optional) thanks to the efforts of Stephen Miller, a former Director of the Nemea excavations, 4 columns of the temple were restored in 2012. After the private Nemea wine-tasting tour, we return to Athens.

According to archaeological excavations, the wine was first produced in Nemea almost 3500 years ago. Nemea is one of the largest winemaking regions in Greece and produces some of its best wines in the country.

The prominent grape here is Ayorgyitiko, one of the noblest of the Greek red grapes, which was named after the town of Nemea originally called “Agios Georgios” or St. George. Ayorgyitiko produces wines that stand out for their deep red color and remarkable aromatic complexity. Read also our blog post about “the best wines in Nemea’.

Wines in Greece- Enjoy the Nemea wine tasting tour

Ayorgyitiko’s soft tannins, combined with its balanced acidity can produce many different styles of wine, ranging from fresh aromatic reds to full-bodied, age-worthy reds. It also has very pleasant aromatic rose wines.

The Nemea wine-growing region can roughly be divided into three zones according to the altitude of the vineyards. At the lowest altitudes, in the valley of Nemea (250m-450m), light reds and dessert wines are produced.

In the next zone (450m-650m) some of the best age-worthy reds are produced and at the highest altitudes, up to 900m, aromatic roses, and fresh reds are made. Some of Greece’s most well-known wineries are located in Nemea all of which are worth taking the time to visit.