Asprokabos, the other Nemea

Asprokabos located about 20 km away from the center of Nemea is another hidden Greek terroir that deserves more attention and recognition, possessing all the characteristics for the production of high quality wines. A recent visit I made just a few days ago under adverse weather conditions (just check the photos) showed clearly the potential of the breathtaking hillside terroirs which have a Burgundy or Piemonte aura.

Being one of the unofficial subzones of Nemea PDO, the largest PDO in Greece, it combines this beautiful landscape with high altitude vineyards some rising up above 850 m while the lowest are located at 650 m. This means two things, first that Asprokabos is one of the coolest mesoclimates in the country and second that there is big diurnal temperature range, of about 15ºC in the winter and even 20ºC during summertime, which is crucial for the preservation of acidity and for building tannin structure. In fact, Asprokabos' heat summation during the growing season is approximately 300 GDD (Growing Degree Days) lower than the classic Nemea says Professor Stefanos Koundouras from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki.