Nemea Lions and the new classification for PDO Nemea

By Yiannis Karakasis MW

Nemea and Agiorgitiko face their future challenges with the same courage that Hercules showed in the myth of the Nemean lion. “We had a 40-year-old file that defined all aspects of the zone, and we have eventually reached an agreement that changes the architecture of the region”, states Nikos Vlachos, the President of the Nemea Wine Association.

The file that will be submitted to the European Union includes the following PDO changes:

Nemea PDO with minimum 6 months maturation, yields up to 75 hl/ha and minimum alcohol 12% abv.

Nemea Classic PDO with minimum 12 months maturation, yields up to 75 hl/ha and minimum alcohol 12.5% abv.

Nemea Lions PDO with grapes sourced from specific vineyards, vines with a minimum age of 10 years, with minimum 24 months maturation, yields up to 56 hl/ha and minimum alcohol 13% abv.

Nemea Lions will be placed next to the Reserve and Grand Reserve categories, which continue to exist, but I presume they will slowly take second place. "Nemea Lions will also be marked with a separate quality symbol on the capsule of the bottle, that was presented at the 'Great Days of Nemea' at the beginning of September”, says Mr. Vlachos.

Nemea Lions means that Nemea is taking the "discussion" a step further by focusing on specific terroirs (detailed information together with the place name will be included on the back label) and trying to decode the diversity of the area. Furthermore, different parameters of this category will be closely regulated like the legality of the vineyard, production processes and ageing registers, and an independent committee will evaluate the final product.