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Zacharias Winery: A Family Estate at the Heart of Nemea
Updated: Aug 25
When I first started exploring the wines of Nemea, I quickly realised that Agiorgitiko is only part of the story.
The region is best known for this indigenous red grape, but Nemea is also home to lesser-known varieties including Sklava and Kidonitsa, and to producers who are showing just how diverse the region can be.
One of those producers is Zacharias Winery, a family-run estate with roots in Nemea stretching back more than six decades.
A family winery with deep roots in Nemea
Founded in 1962, Zacharias is one of the oldest family-run wineries in Nemea. Since 1974, the estate has been led by winemaker Elias Zacharias, who has overseen its development while maintaining a strong connection to the family's origins.
The winery sits in one of Greece's most important wine regions. Nemea PDO, in the northeastern Peloponnese, is particularly renowned for Agiorgitiko, but its varied landscape creates the conditions for much more than one grape variety.
For me, that's what makes Zacharias so interesting.
Rather than simply making another expression of Greece's best-known red grape, the estate works with a range of indigenous Greek varieties, including some that are rarely seen outside Greece.
The vineyards of Nemea
One of Nemea's defining characteristics is its diversity of altitude and vineyard sites.
Vineyards are spread across different elevations and exposures, with limestone-rich soils and a balanced climate helping to produce wines with freshness, structure and a strong sense of place. The combination of altitude, soil and aspect allows different varieties to express themselves in very different ways.
At Zacharias, vineyard work is carried out with a focus on sustainability and careful, hands-on viticulture.
That attention to the vineyard continues in the cellar, where the approach is deliberately restrained. The aim is to preserve the character of the grape and the vineyard, with oak used thoughtfully where it adds texture and complexity rather than dominating the wine.
More than Agiorgitiko
If you've heard of Nemea, you've probably heard of Agiorgitiko.
It's one of Greece's most important indigenous red grapes and the signature variety of the Nemea PDO. It can produce everything from fresh, fruit-driven reds to structured wines capable of ageing.
Zacharias' Lexis Nemea is a more powerful expression of the variety, made from grapes grown in the single vineyard Tsintari, on the historic Acropolis of Ancient Phlious.
The wine is aged for 12 months in French oak and combines ripe red and black fruit with spice, structure and velvety tannings. It's a great example of what Agiorgitiko can do when given the opportunity to produce a serious, age-worthy Nemea red.
Reviving Sklava, a nearly forgotten Greek grape
One of the wines that particularly excites me from Zacharias is Sklava.
Sklava is a rare indigenous white grape from Nemea and was once close to disappearing from the Greek vineyard. Elias Zacharias played an important role in its revival, with Zacharias Winery producing the first single-varietal Sklava in 2014.
The grapes come from the single-vineyard Douramani, where they are hand-picked before fermentation in stainless steel and six months of lees ageing. The resulting wine is dry, fresh and textured, with citrus, apple, nectarine and bergamot, alongside a subtle creaminess.
It's exactly the sort of wine I love bringing to the UK - a grape with a strong connection to its place that most wine drinkers here are unlikely to have encountered before.
If you'd like to understand the grape in more depth, read my guide to Sklava: Greece's Nearly Forgotten Indigenous Grape.
Kidonitsa: another rare Nemea variety
Zacharias also works with Kidonitsa, another fascinating indigenous Greek white grape.
The variety is particularly associated with the Peloponnese and is known for its aromatic, fruity character. Zacharias has been cultivating Kidonitsa since the late 1990s, and its Lexis Kidonitsa shows a richer, more complex side of the grape.
The wine comes from the Boulougoura vineyards in Nemea, with hand-harvested grapes fermented in oak and acacia and aged for six months on fine lees. It's textured and expressive, with apricot, peach, vanilla, smoke and subtle nuttiness, while retaining enough freshness to keep the wine balanced.
If you're curious about lesser-known Greek white varieties, my guide to Kidonitsa: The Rare Greek White Grape to Know is a good place to start.
Moschofilero with a different perspective
Zacharias also demonstrates how versatile Greek grapes can be with Moschofilero.
Usually associated with the high-altitude vineyards of Mantinia, Moschofilero is one of Greece's most aromatic varieties, known for floral, citrus and stone-fruit character.
At Zacharias, it is used to make Lexis Gris Sur Lie Rosé - a dry, aromatic rosé that spends nine months on its lees.
The result is much more than a simple summer rosé: rose petal, blossom, citrus and pomegranate are combined with fresh acidity and a gentle creamy texture from the lees ageing.
It's a great example of how indigenous Greek grapes can be expressed in unexpected styles.
You can read more in my guide to Moschofilero: Greece's Aromatic White Grape.
Why Zacharias?
What I particularly like about Zacharias is the balance between tradition and exploration. This is a winery with more than 60 years of history, but the focus isn't simply on repeating what has always been done. The estate is preserving and developing rare indigenous varieties alongside Nemea's most important grape, while allowing different vineyard sites and winemaking techniques to shape the wines.
There's a sense of restraint in the wines too. Oak is used where it adds something, rather than simply because a wine is intended to look "premium". The aim is ultimately to let the grape, vineyard and vintage speak.
And that philosophy is very much aligned with what I look for at Pale Ruby Wine.
I'm particularly interested in wines that tell you something about where they come from - whether that's a rare grape, an unusual vineyard or a small producer working with varieties that have been part of a region's history for generations.
Discover Zacharias wines in the UK
I’m proud to work with Zacharias Winery and bring its wines to the UK.
You can explore the full Zacharias collection, including Sklava, Kidonitsa, Agiorgitiko and Moschofilero.
Or discover some of the individual wines:
Zacharias Sklava - a rare indigenous white grape brought back from the brink.
Zacharias Lexis Nemea - a structured, elegant expression of Nemea's signature Agiorgitiko.
Zacharias Lexis Kidonitsa - a textured, smoky expression of one of Greece's lesser-known white grapes.
Zacharias Lexis Gris Sur Lie Rosé - a serious, lees-aged Greek rosé made from Moschofilero.
And if you want to discover Zacharias alongside wines from some of my other favourite Greek producers, the Greek Wine Discovery Case brings together six bottles chosen to showcase different grapes, regions and styles.
This is Greek wine beyond the familiar - and exactly why I think Nemea deserves to be explored.
