Halkia, “Agiorgitiko Reddish” 2021

In the village of Némea – arguably Greece’s most important red-wine-producing appellation is the eponymous “Némea” – located on southern Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula, Anna Halkia has been producing excellent small-batch, organic Agiorgitiko (the calling-card of the region). Originally born in Australia (her parents immigrated from Greece years before), Anna eventually made her way back to her family’s ancestral home in Némea. Her family are longtime (organic) grape-growers in the village though they would sell the grapes rather than vinify them. It was part of the fact of their organic cultivation that convinced her to make wine from them; oftentimes their proudly organic aka higher-quality grapes were mixed with fruit that had been much less expertly grown & had seen a lot of herbicide/pesticide & spray. Beginning in 2007, Anna started her winemaking journey with a very small facility in their backyard &, due to not having the investment for industrial yeasts and all the tomfoolery that large-scale conventional outfits have long utilized, her organic fruit have always seen zero/zero expression. A feat, considering this requires an extremely high level of expertise. There have been bumps in the road but for many years now the Halkia wines have shown extreme purity paired with the natural depth provided by the sometimes-fearsome Agiorgitiko.  Reddish is a pitch-perfect red(dish) for the summer. 

100% Agiorgitiko from the village of Nemea, located on southern Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula. The grapes are lightly pressed so the juices can run free and then fermented in stainless steel tank using wild yeasts. Aged for 4 months in tank and bottled unfined, unfiltered, with no SO2.