Peloponnese / Πελοπóννησος

Island located to the south of the mainland of Greece (Morea in Modern Greek), with a total area of around 21.000 km². It is completely separated from the mainland by the Canal of Corinth, which is more than 6 kilometres long, and was built from 1881 to 1893. Some of the most important sites of ancient Greek culture are to be found on the Peloponnes, such as Epidaurus, Mistra, Mycene, Olympia and Sparta. There was a flourishing wine culture here even in ancient times. The port city of Monemvasia is located on the south-western tip of the island, this was a famous trading centre for sweet dessert wines in medieval times, and the name of the Malvasia family of grape varieties is derived from this. Around a quarter of all Greek wines are produced here. Large quantities of table grapes and raisins (currants) are also produced on the Peloponnes, the vineyards for these are mainly located along the Gulf of Corinth, and on the Ionian Sea. The climate varies considerably, with ample rainfall in the west, whereas there are long periods of drought during the year in the east. Peloponnes has the largest number of appellations with controlled origin (OPAP), but a lot of country wines are also produced here. Most of the wine production is concentrated in the north, the largest appellation is Patras, with a total vineyard area of around 4.000 hectares. The appellations of Nemea (2.100 Hectar) and Mantinia can be found in the hilly centre of the island, at altitudes of up to 800 metres above sea level. The best-known producers include Constantin, Gioulis, Douros, Kokkalis, Kourtakis, Lafkiotis, Mercouri, Monemvasia, Oenoforos, Papantonis, Spyropoulos, Skouras and Stavropoulos.