Georgia Ipeiroti left Thessaloniki, where she was born and raised, to pursue her dream in Nemea Discover Greece with a local expert.
Georgia Ipeiroti left Thessaloniki, where she was born and raised, to pursue her dream in Nemea.
She aimed for the Polytechnic but studied agronomy in Thessaloniki. Initially, she didn't want to attend the school at all, but was persuaded by her mother's insistence. Once classes started, she simply fell in love with it. Georgia Ipeiroti has the look of someone who captivates you. She's dynamic, comes from Thessaloniki, and now lives in the Peloponnese, working in Nemea at one of the region's most emblematic wineries. We met her during harvest season, the time when the country's wineries work at full capacity. We had an interesting conversation with her.
I wanted to get into the Polytechnic. I didn't want to attend the agronomy school, but with my mother's insistence, I went to the school, and when classes started, I simply fell in love with it. I liked that they weren't the classic subjects we had at school (Math, Physics, etc.). I liked that everything was related to nature and the environment.
I knew from the start that I would work with vines, as having visited a winery in Thessaloniki as a student, the entire wine production process had really caught my interest. So I chose whatever courses related to viticulture.
What do you find most interesting about vineyards?
The most interesting thing about viticulture is that there are many cultivation tasks, such as pruning, leaf removal, shoot thinning, green harvest, etc.
And from the vineyard comes wine.
Along the way, I decided I wanted to engage with wine tasting as well, so I chose to attend WSET courses. I was excited by the fact that every wine is different depending on the variety, production region, winemaking, and natural factors, and that everything can change from year to year. For me, it's like a mental game when you try to detect its aromatic and taste characteristics.
And how are things here in Nemea?
Obviously, the landscape in Nemea is magical. I live in Corinth, so I make the Corinth-Nemea trip daily. Climbing the mountain and seeing all these vineyards and slopes makes you start your day with a different mood. Also, the fact that I'm in nature all day makes me work with more calm than if I were in an urban landscape with everything that entails: noise, exhaust fumes, etc.
I won't hide that it was a very difficult decision to leave Thessaloniki and come permanently to the Peloponnese. Having grown up and studied in Thessaloniki, I had to part with friends and family. However, I wanted to do it because I absolutely wanted to engage with my field of study. Life here is very different from Thessaloniki. Here the rhythms are much more relaxed, I'm in nature, and everything is calmer. However, I won't hide that I miss the options that Thessaloniki gives you as a larger city.
How would you like things to develop over the next 10 years?
A very difficult question for me, how I imagine myself in ten years, as I generally like to live in the moment. Undoubtedly, I'd like to continue working in the wine sector, whether that involves the vineyard or the wine. Certainly, what I'm doing now regarding the wine tourism aspect, I really enjoy because I'm a very hospitable person and I want to create an experience for the visitor. I love the visitor's feedback when they come and experience something rather than just taste our wines. By experiencing something, the visitor creates memories that will potentially stay with them for a lifetime.
Would you like to describe a typical day for you?
My day certainly starts quite early in the morning. I deal with procedural and organizational matters regarding the visitor department both in Nemea and at our winery in Santorini. The best time is when I have visitors. We'll take a short walk in the vineyard surrounding our winery, then we'll do a small tour of our cellar with bottles from older vintages as well as our barrels, and finally, we'll taste our wines in a beautiful room right next to our barrels. Finally, there are times when I steal time and go help with production, either in the laboratory helping our chemist with analyses, on the bottling line, or with orders. Now though, as you know, it's harvest season, so the days are certainly fuller.
We close our conversation with Georgia, and she takes her place at the point where the grapes arrive and the first sorting takes place.
Common Questions
How do I get here from Athens?
Most destinations covered on this site are 2 to 4 hours from Athens by car. I always recommend renting a car rather than joining a bus tour — you control your stops, you can pull over when something looks interesting, and the drive itself is often half the experience in Greece.
What is the best time to visit?
April to June is my personal preference — the wildflowers are out, the crowds haven't arrived, and the light is extraordinary. September and October are equally good. Summer is beautiful but you'll share it with everyone else. Winter is underrated and deeply local.
