the Christian saint. The main land owners in Nemea was the church and the monks from St George monastery of Feneos would tend to the vineyards and harvest the grapes to make wine at the monastery for communion. This is another theory of the naming of the St George wine is after the St George monastery of Feneos. Viticulture Agiorgitiko tends to produce small clusters of small, thick-skinned berries. The vine is highly disease prone with Master of Wine Jancis Robinson noting that "virtually all Agiorgitiko vines planted in Greece are virused." Depending on the virus, and age of the vine, this can lead to issues with ripeness and yields which can affect the resulting quality of the wine. The grape is a late budding and ripening variety that is prone to produce high yields if not kept in check by winter pruning or green harvesting. In addition to its susceptibility to numerous grapevine viruses, Agiorgitiko is also very sensitive to fungal infection from botrytis bunch rot, downy and powdery mildew. The vine also responds adversely to water stress which may require some irrigation in regions where the practice is permitted. In order to limit yields, Agiorgitiko is often densely planted in poor vineyard soils but growers need to be mindful of the variety's sensitivity to potassium deficiency. Wine expert Tom Stevenson notes that while Agiorgitiko vines can withstand heat well, the grape tends to produce better in higher altitude vineyards that are slightly cooler but still sufficiently warm to ensure that the grape fully ripens. The altitude of the vineyard, in particular, seems to have an effect on how much of a "spicy note" comes out in the flavor of the resulting wines. New clones For most of the 21st century, growers have been working with Greek wine authorities to produce new virus-free clones of Agiorgitiko that have the potential to resist most grape disease, including botrytis bunch rot, and produce small berries with thicker skins that could ripen to higher sugar levels with most consistent yields. In 2012, several of these new clones were released to Greek wine growers who have slowly begun replanting their Agiorgitiko vineyards. Wine regions In 2012, Agiorgitiko was the most widely planted red grape variety in Greece with in Attica, in Peloponnese and additional plantings in Macedonia and Epirus. The grape is most widely associated with the dry and sweet red wines of