“[I]t is the wine that leads me on, the wild wine that sets the wisest man to sing at the top of his lungs, laugh like a fool – it drives the man to dancing… it even tempts him to blurt out stories better never told.”
― Homer, The Odyssey
Where you should definitely have some wine, when in Crete!
From Prehistoric nomads in caves to sophisticated wine lovers in cellars in unspoiled villages and wine bars in the city Metropolis, “Oinos” (Wine), has been mentioned and praised in any type of text, nearly as much as the infamous H2O. Wine is a product, so strongly connected with our cultural identities and social traditions, whether we use it in cooking or accompanying a delicious local dish in a restaurant, but still remains a very homely and intimate ingredient of any family gathering.
When you get to visit Greece though, spoil yourself with a glass of vino on any occasion given, as each region can offer a variety of Wines, ready to steal your heart! Whether it is family-made produce offered when visiting a friend and local or enjoying a well-known bottle of a Greek brand (there is such a great variety in price and flavors), you will definitely find the “One” and the search is a delicious path paved with grapes.
As Louis Pasteur advices “Wine is the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages” and “A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world”, so it fully combines the ancient Greek concept, of body and soul being equally exercised and connected. Ranging from Religious scripts to Homer’s writings and even deeper, backed up with antiquity excavation findings, of customized artifacts made to store wine, we now know, that Wine has been a loyal friend, companion, and an inseparable product of any Greek household since ancient times. For most of Ancient Greece, Wine was also a product amongst a few, that became a vessel to exchange cultural information, plus agricultural methods and techniques that we use until today, through trading. Since we are talking about Wine and Crete, those two go back in time, when their Minoan ancestors were the Superpower in Trading in the Mediterranean at the time.
Wine and Crete can be surely linked for at least 4.000 years now, where there has been systematic cultivation of vines and as Homer mentions, the Cretan wines were pretty popular and well-established at his time, in every bit of the “known world”, back then! *Fun fact, in the region of Vathipetro, there is the oldest Wine-Press (3.500 years old) “The people of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learned to cultivate the olive and the vine.” H. Johnson Vintage: The Story of Wine, pp. 35–46 Simon and Schuster 1989
In Crete you are spoiled with choices, when it comes to locally grown and handmade products, so you are advised to be adventurous, but as locals obviously with more time on our hands, we have come to love few wineries and their wines and spirits a bit more than others. The region of Heraklion, is your main point of interest, when we are talking about wine but a Food and Wine-orientated exploration, is definitely recommended throughout Crete if you have a few days to spend. Have a look on the Wines of Crete Map and start planning out your next Cretan Adventure!
A full registry of the most notable Wineries in the Cretan Region can be found in Wines of Crete, which is a cooperation and synergies, since 2006, of Cretan Winemakers, that initially started functioning as core production of local bottled wine and grew stronger over the years, by promoting Cretan Wine even outside Greek borders, making it an international attraction through wine tasting and wine tours, where countless guests visit annually the island, wanting to find out more about the local products. It is clearly a matter of taste, but we have grown to love a couple of wineries, just a sip more than others, as they have become our guests’ favorite stops on tours. Small family-run and owned wineries, keeping the traditional flavors authentic and constantly reinventing one of the oldest products in Greece.
So, without further ado, this is our personal favorite list of Wine Gems in each Cretan city,
that you shouldn’t miss out on!!! When in Chania make sure to visit Dourakis Winery, Manousakis Winery, Pnevmatikakis Winery, and of course Anoskelis Winery. Passing by from Rethymno, you should definitely check out Louloudis Winery and Kourkoulou Winery.
Last, but surely not least, when you visit Heraklion, the Cretan Region which is well-known for its wine and a wide variety of wineries that add up to most of the local produce, don’t leave without tasting a glass of Lyrarakis Wines, Paterianakis Domaine Organic Wines or Gavalas Wines.
The only thing certain is you will definitely enjoy the process of finding the “Excalibur” type of wine for you that you can then take back home and within a bottle, you will capture Cretan scents and flavors, memories, and stunning views that can serve as a memoir served, months later, in your own hometown shared with your favorite people!!!
Chania Region
Dourakis Winery
Alikampos, Apokoronou, CHANIA 730 07, Tel: + 30 2825 051761
Manousakis Winery
Valtolakos 730 05, Tel: + 30 2821 078787
Pnevmatikakis Winery
Drapanias 734 00, Tel: + 30 2822 031740
Anoskelis Winery
Anoskeili 730 02, Tel: + 30 2824 083126
Rethymno Region
Louloudis Winery
Dafnes 700 11, Tel: + 30 694 889 0504
Kourkoulou Winery
Patsos Amariou, 740 61, Tel: + 30 694 809 9169
Heraklion Region
Lyrarakis Wines
Alagni, Arkalochori, 70300, Tel: + 30 698 105 0681
Paterianakis Domaine Organic Wines
Meleses 703 00, Tel: + 30 281 022 6674
Domaine Gavalas (Fragkospito)
Vorias, 700 10, Tel: + 30 2894 051060
