Zacharioudakis Winery
Greece Travel Secrets visits the
Zacharioudakis Winery near Ancient Gortina in southern Crete, and
does a vineyard tour arranged by our guide from Go Crete.
‘What's the point of a guy coming from France to taste cabernet sauvignon on Crete?’ That’s the question asked by Andreas Zacharioudakis, which is why the winery founded by his father Stelios and his mother Victoria grows predominantly indigenous Cretan grape varieties.
Zacharioudakis Winery on Crete
‘Ours is the newest winery in Greece,’ says Andreas of the vineyard which his parents started in 2008/9, though planning had been going on since 2000. ‘It was the biggest financial investment in a winery ever in Greece.’
A Tasting Room with a View
One look at the spectacular tasting rooms tells you it was money well spent. The stylishly-designed modern building stands at a height of 1640 feet (500 metres) on the top of the Orthi Petra hill near the village of Plouti in southern Crete, and not far from the site of Ancient Gortina. The winery is only about 16 miles (26 kms) from the resort of Matala, too.
Zacharioudakis Winery on Crete
On the slopes of the hill all around the winery, covering an area of 49 acres (20 hectares), the vines are planted, and they are 100% organic.
‘We are completely organic,’ Andreas says. ‘Everything is done by manual labour. We have never had a problem with disease so far. From a profit point of view, it would be better to be non-organic but our philosophy is to do things the natural way, the old way.’
Zacharioudakis Winery on Crete
This was an attitude we came across time and time again on our travels around Crete, from wine-makers, from farmers, from restaurants. For them, unlike in many western countries, organic has never gone away. That’s just the way you do it, to get the tastiest results.
Zacharioudakis Winery on Crete
Andreas’s father Stelios was born in a neighbouring village, and was the son of a farmer. They produced wine for the family but as he grew up he became more passionate about wine. He worked as a journalist in Italy, where his interest in wine grew. He then came back to Crete, to where he grew up, and created the first newspaper in the local area. He still runs the paper as well as the winery.
‘At first,’ says Andreas, ‘he wanted the tables in the tasting room to be white, so you could see the colours of the wine, but then he said No, make the people hold the wine up to the windows to see the colours of Crete.’
So, we sit down at one of the tasting tables and prepare to see the colours of Crete. First up was a white wine named after the mountain we’re on, Orthi Petra. ‘This,’ explains Andreas, ‘is 60% sauvignon blanc and 40% the Cretan grape vidiano, and is 13.5% ABV. It has won two gold and three silver medals in Munich, Berlin and Bordeaux. It’s fruity on the nose with the gentle gooseberry aroma of sauvignon blanc. When you taste it, it’s similar on the palate: gooseberry, citrus, pineapple.’
It’s a deliciously subtle and complex wine, which shows just how far Cretan wines have progressed over the years. Next in line is another white, this one 100% vidiano grapes.
‘You can only find this grape on Crete,’ Andreas says. ‘It is musty and oaky, because it spends five months in French oak barrels. This one has won three gold, three silver and one bronze medal between 2009 and 2014. It is quite strong at 14.5%.’
We felt that it started oaky in the mouth and ended by being quite crisp. It was fascinating to taste these unusual Cretan grape varieties, as the next glass was a red wine that was 100% from kotsifali grapes.
‘This is also strong, at 14.5%. It is aged for six months in French barrels and then for another three years in the bottle. This is another Cretan grape variety. It is dry, like the landscape. It is very slightly sour, with some tannins. It coats the mouth, is soft and rich.’
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
Finally we taste a rosé, which is made up of 40% kotsifali and 60% syrah grapes, although they have also experimented with blending kotsifali and cabernet sauvignon grapes.
The result is a strong rosé, at 14%, with an aroma rich in fruit, like strawberries, which follows through on the palate. It’s full of punchy flavours, and far from insipid, like some rosés can be. We’re not surprised when Andreas tells us it’s won numerous gold and silver medals at wine tastings around the world.
After the tasting we walked along a track that goes from the winery around through the vineyards. At one point Andreas went off the track and beckoned us to follow him on a rough path through the vines.
‘This is a 3,000-year-old olive press,’ he says, pointing out a circular stone object half-buried in the earth. ‘When we planned the vineyard we had to have the archaeologists survey the land to make sure there were no precious ruins beneath. This is normal in Greece. What they found and identified was this olive press, and they decided it was best to leave it where it is, rather than move it.
‘Five people worked for three years to create the vineyards,’ Andreas continues. ‘There were three Greeks and two Albanians. One of the Albanians still works in the winery and is now becoming a Greek citizen.'
Andreas pauses and looks around at the vines, under the clear blue Cretan sky and the hot sun. ‘I planted the first vine here when I was just eight years old,’ he says with great pride.
Andreas Zacharioudakis
More Information
For more information and to book tours, visit http://zacharioudakis.com.
For longer tours of Crete specialising in wine, food, history, music or any other topic, contact Go Crete.
Other Crete pages
The best things to do on Crete and top things to see include the Samaria Gorge, the Minoan Palaces at Knossos and Phaistos, the towns of Chania and Rethymnon.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Western Crete with tavernas and restaurants in Chania, Rethymnon, and Paleochora.
The Byzantine Church of Panagía Kerá near Kritsa and not far from Ayios Nikolaos is one of the most famous in Crete, and close by is the site of Ancient Lato.
The Snails House in Plouti near Phaistos in southern Crete serves the Cretan delicacy of snails, cooked in several different ways.
Athens, an Eater's Guide to the City, is published by Culinary Backstreets, who do walking food tours in Athens and the book recommends the best places to eat.
The Samaria Gorge is one the longest gorges in Europe and doing the hike is one of the best and most popular things to do on Crete.
Crete (Kriti) is the largest Greek island and its main attractions include the Minoan Palace of Knossos, the Samarian Gorge, Chania and Rethymnon.
The travel tale Our Hire Car in Crete describes what it’s like when you go driving in Greece and get off the beaten track, resulting in kindnesses.
Corfu’s special cuisine includes dishes like sofrito and pastitsade and the chance to try ginger beer and kumquats.
Visiting Knossos near Iraklion is one of the best things to do on Crete, and this page has a history of the site with visitor information.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Eastern Crete including restaurants and tavernas in Elounda, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, and Kato Zakros.
The area east from Paleohora along the south-west coast of Crete includes resorts like Agia Galini, gorges like the Imbros Gorge and quieter towns like Sfakia.
Greece Travel Secrets reveals the history of the classic Greek dish, moussaka, as well as providing a recipe for you to make your own.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Crete Botanical Gardens near Chania and finds a wonderland of colourful plants, trees, and flowers filling a lovely valley.
This Airbnb in the quiet village of Malaxa, a 30-minute drive into the hills above Chania, is a peaceful retreat with a delightful and thoughtful artist owner, with wonderful views and amenities.
Crete’s wildlife and landscape are two of the island’s attractions, including gorges for hiking, rare raptors like the lammergeier, wildcats and ancient trees.
Greek alcoholic drinks include distinctly Greek drinks such as ouzo, Metaxa, retsina, raki, tsikoudia and tsipouro, but also Greek wines and Greek beers.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Irakleio, the capital of Crete, including nearby beach resort hotels and accommodation in the city centre.
Ancient Gortina is an archaeological site in southern Crete famous for the church of Ayios Titos and for the Law Code inscribed here, the first in Europe.
Greece Travel Secrets tells the history of the classic Greek dish tzatziki, with a recipe for making your own yogurt and cucumber dip.
Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.
Greece Travel Secrets eats at Vegera in Zaros and finds a cheap but wonderful feast of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes cooked daily with fresh local food.
Icon painting is a centuries-old tradition in Crete and the rest of Greece, and Greece Travel Secrets meets a modern-day icon painter in Elounda on Crete.
The Goules Taverna in Goulediana, south of Rethymnon, has been called one of the best tavernas on Crete and Greece Travel Secrets recently visited them.
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