The Gourmet Wine Tour of Heraklion area
Description
In a small and friendly group of maximum 6 people, partake in a sensational visit of 2 wineries of Archanes to meet some winemakers of this historical wine region. Pass by Archanes region, the birthplace of cretan wines with a 4.000 years of history, an its various landscapes. Visit a new and dynamic winery. Join the winemaker for a tour on the vineyards, learning about vine growing and winemaking techniques. This will be followed by tasting 5 wines of local grapes varietals paired with local cheeses and other delicacies. Move then to one of the oldest bio organic winery of the region. There, after visiting the domain, you will taste 6 wines with cheeses and delicacies pairing under the guidance of the winemaker, enjoying the breathtaking view on the vineyards. Move then to Archanes , pretty traditional town, for food an amazing food and wine experience: 4 stages traditional cretan food paired with 5 selected premium wines from the island to create a sensational food pairing.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Pass by Archanes traditional wine region, the birthplace of Cretan wines with a 4.000 years wine history. Enjoy the various landscapes of the region, from olive groves to hills covered with vineyards.
First stop for a guided tour on small family new and promising winery. Meet the winemaker and join him for a tour on the vineyards, learning about vines growing and wine techniques. Then, in a cosy family atmosphere, taste 5 wines paired with local cheeses and local delicacies under the guidance of the winemaker himself.
the second stop will be to a family bio organic winery for visiting the facilities. After the visit, enjoy the breathtaking view while tasting the 6 wines of the domain paired with local cheeses and vegetables.
After an introduction to extra virgin olive oil, you will be able to taste up to 12 premium extra virgin olive oil of the island, with local products like honey, grape sirup,... Then, have some lunch at one of the most renowned restaurant in the pretty traditional town of Archanes. In a shaded and picturesque square, enjoy a 2 Starters, main and desserts which will be paired with 5 glasses of selected premium wines of the island to perfectly match with your food. Food, wines, and water are included in price. Menu exemple: local mix salad , beans and lentils salad, stuffed wine leaves, grilled cretan cheese and grilled aubergines, olive and cheese fritters, aromatic rice pilaf with Lamb or/and chicken, lemon pie and local halva.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pickup only from Heraklion to Agios Nikolaos area. Departure from Agios Nikolaos at 8.00 Heraklion at 08:30 (every pickup will depend of the location of each hotel, your time will be confirmed later when provided with adress of hotel where you will stay)
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Important: this tour is only available from North coast Heraklion area to Agios Nikolaos (Heraklion, Agia Pelagia, Gouves, Gournes, Kokkini Hani, Hersonnissos, Stalida, Analipsi, Anissaras, Malia, Sissi, Agios Nikolaos, Elounda,…)
- Customers need to have their voucher (either by phone or printed on a paper) with them during the tour for tax reason
- Pick up will be organized as much as possible at hotel reception. However it can happen for traffic reason (city town, no parking at hotel, one way roads, ... that we will provife a close to hotel meeting point with parking place
Reviews(87)
Pierre is a fountain of knowledge about wine of all kinds, not just local Cretan varieties. On top of that, he is a well traveled storyteller and exceptional host/guide. 5 stars isn’t enough for him and his tour. Can’t recommend this tour enough
Hello, thank you do much for yor Kind feedback. That was a real pleasure to share all these stories about wines, Crete, and more with curious guests. Gretings
Our guide was an absolute legend. He was super friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We all felt very well looked after and learnt a lot on the tour. Make sure you are hungry as you will be extremely well fed! All the food we had was very fresh and tasted amazing. We tried 16 different wines over the day and our guide was able to talk us through what to expect with each one. At the restaurant for lunch you have the opportunity to try some olive oil and honey which is also available to buy. The owners of the restaurant are also lovely people and passionate about what they do. Thanks so much for an amazing day.
Hello. Thank you so much for your feedback. So happy you enjoyed the day with us and learned about cretan wines and their history. Best regards
We are still only on day 5 of our Crete adventure, but so far this excursion has been our favorite part yet. Everything was perfect! 1) Petras our tour guide picked us up promptly at the start of the day and he immediately made us feel welcome and comfortable. 2) Petras took us to 2 beautiful vineyards where we met the nicest people who were friendly and passionate about their wine. We sampled several different wines along with snacks and Petras gave us so much information about the region and history of Cretan wine making. I don’t believe there is anything this man does not know about wine! 3) Next was olive oil tasting and a wonderful lunch paired with more wine! Petras watched over us and made sure everything was just right. We never felt rushed and he made sure we got back in time for our planned event later that evening. I have nothing but positive things to say and this excursion was everything I hoped it was going to be and so much more. Thank you Petras!
Hello. Thank you for your nice comment. It was a real pleasure yo welcome you and to shard wine history, culture snd more from this island. Best regards
The best wine tour we had experienced. Our guide was EXTREMELY knowledgeable, not just about wines/ wine making in Crete but also in comparison the wines made around the world. We had food to pair with every wine we tasted and we were brought to great wineries who were also great hosts. This is a great tour if you love to taste wine but also increase your knowledge!
Hello. Thank you so much for your nice feedback. Always a pleasure to share about cretan wines with wine lovers. Greetings
Very simple: That was an absolutely perfect wine tour! We were lucky that no other guests had booked for our tour, allowing us to enjoy a private tour. Pierre impressed us with his knowledge about wine, the region, the history, and the individual wineries that were visited. Additionally, there were interesting conversations about gastronomy in general, experiences in other wine regions and countries, and a good selection of wineries (Garakis, Stilianou) and lunch options (Bakaliko Cafe and Restaurant). We would gladly do it again, no matter where!
Thank you so much for your nice feedback. It was a pleasure to spend that day with you, to hrlo you discovering the wine region of Heraklion, its history and traditions. Kind regards
My boyfriend and I had an unforgettable wine tasting experience in Crete with Pierre as our guide. From the moment the tour began, Pierre made us feel welcomed and immersed in the local culture. His knowledge of wine was incredible, but what truly made the experience special was how passionately he shared the history, traditions, and stories of Crete along the way. Every winery we visited felt thoughtfully chosen, and Pierre created such a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere throughout the day. We learned so much about the wines, the region, and the people behind them, while also getting to enjoy breathtaking scenery and amazing hospitality. This was far more than just a wine tasting — it was a memorable cultural experience that I will never forget. If you’re visiting Crete and want something authentic, personal, and truly special, I cannot recommend Pierre highly enough.
Hello. Thank you so much for your nice feedback. Sharing histories of Cretan wines wuth you was a real pleasure. So happy that you felt cretan hospitality in each of the experiences. Welcoming you was a pleasure. Greetings
We had the most amazing day today. The wineries were out of this world and the guide was so knowledgeable about wines across the world. He ensured that we had outstanding wines at lunch. If you can book this tour it will be the highlight of your visit to Crete.
Hello, thank you so much for your nice feedback. It was a real pleasure to visit vineyards and wineries with you. Happy to hear that food and wine pairings met your expectations. Greetings
This was a great day! Petras our driver and guide for the day was very knowledgeable about all things food and wine. He arranged tastings at 2 very nice Cretan wineries with a great and varied selection of grapes/wines. After that there was a multi course lunch with more wines in one of the small towns in the region, where George the proprietor even went deep into his cellar to open some aged bottles that this collector had never had before. The small group of my wife and 3 others in another family made for a nice small group, very personal and manageable. Pickup and drop off by Petras made for essentially door to door service. This was a fantastic experience and is highly recommended. I've attached pics from both wineries but sadly forgot to take pics of the lunch stop and food!
Hello, thank you so much for your nice feedback. We had a great time with you in vineyards and it was a great pleasure to show you about some if our favorite red wines of the island. Always a pleasure to welcome wine lovers in Crete. Best regards
Highlight point of our trip to Crete! Value in the experience is incredible. Petras is a very knowledge wine connoisseur. We tasted both new and old style regional wines, very fun way to experience history. It was just my husband and I on this tour and we had a wonderful experience would also recommend for a small group. You will not regret booking this experience.
Hello and thank you for your feedback. It was great time welcoming you in Cretan vineyards to meet local winemakers. So pleased that this experience will let you a nice souvenir of the island. Greetings
Peter was super knowledgable and he took us to some really nice wineries and superb restaurant. He's tour is a must for wine lovers while visiting Crete.
Thanks for your nice feedback. It was a pleasure to welcome you. Very pleased that you enjoyed our wineries choices and local food. Greetings
