Touring the Lyrarakis
Winery on Crete
Greece Travel Secrets tours the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete and learns about Crete grape varieties such as plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari, and kotsifali.
The View from the Lyrarakis Winery
The Cretan wine business is booming, a fact that was
recognised a few years ago by Wine Enthusiast magazine. It nominated Crete on its
shortlist for Wine Region of the Year, along with Champagne, Provence, Sonoma
County and the eventual winner, Oregon's Willamette Valley. Illustrious company
indeed.
On a tour of one of the island's biggest wineries,
Lyrarakis, we learn one of the reasons why from our guide, Eva Gouvianaki.
'There are lots of parents who started wineries,' she says, 'and now their
children are the second generation. They are educated as oenologists, whereas
the parents learned simply by doing it. Right now we have specialists, and the
wine is better. The parents started and the children took it further. But here
we believe in meraki – it means if
you're going to do something, you want to do it with passion.'
Lyrarakis Vines
Lyrarakis was founded by brothers Manolis and Sotiris Lyrarakis
in 1966 and they made an unusual decision which turned out to be farsighted,
and another reason for the current success of Cretan wines. They concentrated
on growing two local grape varieties, plyto and dafni, which no-one else was
using to make wine and which might well now be extinct if not for the Lyrarakis
brothers.
Bottles at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Today there are over 50 wineries on Crete, many of them
growing familiar imported grape varieties like syrah and merlot, but Lyrarakis
and others prefer their native varieties like plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana,
mandilari and kotsifali. They make distinctive wines that are part of the terroir of Crete, the largest and most
southerly of the Greek islands.
Bottles at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Before we tour the winery and taste the wines, Eva drives
us out to see another of the Lyrarakis brothers' legacies, the Karoula wine
press. Crete is home to many ancient wine presses, including the oldest known
press in the world, some 3500 years old. The Karoula press dates from the 14th
century and is carved out of the area's natural rock.
The Karoula Wine Press
'It was a communal press,' Eva explains, 'where everyone
would bring their grapes to tread them, and the juice would flow down the
slope. There was a second pressing nearby. Everyone knew that the press was
here, but one of the founding brothers thought it was important to protect it
so he reported it to the authorities to help preserve it for future
generations. Those are our vines behind the press, the plyto grapes. At one
time this whole valley would have been filled with vines.'
Barrels at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Cretan wines have a distinguished history. Homer reported
that they were loved throughout the known world. The Minoans exported
wine to Egypt, which is about 400 miles away across the Libyan Sea. In the 15th
and 16th centuries, Cretan wines were exported to Venice, where they were rated
very highly indeed.
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
Today Lyrarakis, the biggest and oldest winery in the
Iraklion region, produces a million litres of wine a year, half of which is
exported to the USA, Japan, China and several other countries. In the UK the
importers are Berry Brothers and Rudd, who have supplied wine to the royal
family since the reign of King George III.
Lyrarakis is now run by the second generation, the five
children of Manolis and Sotiris Lyrarakis. As we enter the tasting room and
impressive restaurant, a young girl enters and skips through the room.
'And here comes the third generation,' Eva laughs, as we sit
down to taste the wines, and pair them with cheese and other Cretan delicacies.
We try the dafni, which has hints of rosemary and lavender - and which you can
buy in M&S. Their Legacy rosé is unusually dark for a rosé, almost a plum
colour, while the intensely delicious Malvasia of Crete dessert wine uses a
blend of plyto, dafni, vidiano and vilana grapes which are dried in the sun for
nine days to concentrate the sugars.
We also try their Symbolo wine, a complex and fruity wine,
heavy on the tannin. It's a flagship wine, only made when the grapes are
excellent, and last produced in 2012. The good news is… 2016 was an excellent
vintage on Crete, making 2017 the perfect year for wine-lovers to visit.
All Photos (c) Mike Gerrard
See our YouTube video about another aspect of our visit to the Lyrarakis Winery:
Visiting Lyrarakis
The author visited the Lyrarakis Winery as part of a special
food and wine tour organised by www.GoCrete.net.
See also the Lyrarakis Winery website, and Wines of Crete.
Staying Nearby
Greece Travel Secrets stayed in Apostoli at the Organic Orgon Farm, in one of their beautifully renovated traditional guesthouses, about 8 miles from the Lyrarakis Winery.
The Kalimera Archanes renovated stone houses are in the
village of Archanes, about 7 miles from the Lyrarakis Winery, and a similar
distance from Iraklion Airport. They can be booked through Sunvil Holidays.
Other Crete pages
This tour around central Crete lists some of the area’s highlights such as the traditional village of Arolithos, Minoan remains at Tilisos, and Agioi Deka.
Chania is the main city in Western Crete with a lovely setting and a beautiful harbour as well as several museums.
Visiting Santorini wineries is a popular activity on this Greek island in the Cyclades, whose volcanic soil provides a distinctive terroir.
Western Crete in five days allows time to visit Chania and Rethymnon, enjoy the beaches, hike the Samaria Gorge and see the monasteries at Arkadi and Preveli.
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.
Information for travelers on Corfu Food and Drink including restaurants and tavernas, Corfiot specialties, desserts, wine and other Greek drinks like ouzo.
Driving on Crete is the best way to see Greece’s biggest island and here is our driving advice and some information about Greek driving regulations.
Ancient Gournia is a Minoan archaeological site between Agios Nikolaos and Sitia in Eastern Crete where the visitor can see evidence of a maze of back streets.
We visit and tour the Manousakis Winery on Crete with a wine-tasting and a chance to buy their tsikoudia, sea salt, olive oil and other goodies.
Greece Travel Secrets suggests where to stay in Eastern Crete with our favourite hotels in Zakros, Elounds, Sitia, Agios Nikolaos, Istron Bay, Myrtos, Neapolis.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Irakleio, the capital of Crete, including nearby beach resort hotels and accommodation in the city centre.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Eastern Crete including restaurants and tavernas in Elounda, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, and Kato Zakros.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Central Crete including hotels in Matala, Ayia Galini, and Zaros.
Greece Travel Secrets tells the history of the classic Greek dish tzatziki, with a recipe for making your own yogurt and cucumber dip.
Raki is an alcoholic drink made with distilled grapes and anise, and popular in Greece and other Mediterranean countries, including Greece’s neighbour Turkey.
For a Crete olive oil tour Greece Travel Secrets visits Biolea, one of the few olive oil factories on Crete that you can visit.
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.
Athens culinary tours are among the food walking tours offered by an unusual company, Culinary Backstreets.
The most famous Cretan writers and artists include the painter El Greco and the author of Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis.
Greek retsina is a dry white wine made and drunk all over Greece with a distinctive pine and resin flavour that people usually either love or hate.
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.
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.
Driving central Crete in three days gives you time to see the highlights including the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos, the beaches and the Diktean Cave.
What was daily life as a Minoan like on Crete, living in palaces like the ones at Knossos, Malia, Phaistos, and Zakros, and what were their religious beliefs?
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Western Crete with tavernas and restaurants in Chania, Rethymnon, and Paleochora.
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