A Pelion wine tasting serves the wines made in the hill villages above Volos, at a winery, in a stone cellar or on a private tour. Start planning the rest of the trip on the Greece Tours homepage.
Below you find the bookable tastings, the wineries, the grapes, the steps of a tasting, the food on the table, booking and common questions.
What is a Pelion wine tasting?
Guests sample wines made on the Pelion peninsula while a host explains each glass. The tasting takes place at a winery, in a village cellar or on a private tour from Volos. Each format has its own length, group and meeting point.
Pelion is a mountain in the southeastern part of Thessaly, in northern Greece. The hook-like peninsula has the Pagasetic Gulf on one side and the Aegean Sea on the other. A Pelion wine tasting happens on that peninsula, and the two bookable tours below start in Volos.
Three settings host a Pelion wine tasting. At a winery, guests walk along the vineyards and taste local wines, as the Apollon Holidays listing says for Argalasti. The Agora cellar in Portaria offers stone walls and wooden barrels. A private session can also come to a home, a garden or an outdoor spot.
A Pelion wine tasting is a talk with a glass in hand. Hosts introduce the wines of Thessaly, take questions and describe the vineyards behind each bottle.
Which Pelion wine tasting tours can you book?
The South Pelion private tour from Volos on GetYourGuide includes a wine tasting at a traditional winery in Argalasti. Two local sellers add a cellar tasting in Portaria and a group tasting through Pelionexperiences.gr. A second Volos tour centres on villages and olive oil.
The listing is called Volos: South Pelion Private Tour with Wine Tasting. This Pelion wine tasting tour lasts five hours, and Apollon Holidays is the activity provider. The tour starts at Volos Port in a mini van, and the drive to Lafkos takes one hour.
Stops follow in order. Guests walk in Lafkos for 30 minutes and see the Folklore Museum, the Radio Museum and the historic cafe Forlida. Next come 15 minutes in Argalasti, where the listing points to the marble bell tower of the church. The 30-minute Pelion wine tasting at the winery follows.
At the winery, guests take a guided tour, walk along the vineyards and taste local wines. The last stop is Afissos and Kalifteri Beach for an optional swim of one and a half hours. The van then returns to Volos Port.
The listing includes mini van transport, the village and museum visits, the winery visit and the wine tasting experience. It does not include meals or drinks or personal expenses. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the start. The booking page asks for at least 10 hours of notice.
The second GetYourGuide listing is From Volos: Private Pelion Villages & Olive Oil Experience, a five-hour private tour. Its summary names the villages of Vizitsa and Milies and the Pelion steam train station. It adds a guided tasting at a traditional olive mill. The tasting it names is olive oil, so book it for the villages.
Local sellers list their own sessions. The Agora cellar in Portaria hosts a one-hour guided Pelion wine tasting in English or Greek, listed at experiences.anthologyofathens.com. Pelionexperiences.gr, based in Volos, sells a two-hour tasting for four to ten people. It runs at a home, a garden, an outdoor spot or a winery in Northern Pelion.
The site greecetreehouse.com, for the Happinest Treehouse, lists a wine tasting at Milea winery. It calls the winery 15 minutes away in Argalasti.
Which wineries host a Pelion wine tasting?
Milea Winery and Patistis Winery, both at Argalasti in South Pelion, open their doors for a Pelion wine tasting. Vasdekis Winery in Northern Pelion also hosts tastings, which the Pelion Experiences business arranges from Volos.
Milea Winery is a family-run business near Argalasti, at the epicentre of the Pelion peninsula, says its own website. The land was an apple orchard, overgrown with bramble, before the owners cleared it. They kept the cypress trees around the property, and those trees inspired the winery logo.
The visit page lists in-person tastings at the winery and the vineyard. A Pelion wine tasting at Milea starts with a winery tour hosted by the owners, who are also the winemakers. Guests then taste all current vintages. The winery says it crafts single-vineyard wines that show the site and the story of each vintage.
The Happinest Treehouse in Milina recommends Milea for a Pelion wine tasting, 15 minutes away in Argalasti. Its page describes a flagship white, a rosé and three reds from the winery. Greeka’s page on Pelion wineries lists Milea, with a sommelier guiding the tasting at the farm.
Patistis Winery is a family winery where a Pelion wine tasting is led by the second generation of the family. That generation now runs the business and is modernising it. The Greek Gastronomy Guide says the winery produces 20,000 bottles, split 20% retail, 60% wholesale and 20% export.
The same guide lists six bottled wines from Patistis:
- a dry white wine
- a dry rosé
- a dry red wine
- an Assyrtiko
- a blanc de noir
- a red wine called Satyr
The room used for this Pelion wine tasting is partly underground and covered in wood. Small barrels serve as stools, and old objects such as a sewing machine and a gramophone fill the space. A further 10,000 litres go to the tavernas of South Pelion in bags.
Patistis sits at the village exit, on a side road off the main road to the Aegean beaches. The winery added a visitable tasting place at the highest point of the estate. It bottled its first olive oil a year later. The hill gives a 360-degree view:
- northeast: the Aegean, with Skiathos in the background
- west: the village of Argalasti
- south: the Pagasetic Gulf and Trikeri
- north: Pelion
Vasdekis Winery stands in Northern Pelion, surrounded by vineyards and peaceful landscapes. The Pelion Experiences page says guests taste the wines where they are made. They can also visit the family vineyards on the nearby hillsides during a Pelion wine tasting there.
What does Argalasti add to a Pelion wine tasting?
Argalasti gives a Pelion wine tasting a base and a village to walk. It lies 40 km southeast of Volos on a fertile plateau, with Milea and Patistis close to it. A church tower, a plane-tree square and a Saturday market fill the walk.
A Pelion wine tasting trip fits Argalasti. Wikipedia names it the seat of the South Pelion municipality and an important commercial and tourism centre. Travel.gr says the village makes an easy base for discovering the local wineries.
Both travel articles describe the drive from Volos. At the village entrance, the left side of the road looks like Tuscany. Vines on a low slope and tall cypress trees around a stone building mark Milea.
The Agioi Apostoloi church dates from the nineteenth century, and its marble bell tower from the twentieth. The separate tower stands 25 metres tall, with a Swiss clock and two Russian bells. Lights show it off at night, and every road into the village gives a view of it.
Plane trees that are centuries old shade the main square, where tavernas serve coffee and local dishes. A centaur is carved on the marble circle in the middle of the cobbled floor. The restored stone Old Girl’s School is where the poet Kostas Varnalis taught.
The traditional grocery in the square sells local honey, marmalades and spoon sweets made from Pelion fruit. It also stocks the Volos beer Plastigga. On Saturdays Argalasti holds a Laiki Agora, a people’s market, with local wine and olive oil among the stalls.
The Happinest Treehouse page suggests pairing that market with a stop at Milea. It calls the vineyard a haven of peace after the bustle of the street market.
The Greek Gastronomy Guide says other growers in the area follow the Patistis example. It describes the family’s dream of South Pelion as a wine tourism destination. The family also wants visitors to understand local culture through crops and traditional food.
Which grapes fill the glass at a Pelion wine tasting?
Pelion wineries pour Greek and international grapes side by side in a Pelion wine tasting. Patistis farms Xinomavro, Roditis and Limnio, and added Assyrtiko, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Six varieties grow at Patistis. Milea grows Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Assyrtiko.
Patistis Winery in Argalasti has farmed Xinomavro, Roditis and Limnio organically since nineteen eighty. Xinomavro means “sour black” in Greek and is the main red grape of Naousa. Limnio is native to the island of Lemnos. Roditis is popular across Thessaly. So a Pelion wine tasting pours grapes from across Greece.
Patistis names each bottle by its grapes. In a Pelion wine tasting, the dry white blends Roditis and Xinomavro and smells of citrus, white flowers and honey. The dry rose blends Limnio and Xinomavro and has a velvety aftertaste. The dry red blends Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon with raspberry and mint.
In a Pelion wine tasting, the Patistis Assyrtiko is the white with a light oak note. It ferments in French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks, then stays on its lees for months. The winery lists aromas of citrus, lemon and tea, with crisp acidity.
The Patistis Xinomavro is a blanc de noir, French for “white from black”, with notes of honey, citrus and rose. An article on ariettastraveltips.com adds that Patistis bottles range from single vineyard wines to blends. It also names orange wine, which it calls the new trend.
Milea Winery in Argalasti splits its grapes by vineyard. Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir grow at the home vineyard. Syrah and Merlot grow at the older family vineyard in Vounaina. Assyrtiko grows at the youngest vineyard, Strivo. A Pelion wine tasting at Milea therefore moves from white to rose to red.
Milea’s wine page names the grape and the label for these bottles:
- Chardonnay carries the PGI Thessaly label.
- Assyrtiko and the single vineyard Merlot carry the PGI Magnesia label.
- The rose is made from Merlot by the saignee method.
- The Syrah is bottled as PGI Thessaly.
- The field blend mixes Sangiovese, Primitivo, Merlot and Syrah.
How do the Pelion slopes shape the wine at a Pelion wine tasting?
Two seas, red clay and sandy rock shape the vines behind every glass. Milea’s Argalasti vineyard sits 300 metres above sea level, between the Aegean and the Pagasetic Gulf. The winery says both seas keep the growing season cool.
Patistis grows its vines on the southern foot of Mount Pelion. A narrow strip of land there runs between the same two seas. From the hilltop, the Aegean and Skiathos lie northeast, Argalasti lies west and the Pagasetic Gulf lies south.
Milea’s three vineyards give a Pelion wine tasting three different soils. The home vineyard stands on red clay and is dry-farmed. The vines receive no irrigation, so the roots dig deep for water. The winery says this builds character and resilience in the vines.
The Vounaina vineyard has sandy, rocky soil that drains well. The site is hot and dry, but cold nights and foggy mornings cool it. Milea says its Syrah and Merlot vines there were planted more than 25 years ago. Syrah and Merlot from Vounaina bring structure, ripe black fruit, minerals and spices to a Pelion wine tasting.
Strivo stands on a windswept hill, 300 metres above sea level, above the Pagasetic Gulf. The soil is sandy and loamy, with strong sun. Milea describes its Assyrtiko as an ancient Greek variety with mouth-watering, bone dry acidity and a mineral aftertaste.
The Milea field blend shows two soils in one glass. The winery says the red clay of Pelion gives structure and raw power. The sandy rock of Vounaina adds elegance and a fruit-forward drive.
Both Argalasti wineries farm organically, according to travel.gr and ariettastraveltips.com. Patistis says it never uses inorganic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides. It makes compost to feed the microorganisms in the soil. A Pelion wine tasting at Patistis pours wine from vines farmed this way.
Milea harvests by hand. Its vintage notes put the pick at the end of August in one year. In another year it fell at the beginning of September.
How does a Pelion wine tasting run, from vineyard to glass?
At the Patistis winery in Argalasti, a Pelion wine tasting starts among the vines. It ends in a basement tasting room. The family walks you through the vineyard, then pours each wine in turn and talks about it.
The second generation of the Patistis family leads the walk. They show where each grape variety grows and speak about their wines. Travel.gr also describes visitors nibbling sweet, ripe grapes between the rows.
The pouring itself takes place indoors, in a cosy room that sits partly below ground. Ariettas Travel Tips calls it the winerys basement, a space dominated by wood.
Milea winery, also in Argalasti, opens its winery and vineyard for in-person tastings. The owners are the winemakers, and they host the winery tour. Visitors taste all current vintages available. The couple explains the varieties they grow while showing you around.
After the tour, a Pelion wine tasting at Milea can continue in the garden of colourful flowers and lavender. The garden suits a short break with a glass of wine.
The Portaria cellar works in another way. Its tasting sits in a traditional cellar with stone walls and wooden barrels. The village is one of the stone settlements on the Pelion villages tour route. A host and wine expert opens with the main wine regions of Thessaly. Then you taste four to six selected wines.
Pelion Experiences, an operator based in Volos, runs a two-hour session for four to ten people. The format is a talk about the wines of Thessaly, followed by questions and answers. The venue can be a private home, a garden, an outdoor spot or the Vasdekis Winery in Northern Pelion.
Which foods sit beside the wine at a Pelion wine tasting?
Four tasting hosts name the food on the table. Cheese comes with the glass at the Milea estate and at the Portaria cellar. Pelion Experiences serves local specialties, and the Patistis visit adds olive oil with bread from the local bakery.
A Pelion wine tasting at the Milea estate in Argalasti is guided by a sommelier at the farm. Greeka lists Thessalian wines served with local cheeses.
At the Portaria cellar, this Pelion wine tasting sets cheese and local delicacies beside every wine. The listing says each pairing is chosen to highlight the aromas and textures of the wine in the glass.
The Patistis winery also makes olive oil. Arietta’s Travel Tips reports that guests taste the oil with freshly baked bread from the local bakery. The oil and the bread sit next to the wines.
Outside the tasting room, the same winery sells 10,000 liters of wine in bags to the taverns of South Pelion. The Greek Gastronomy Guide says the taverns offer it to their visitors as an honest local wine.
On Saturdays, Argalasti holds a people’s market. Its stalls sell cheese, olives, local honey and herbs. Greecetreehouse.com suggests pairing that market stop with a visit to the Milea winery.
Pelion Experiences accompanies its Thessaly wine session with local specialties. Its page does not name the dishes. Ask the operator which products arrive with each glass before you book a Pelion wine tasting.
When and how do you book a Pelion wine tasting?
Book at least 10 hours ahead for the South Pelion private tour on GetYourGuide. The Private Pelion Villages tour needs at least 4 hours. Milea Winery takes walk-ins but recommends a reservation. Other hosts set their own terms.
Both GetYourGuide titles name Volos, and each listing shows its open dates in an availability calendar. Our Volos tours page covers other days out from that city.
Milea Winery in Argalasti runs in-person tastings at the winery and in the vineyard. Its Visit page says opening hours change with the season. Walk-ins are welcome, but the winery recommends a reservation or a message before you go.
The pelionexperiences.gr Pelion wine tasting asks for a 50% prepayment 24 hours before the session. Cancel less than 24 hours ahead, or skip the session, and the host charges 50% of the total.
The Portaria cellar listing on Unlimited Adrenaline shows a season of January to December. It sets three cancellation steps. Cancel 72 hours or more ahead for a full refund. Cancel between 24 and 72 hours ahead for a 50% refund. Cancel later and the listing refunds nothing.
The page’s tips apply to every activity on that site, this Pelion wine tasting included. Keep the booking confirmation on your phone or on paper. Read the cancellation policy before you pay. Reach the meeting point before the start time.
The Discover Greece page on Pelion food says September to November herald the harvest of apples, pears and quinces. It adds that grapes are gathered in vineyards to make wine.
The Wikipedia table of legal drinking ages lists 18 as the alcohol purchase age in Greece. It adds that minors cannot drink alcohol in public. That rule does not cover private events or private premises.
Plan the drive home before the Pelion wine tasting starts. Greece sets the blood alcohol limit for drivers at 0.05%. New drivers, motorcycle riders and professional drivers face 0.02%. Traffic police run routine breath tests. The South Pelion private tour lists pickup, so the supplier can collect you.
What do travellers ask about a Pelion wine tasting?
Questions centre on children, bottles, group size, language and weather. The answers below come from the supplier pages for each Pelion wine tasting. Where a page is silent, the answer says so.
Can children join a Pelion wine tasting?
The Portaria cellar listing sets a minimum participation age of 18. The two GetYourGuide private tours list one ticket category covering ages 0 to 99. Ask the supplier how a child joins the tasting itself.
Can you buy bottles after a Pelion wine tasting?
The Portaria cellar listing includes the chance to buy selected wines after the tasting. Discover Greece names Mylonas Winery in Argalasti as a place to visit to pick up a bottle or two.
Is a Pelion wine tasting private or shared?
Both GetYourGuide tours are private groups. The South Pelion tour takes 1 to 15 travellers and the villages tour takes 1 to 38. Discover Greece adds that you can join an organised tour or visit vineyards on your own.
Which language does a Pelion wine tasting use?
The Private Pelion Villages tour lists English. The South Pelion tour form lists no language, so confirm it before you pay. The pelionexperiences.gr page states none.
What if weather stops the tasting?
The Portaria cellar listing refunds the full price when the provider cancels for weather, too small a group or force majeure. The site’s tips add that weather affects activities, so contact the company before the day.