Pieria wine tasting takes you to the vineyards below Mount Olympus and the Pierian mountains, where local estates pour their wines for visitors. Find more trips in northern Greece on Greece Tours.
Here you get the bookable Pieria wine tasting tours, the wineries and grapes, the Ano Milia walk, the food on the table, the season and the drive from Thessaloniki.
What is Pieria wine tasting?
It is a guided visit to a vineyard or winery in Pieria, with local wines poured at the source. Pieria lies in northern Greece, and its vineyards grow on the lower slopes of Mount Olympus. A booking runs 4.5 to 6 hours.
Pieria lies in the Region of Central Macedonia, and its capital is Katerini. Mount Olympus rises in the south of the regional unit. The Pierian Mountains lie to the west and the Thermaic Gulf to the east. The unit combines plains, high mountains and sandy beaches.
Pieria wine tasting is a young trade. Discover Greece reports vineyards in Pieria in antiquity, and it calls organised viticulture a relatively recent introduction. The same feature counts more than a dozen wineries to visit. It describes a growing wine scene on the slopes of Olympus.
The booking listings show three ways to taste. One ends a forest walk with a tasting. One joins a vineyard tour to a tasting. One adds a boutique winery to a visit to an ancient site. Each format fits Pieria wine tasting into an outing of 4.5 to 6 hours.
Which Pieria wine tasting tours can you book?
Three GetYourGuide listings sell Pieria wine tasting. One is a 4.5-hour walk in Ano Milia. One is a 5-hour trip to Agia Kori on Mount Olympus. One is a 6-hour outing from Thessaloniki Port that joins ancient Dion to a boutique winery.
The Ano Milia listing pairs the Path of Love trail with a wine tasting. It lasts 4.5 hours. The group holds up to eight guests. The experience begins in the village of Ano Milia. The Pieria wine tasting comes at the end of the walk, poured by a local producer.
The price of the Ano Milia booking covers the tasting, coffee, water, a snack and hiking poles. It also covers hotel pickup, drop-off and a ride in an air-conditioned van. Tips are optional and not included. The guide speaks Greek and English.
Booking terms for this Pieria wine tasting walk are plain. Cancel up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund. Reserve at least 10 hours ahead. Weather can change the programme for safety. Guests then pick the new schedule or a full refund. The listing calls the walk unsuitable for pregnant women and guests with heart problems or mobility impairments.
The Mount Olympus listing is titled “Agia Kori & Wine Tasting on Mount Olympus”. It lasts 5 hours, and the group holds up to eight guests. The guide speaks English and Greek. The listing offers four pickup options, among them the White Tower in Thessaloniki and Eleftherias Square in Katerini. This Pieria wine tasting trip mixes sights with one winery.
The route visits the Church of Agia Kori, the Agia Kori waterfalls and the Holy Monastery of Agia Triada. The last stop is the Kourtis Winery. The itinerary sets 75 minutes for the guided vineyard tour and the tasting there. The wine tasting is included in the price.
- Included: transfer in an air-conditioned vehicle, a driver, water, insurance, taxes and road charges.
- Not included: lunch or dinner, tips, extra food or drinks, and purchases of wine or local products.
- Rule: alcohol is only for guests over 18, and children join the trip without tasting.
- Prepare: bring comfortable shoes, because the trip includes walking in nature.
- Pickup: arrive 10 minutes before the set time and report allergies in advance.
The Agia Kori booking cancels free up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund. The cutoff is 10 hours before departure. The listing warns that traffic and weather change the duration. It marks the trip as not suitable for guests with mobility impairments.
The third listing is titled “Thessaloniki Cultural Escape: Ancient Dion & Wine Tasting”. It lasts 6 hours and starts at Thessaloniki Port. The tour goes first to ancient Dion. It ends at a boutique winery near Mount Olympus. There the Pieria wine tasting comes with local delicacies in a scenic garden.
The Dion booking carries a skip-the-line tag and a free cancellation tag. The cutoff there is 8 hours before departure. The listing sells one group rate for up to two guests. Its text says small group, while its tag says private group, so check the group type at checkout. Our Dion tours page covers the ancient site.
Which wineries open their doors for Pieria wine tasting?
Three estates welcome visitors in Pieria: Pieria Eratini in Kolindros, Kourtis Winery in Rachi and Polychros Winery above Skotina. Each one sets its own visit rule, and the rules differ from estate to estate.
Ktima Pieria Eratini farms 15 hectares of organic vines at Kolindros. The vines grow at 450 metres, around the Monastery of Saint Athanasios. The winery building is under construction, so Pieria wine tasting here takes place in the vineyard, by appointment. Contact the estate to agree a date before you drive up.
Kourtis Winery stands in Rachi, 14 kilometres from Katerini, at about 300 metres. From outside, the building looks more like a traditional house than a winery. The family farms all its vines organically. Tastings and tours run all year by prior arrangement.
A Pieria wine tasting at Kourtis Winery happens in a visitor area with large windows. The GetYourGuide listing for the Agia Kori tour names this winery as its tasting stop.
Polychros Winery is a small family estate on the slopes above Skotina, among chestnut and walnut trees. It is open all year for visits, mainly for tastings. In the winter months, you visit by appointment. The family also distils tsipouro from moschato grapes in two stills.
Which grapes and labels does Pieria wine tasting pour?
Glasses in Pieria hold Xinomavro, Syrah, Assyrtiko, Malagouzia, Merlot and Limniona. Kolindrino, a rare red, is named after the village of Kolindros. Labels include Naked King, 9 Daughters, Anavrykos and 19 Elata.
Kolindrino is a small-berried red grape with a thick skin. It is bitter and strongly astringent. For years, the small amounts that survived in the area went into tsipouro. Pieria Eratini uses it in Naked King, a blend of 15% Kolindrino and 85% Syrah. The grape adds tannin and depth to the Syrah.
Pieria Eratini bottles its wines in lines, and the lines show the range of Pieria wine tasting. Wishes Red and Wishes White are blends. The 9 Daughters line holds single-vineyard Xinomavro and Malagouzia. Meta Orange is Assyrtiko fermented on its skins in small glass amphorae. Sweet Wishes is a sweet Assyrtiko that ferments in acacia barrels.
Kourtis Winery began with Trebbiano, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah. It later added Greek varieties such as Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko, Vidiano and Assyrtiko. The bottles come both as blends and as single-variety wines. A Pieria wine tasting here therefore moves between international and Greek grapes.
Polychros Winery names its labels after the land. Anavrykos blends Syrah, Merlot and Limnio. Chrysi Pestrofa means Golden Trout and pairs Roditis with Sauvignon Blanc. It is named after the trout lake on the estate. 19 Elata is pure Limnio, named after nineteen fir trees. Sys means wild boar and is pure Merlot.
PGI Pieria is the official wine zone of the district that hosts Pieria wine tasting. It covers Pieria in central Macedonia, and its vineyards must sit above 50 metres. The whites include Assyrtiko, Malagousia, Roditis, Savatiano, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Ugni Blanc.
The PGI Pieria reds include Agiorgitiko, Xinomavro, Limniona, Pamidi, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache Rouge, Merlot and Syrah. Its vineyards and wineries sit in the northern part of the district.
Just south of Pieria wine tasting country lies the Rapsani zone in the Larissa unit. It makes PDO Rapsani red wine. One estate at Krania Olympus lies inside that zone. It farms Stavroto, Xinomavro and Krasato on schist slopes between 300 and 630 metres.
What is the Path of Love walk at Ano Milia?
The Path of Love is an easy forest trail in Ano Milia, a Pierian mountain village of 19 residents. The GetYourGuide gig named after it adds a wine tasting in the same village. The walk is one stop of a Pieria wine tasting outing.
The Pieria wine tasting gig is set in Ano Milia, which belongs to the municipality of Katerini. The village sits at 950 metres above sea level. From Katerini, the provincial road passes Kato Milia, a village among vineyards and orchards. The road then climbs about 15 km. In winter, snow and ice can cover it, so drivers take extra care.
The Cultural Association of Ano Milia created two walking routes. Both start southeast of the Church of Agia Paraskevi, inside the village. The Path of Love begins within metres of the church. The hiking guide names it the Trail of Love, while the gig title says Path of Love.
The first stretch passes stone fountains fed by mountain water and wooden bridges. Beech, chestnut, oak and fir trees shade the path, and signs name each species. This section runs about 1.5 km to an asphalt junction. The hiking guide times the whole walk at 1 hour and rates it easy, suitable for families.
The gig summary lists nature, relaxation, a hiking tour and wine tasting, away from mass tourism. The whole gig lasts 4.5 hours, while the hiking guide times the walk at 1 hour. That makes a Pieria wine tasting in Ano Milia a mountain outing, with a forest path beside the glass.
From the junction, the route climbs toward the EOS Katerini mountain refuge. Hikers there take a coffee or tsipouro and look over the Pierian plain and the Thermaic Gulf.
A left turn leads into the Trail of Wishes, with a wish tree where visitors tie a ribbon. The trail ends at the chapel of Agios Kosmas of Aitolos. An iron cross there marks a viewpoint over the coast. The Pieria wine tasting gig title names only the Path of Love. The Trail of Wishes is a separate route.
A Pieria wine tasting in Ano Milia comes with village history. The village keeps the ruins of a tower of the Lazas family. They were local Klephts and Armatoles at the end of Ottoman rule. A monument stands beside the ruins.
Near the entrance stand the ruins of the church of Saint Athanasius, burned in the Second World War. The church ruins were restored in part, and the first liturgy followed after 75 years.
Which local foods go with Pieria wine tasting?
The local table in Pieria runs on cheese, black pig meat, pies and honey sweets. Villages near Katerini list feta, kasseri, manouri, anthotyros, kefalotyri and mizithra among their cheeses. The same list names black pig meat, cured meat and sausages.
Cheese is the first food to know before a Pieria wine tasting. A regional food promotion names the area’s graviera cheese, honey and oregano from Mount Olympus. A travel.gr review of Olympus dining adds Pieria xynotyri cheese in a summer salad with fried okra. It also lists baked feta with peppers, called bougiourdi.
Black pigs give the area its cured meat and sausages. The same travel.gr review lists black pork chops glazed with mountain tea. Greek mountain tea grows in the area and carries the local name Tea of Olympus.
Pies and sweets draw on autumn fruit and nuts. Apples from Ritini and Elatochori become handmade pies and spoon sweets, or arrive fresh with yogurt and honey. Walnuts add flavour to pies and desserts. Chestnuts from Olympus are boiled with honey and cinnamon.
The grapes behind a Pieria wine tasting also give petimezi, an amber-coloured syrup. A Greek Breakfast feature ties it to a winemaking tradition thousands of years old. Kato Milia, on the road up to Ano Milia, has taverns and cafes. They serve traditional Macedonian dishes made from local ingredients.
A Thessaloniki small-group gig visits a boutique winery near Mount Olympus. The listing names wine tasting and local delicacies in a garden. For a Pieria wine tasting day, that gives two food stops: a village tavern or a winery garden. Olive oil has its own page: see Mount Olympus olive oil tasting for the oil side of the table.
When is the season for Pieria wine tasting?
Visits run all year. Polychros Winery on the slopes above Skotina is open all year, mainly for tastings. Kourtis Winery in Rachi offers tours and tastings all year by prior arrangement. Late summer adds the harvest.
Winter changes the rule at Polychros. In the winter months the estate receives visitors by appointment. Kourtis asks for prior arrangement in every month, so message the winery before you plan a Pieria wine tasting day.
Late summer and early autumn bring the grape harvest. The bulk of Northern Hemisphere harvesting takes place from late August to early October, according to Wikipedia. The sources name no Pieria picking dates, so ask the winery for its own week.
Climate figures for Katerini show the spread of the year. September highs reach 28.5 degrees Celsius and October highs reach 22.4. July highs reach 33.3, and August is the driest month with 18 millimetres of rain.
The foothills carry their own air. Tastingbook lists mountain-sea breezes and cool summer nights for the Pieria Eratini estate near Kolindros. A Pieria wine tasting in July or August on that slope meets those cool nights.
Winter brings cold and rain. January highs in Katerini reach 9.0 degrees Celsius and lows reach 0.8. November and December are the wettest months, with 53 millimetres each. Wikipedia adds that severe winter weather is common in the Pierian Mountains and on Mount Olympus.
Skotina adds an autumn date. The tenth Chestnut Festival of Skotina took place in the primary school courtyard on a Saturday in October. The programme offered live music and traditional dances from regions across Greece.
How do you reach Pieria wine tasting from Thessaloniki and the coast?
Katerini, the capital of Pieria, sits 68 kilometres from Thessaloniki. The A1 motorway serves the town through three interchanges named South, East and North. The Athens to Thessaloniki railway line also passes through it.
The train is the car-free route. Thessaloniki Regional Railway Line T1 runs between Thessaloniki and Larissa and calls at Katerini. On weekdays the line offers up to eight services per day in both directions. The station stands in a residential area close to the centre.
Want a ready-made route out of the city? See the Pieria Riviera day trip from Thessaloniki. Then add a winery stop for your own Pieria wine tasting.
The coast resorts sit close to Katerini. Paralia lies 8 kilometres east of the city centre. Olympiaki Akti lies 3 kilometres south of Paralia, 7.5 kilometres from Katerini and 70 kilometres from Thessaloniki. Roads, sidewalks and bicycle lanes link the two resorts.
Leptokarya works as a rail base on the coast. The town lies 26 kilometres from Katerini and has its own train station. Local services run to Thessaloniki, and Proastiakos suburban trains link it to Larissa and Thessaloniki.
From any of these bases, a Pieria wine tasting trip needs only a short drive to the vineyards. The village of Rachi lies 14 kilometres from Katerini, between the Pierian Mountains, Mount Olympus and the sea. Dion lies 17 kilometres from Katerini.
Which quick questions does Pieria wine tasting raise?
Pieria is a regional unit in southern Central Macedonia. Katerini is its capital, the Thermaic Gulf lies to the east, and Mount Olympus rises in the south. The answers below cover size, municipalities, airport, buses and the distance from Athens.
How large is the area behind Pieria wine tasting?
Wikipedia gives Pieria an area of 1,516 square kilometres and a population of 119,384.
Which municipalities hold the vineyards?
Pieria has three municipalities: Katerini, Dion-Olympos and Pydna-Kolindros. Kolindros, home of the Pieria Eratini estate, belongs to Pydna-Kolindros.
Which airport serves Pieria wine tasting?
Thessaloniki International Airport Makedonia lies 107 kilometres from Olympiaki Akti, according to Wikipedia.
Can you reach the villages by bus?
KTEL Pieria buses connect Katerini directly with Thessaloniki, Athens, Elassona and Alexandreia. They also serve the settlements of Pieria that the Katerini city buses do not reach.
How far is Pieria from Athens?
Olympiaki Akti lies 434 kilometres from Athens, according to Wikipedia.