Rethymno wine tasting runs in old town cellars and at wineries in the hills behind the coast, where Cretan varieties are poured beside local food. Plan the rest of the trip with Greece Tours.
Where do you taste wine in Rethymno?
In the 600-year-old stone cellar of a restaurant in the old town, at wineries inland such as Dourakis in Apokoronas and Klados in Panormos, at a gorge-side restaurant above Zourida gorge, and on guided tours with pickup from Rethymno hotels.
The old town cellar has a well inside.
Winery tours include the vineyard.
A Plakias tasting pairs Cretan wine with food.
Vynea runs its own tasting.
A five-course gourmet pairing runs in Rethymno.
The food walk side sits at Rethymno food tour.
What is the old town cellar tasting?
A sommelier-led tasting in a 15th century stone cellar under a restaurant in the old town, for groups of 2 to 20, with a folder on the history of Greek wine and a presentation of each wine, running since 1997.
The three-wine tasting pours one white, one rose and one red.
The six-wine tastings pour two whites, a rose, two reds and a dessert wine.
A lecture covers food and wine pairing on the larger tastings.
Pairings include dolmades, dakos, apaki and a veal ragu with smoked aubergine.
Mastic cream with figs and pistachios closes the tasting.
Tastings last one to two and a half hours.
What is the winery and olive oil tour from Rethymno?
Groups cap at four guests.
The guide speaks English or French.
The tour walks the vineyard.
Limoncello and raki come with rusks.
The lunch has a vegetarian option.
It runs on Wednesdays and Fridays.
What is the Klados winery tour?
The route gives views of Psiloritis.
The olive mill shows old and new methods.
Lunch is a Cretan meal.
The return runs on asphalt.
Pickup comes from Rethymno.
The olive oil side sits at Crete olive oil tasting.
What wine tours run from Rethymno?
A private Cretan wine and raki guided tour from Rethymno hotels at 10:00, a breakfast with the nuns and wine tour, a meet-the-ceramist wine and art tasting, a private wine, dine and live music evening, and gin, herb and sea-going wine tours.
The ceramist tour picks up within 10 kilometres of Rethymno.
Wine at sea runs by speedboat or yacht.
A private chef and sommelier can come to a villa.
Custom tours are built on request.
The operator holds a Greek National Tourism Organisation licence.
Its office is in Rethymno.
What is Vidiano?
It is hard to cultivate.
It thrives in dry, calcareous, well-drained soils.
The berries ripen early with thick skins.
It is close to Thrapsathiri and Vilana.
Vilana is another white variety of Crete.
Rethymno tastings pour it as the local white.
What red grapes do Rethymno tastings pour?
Liatiko, an old red variety that ripens in July, Kotsifali, a red of Heraklion with high alcohol and rich flavour, Mandilaria, blended with Kotsifali, and Romeiko, a late-ripening red of western Crete.
Liatiko’s name is linked to the Greek word for July.
Kotsifali and Mandilaria make a ruby dry wine.
Romeiko is also used for rose and white wines.
Romeiko pomace becomes tsikoudia.
The six-wine tastings include two reds.
Dessert wines close the tasting.
How old is winemaking on Crete?
Minoan pots held pure and resinated wines.
Some were mixed with beer and herbs.
Protropos was a sweet Cretan wine sent to Italy.
Malvasia was traded by Venice.
Peza, Archanes, Dafnes and Sitia are modern appellations.
The Heraklion wine side sits at Heraklion wine tasting.
What is tsikoudia at a tasting?
The Cretan grape pomace brandy of 40 to 65 per cent alcohol, called raki in the east of the island, poured at the end of winery tours with rusks, alongside sweet liqueurs such as limoncello.
Pomace ferments about six weeks before distilling.
It is similar to tsipouro and grappa.
A private wine and raki tour runs from Rethymno.
The Secret Gorge dinner includes spirits in its tasting.
Small measures suit a tasting.
Drivers skip it.
What is the gorge dinner and tasting?
A shared dinner at a restaurant hanging from the side of the Zourida gorge in Rethymno, pairing a nine-course Cretan menu with a twelve-part tasting of local wines and spirits.
Menus adapt to allergies.
Guests share a table.
Sunset arrivals get the best view.
Booking is online.
It suits a celebration.
How long does a Rethymno wine tasting take?
One hour for the three-wine cellar tasting, one and a half to two and a half hours for the six-wine tastings, four to five hours for the winery and olive oil tour, and a full day for the Klados winery route.
Cellar tastings suit an evening in town.
Winery tours start in the morning.
Pickup windows are confirmed after booking.
Lunch comes with the day tours.
The gorge dinner fills an evening.
Private tours set their own timing.
Is a Rethymno wine tasting good for non-drinkers and families?
Partly: children aged 3 to 12 join the semi-private winery tour free and infants up to two go free, the olive oil and coffee stops suit everyone, and cellar tastings in town are built for adults.
Olive oil tastings suit all ages.
Greek coffee comes at the olive mill.
Food pairings suit non-drinkers.
Drivers are provided on the day tours.
Cellar tastings take groups from two people.
Private tours adapt to families.
What do you bring to a Rethymno wine tasting?
Sun protection, water and comfortable clothes for the winery and vineyard tours, an appetite for the pairings, and a plan for getting home, since the day tours include a driver and the town tastings are a short walk from most hotels.
Operators list sun protection, water and comfortable clothes.
Vineyards are exposed to the sun.
Bottles bought at wineries travel in hold luggage.
A notebook helps compare wines.
Evenings in the cellar are cool.
Taxis serve the old town.
How do you book a Rethymno wine tasting?
Book the cellar tastings directly with the restaurant for groups of 2 to 20, book winery tours online with pickup from the Rethymno district, and name dietary needs and the number of guests at booking.
Semi-private tours run on set weekdays.
Cancellation terms are confirmed before payment.
Private tours are requested in advance.
Gorge dinners are reserved online.
The town page sits at Rethymno.
Which grapes does a Rethymno wine tasting pour?
Vidiano, Vilana and Thrapsathiri in white, Kotsifali, Mandilaria and Liatiko in red, grown on the slopes between the coast and the mountains.
Liatiko is the oldest red variety on Crete and ripens early.
Kotsifali is blended with Mandilaria for colour and structure.
Vidiano is the white that carries the island’s name abroad.
Where do the wineries sit around Rethymno?
In the villages south and east of the town, on the way to Arkadi and towards the Amari valley under Mount Ida.
The vineyards sit between olive groves on terraces.
Most estates lie within half an hour of the old town.
Some of them press olive oil as well as wine.
What happens on a Rethymno wine tasting?
A walk through the vineyard and the cellar, an explanation of the varieties, then a seated tasting of four to six wines with cheese, rusks, olives and cured meat.
Whites are poured first, then reds.
Family members lead most visits at the smaller estates.
Bottles are sold on site at the end.
Can you taste wine in the old town?
Yes. Cellars and wine bars in the Venetian lanes pour Cretan wines by the glass with small plates, which needs no transport.
Tastings there run in the evening.
Flights are poured in small measures.
The lanes are a short walk from the harbour.
How long does a Rethymno wine tasting take?
About two hours at one estate, half a day for two, and a full day when lunch and a village stop are added.
Transport is arranged for tastings outside the town.
Groups stay small at the family estates.
Booking ahead matters during the harvest.
When is the harvest around Rethymno?
From August into September, with the presses running through the first weeks and the cellars busiest at the end of summer.
Liatiko is picked early in that window.
Spring visits show new growth on the terraces.
Estates stay open for tastings through the year.
What food is served with a Rethymno wine tasting?
Graviera and mizithra, barley rusks with tomato and oil, olives, cured pork, and honey with walnuts or a sweet wine at the end.
The cheese is made in the mountain villages above the vineyards.
Oil for the rusks comes from the same estates.
Raki is poured after the wine.
Does a Rethymno wine tasting suit beginners?
Yes. Hosts explain each variety in plain terms, pours are small and food is served alongside.
Spitting is offered and normal.
Drivers are given water and food instead of full pours.
Families are seated in the shade with food for children.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a wine tasting in Rethymno?
What is the local white wine of Rethymno?
Vidiano, a white grape native to Crete grown mainly around Rethymno, with aromas of peach, apricot, melon, honey and herbs.
Do winery tours include transport?
Yes. The winery tours include pickup and drop-off in the Rethymno district with a driver and guide.