Crete: Greece's Wine Island

In the 1990s, the Lyrarakis family found Plyto growing unidentified in a Vilana vineyard. The largest Plyto plot on the planet is now 1.5 hectares — which tells you how close to gone it was. They also rescued Dafni and Melissaki. At Vathypetro, 20 minutes from Heraklion, sits the oldest wine press in Europe: 1580 BC, in situ, the same grape species pressed in that stone basin is the same species you drink tonight. Domaine Economou has no sign, no website, visits after 5pm by appointment only, and ungrafted 90-year-old vines on the Ziros plateau.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Touch the Wine Press That's Been Here Since 1580 BC History · Free

   Where: Vathypetro archaeological site, 4km south of Archanes village — follow signs from Archanes town square heading south on the road toward Houdetsi. GPS: 35.191, 25.149. The site sits at 555 meters above sea level with views across the valley.

   What: You are looking at the oldest wine press in Europe still in its original location. It was built around 1580 BCE by Minoan people who were already, at that point, recording wine production in Linear A tablets found in storerooms around the island. Here's the thing nobody says out loud: Vitis vinifera sylvestris — the exact grape species pressed in this stone basin — is the same species you'll drink tonight. Three and a half thousand years of winemaking on this spot, and the grape didn't change. The Minoans also made the first written reference to Dionysus, god of wine, found on Linear B tablets at Knossos, just 20km away.

   How: Walk to the south wing of the villa complex where the wine press sits in situ. Crouch down next to it. Run your hand along the stone channel where the must flowed. Then look up: the view south toward the mountains is what a Minoan winemaker saw while working. Combine with a walk through Archanes village afterward — the medieval architecture and kafeneion squares are 15 minutes north.

   Backup: If the site is closed (hours are irregular outside summer), drive to Archanes village and visit the Minoan Museum of Archanes at the town hall — it holds finds from Vathypetro and the Fourni necropolis, and is free to enter.

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2. 2 Drink the Three Grapes That Came Back from the Dead Wine · Price: low

   Where: Lyrarakis Winery, Alagni village, Peza appellation — 25 minutes south of Heraklion. GPS: 35.1849, 25.2082. Open April–October, Monday–Saturday 11am–7pm. Book by email at visit@lyrarakis.com or call +30 698 105 0681. Walk-ins possible in summer but booking recommended.

   What: In 1990, Lyrarakis found a few rows of Plyto mixed into a Vilana vineyard — the only surviving vines of a grape the island had forgotten. In the early 1990s, Dafni was found and saved too. In 2010, they rescued Melissaki. Three grapes that should not exist. The Lyrarakis Psarades vineyard is now the largest Plyto vineyard on the planet at 1.5 hectares — which tells you how close to gone it really was. Plyto is salty-mineral and taut; Dafni smells like laurel bay leaf and spice; Melissaki means 'little bee' in Greek — you'll understand when you smell it.

   How: Order the €25 premium tasting (7 wines). Start with Vilana — the most planted white on the island — then move to Vidiano, which was nearly extinct 30 years ago and now tastes of apricot, passionfruit, wet stone, and impossibility. Finish with the three rescued varieties. Ask the sommelier to explain the Psarades vineyard specifically. The tasting table has rusks, olives, and a verjuice dip — eat the rusk with the Plyto.

   Backup: The €18 tasting (5 wines) covers Vidiano and Kotsifali adequately if budget is a concern. If you visit November–March, email ahead — visits require confirmed appointment outside the main season.

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3. 3 Find the Wine That Built Venice (and England Called Malmsey) History · Free

   Where: Archanes village main square, 14km south of Heraklion at 380m altitude. GPS: 35.2356, 25.1600. Park at the square and walk — the village is pedestrian-scale and took 2nd place as best-restored village in all of Europe.

   What: From the 12th century through 1669, the wine produced on this soil around Archanes and Heraklion — then called 'Candia' — was the most valuable luxury export in Europe. Venetian merchants called it Malvasia; the English called it Malmsey; the French called it Malvoisie. Venetian wine-shops were named 'malvasie' — the word still means tavern in some Italian dialects today. When the Ottomans took Crete in 1669, the Venetians physically transplanted Cretan vines to northern Italy to keep the trade alive. You are standing in the birthplace of 'Malvasia Bianca di Candia.' Shakespeare knew this wine. When the Duke of Clarence was murdered in Richard III, he drowned in a butt of Malmsey — the most expensive way to go.

   How: Walk from the square south toward the archaeological site entrance. Look at the vineyard slopes on the hillsides as you walk — these are the same slopes that supplied the Venetian fleet. Stop at any kafeneion or taverna and order the local carafe wine (kotsifali-mandilari blend). Ask 'apo edó?' — from here? The answer will always be yes.

   Backup: If the village feels quiet, Kritamon restaurant on the main road uses wild herbs from Mount Giouchtas in every dish — order dakos with a glass of whatever white they're pouring by the carafe. The combination of barley rusk, local feta, olive oil, and cold Vilana is the meal that Minoan farmers probably improvised 3,000 years ago.

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4. 4 Taste Liatiko — the Red Wine That Thinks It's Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo Simultaneously Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: Douloufakis Winery, Dafnes village, 18km south of Heraklion, PDO Dafnes appellation. GPS approx: 35.165, 25.138. Tours run Monday–Friday at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00; Saturday at 12:00, 14:00. Appointment required — book via douloufakis.wine or phone. About 15 minutes by car from Heraklion via the Giofyros interchange.

   What: PDO Dafnes was established specifically for one grape: Liatiko. Its cultivation is documented to the 3rd century BC — wine press remains at the 'Melissa' site in this exact zone held grape seeds carbon-dated to that era. Critics who taste Douloufakis's dry Liatiko reach for two comparisons simultaneously: Pinot Noir (the elegance, the transparency, the haunting aromatics) and Nebbiolo (the tartness, the structure, the iron grip on finish). It's neither. It's Cretan. The style from Dafnes is also used for a sun-dried sweet wine — the grapes are left out to concentrate before pressing, intensifying the candied cherry and fig toward something closer to Amarone in style.

   How: The guided tour includes 6 wines. When you reach the Liatiko, hold it up to the light — the color is translucent ruby-garnet, nowhere near the density you'd expect from the flavor intensity. Smell first: leather, fresh fig, dried strawberry. Then: the finish, which is where the Nebbiolo ghost appears, running longer and more tannic than the color suggested. If they're pouring the sweet Liatiko that day, accept it — it's the oldest style of winemaking on Crete and connects directly to the Malmsey trade.

   Backup: If Douloufakis is fully booked, Lyrarakis also pours a Liatiko in their premium tasting. Alternatively, any Cretan wine merchant or restaurant in Heraklion will have PDO Dafnes on the list — ask specifically for 'Liatiko Dafnes' dry style.

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5. 5 Hunt Down the Winery With No Sign, No Website, and 90-Year-Old Ungrafted Vines Adventure · Price: very high · Optional

   Where: Domaine Economou, Ziros plateau, eastern Crete, Sitia county. 600 meters above sea level on a circular plateau ringed by mountains, roughly 140km east of Heraklion. There is no sign. There is no website. There is no Instagram. You find it by calling first: +30 697 443 3986 or +30 284 302 5336. Visits are after 5pm by appointment only. Call ahead. Get directions directly from Yannis.

   What: Yannis Economou opened his winery in 1994. He farms 80- to 90-year-old ungrafted Liatiko vines — ungrafted means they predate phylloxera, the louse that destroyed almost all of Europe's vineyards in the late 1800s. These vines survived because eastern Crete's isolation protected them. More specifically: the Ziros plateau has its own local clone of Liatiko found nowhere else on the island, with smaller berries and a flavor profile that diverges completely from central Cretan Liatiko. Critics describe his Sitia red as 'akin to a blend of Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo, with the addition of a healthy dose of Cretan charm.' He sells off vintages he's not satisfied with rather than releasing them. He releases wines when he feels they're ready, not when the market wants them. The 2004 Antigone still drinks: dried red cherry, fig, flowers, wild Cretan herbs.

   How: Call at least a week ahead. Rent a car — there is no other way. Drive east from Heraklion toward Sitia, then climb into the mountains toward Ziros. When you arrive, ask about the ungrafted vines specifically. Ask which vintage he'd open if he could open anything. Bring cash.

   Backup: If Economou is unavailable or fully booked (he often is), drive to Sitia town and find the PDO Sitia wines at any local taverna. The appellation's Liatiko is the closest you'll get to the Economou flavor profile without the appointment. Alternatively, order his wines online via DNS Wines (dnswines.com) before your trip — tasting before you arrive makes the pilgrimage hit harder.

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