📍 Crete
Greece's largest island, with wine since Minoan times: 7 designations of origin and 6 regional wines; main grapes Vilana, Kotsifali, Mandilaria, Liatiko.
Crete is the largest island of Greece and an ancient wine land. The rules of the regional wine Crete mention Arthur Evans's excavations at Knossos: the Minoans grew and traded olive oil, grain and wine. Today the EU register lists seven wine designations of origin and six regional wines on the island, among them the regional wine Crete, protected since 2004.
The Lefka Ori, Ida and Dikti mountains cross the island from west to east. Vineyards lie mainly on the northern side, under fresh northerly sea winds, on plains and plateaus up to 1,000 m. The sun shines on 70 % of the days of the year, and summer rainfall is under 50 mm.
Each designation has its own grapes. In Peza, white wine is made only from Vilana and red from Kotsifali and Mandilaria fermented together; vineyards below 300 m are excluded. In Archanes the same red pairing grows at 300–450 m, with an average temperature of 16.5 °C. Dafnes is known for Liatiko, and in Sitia vines grow at 300–750 m, usually without irrigation.
Vilana is the island's most important white grape. Besides it, the rules of the regional wine name Vidiano, Thrapsathiri, Romeiko, Athiri and white muscat. Sitia is also the name of a Cretan olive oil with a designation of origin.
Why it matters to you. Look for the name of the designation on the label: "Peza" or "Archanes" means specific grapes and a specific place, while "Kriti" is a regional wine from the whole island. Red Archanes is always Kotsifali with Mandilaria, and white Peza is Vilana only.
How it connects to Wine
📍 Crete ← grows in ← 🍇 Vidiano → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🗺️ Greek wine
- Related to
- 📜 Rethymno, 🥃 Tsikoudia of Crete, 🍷 Still wine, 🍷 Sweet wine
- Grapes
- 🍇 Vidiano, 🍇 Agianniotiko, 🍇 Liatiko, 🍇 Mandilaria, 🍇 Kotsifali, 🍇 Vilana, 🍇 Thrapsathiri, 🍇 Romeiko
- Grape products
- 🥃 Tsipouro
- Main grapes
- 🍇 Kotsifali, 🍇 Mandilaria, 🍇 Liatiko, 🍇 Vidiano, 🍇 Vilana
- Wines
- 🍷 Red wine, 🍷 White wine, 🍷 Rosé
- Olive cultivars
- 🫒 Tsounati, 🫒 Koroneiki
- What grows here
- 🌳 Olive tree of Vouves, 📜 Chania Kritis (olive oil), 📜 Peza Irakliou Kritis (olive oil), 📜 Vorios Mylopotamos Rethymnis Kritis (olive oil), 📜 Viannos Irakliou Kritis (olive oil), 📜 Apokoronas Chanion Kritis (olive oil), 📜 Kolymvari Chanion Kritis (olive oil), 📜 Archanes Irakliou Kritis (olive oil), 📜 Throumpa Ampadias Rethymnis Kritis (table olives)
Frequently asked questions
How many wine designations are there on Crete?
Seven designations of origin and six regional wines, including Crete (eAmbrosia).
Which grapes are the main ones on Crete?
Vilana among whites; Kotsifali, Mandilaria and Liatiko among reds.
Is it true that wine was made on Crete as early as Minoan times?
Yes, the rules of the regional wine refer to the Knossos excavations: the Minoans traded wine too.
What is Peza wine made from?
White only from Vilana, red from Kotsifali and Mandilaria.
Where are Crete's vineyards?
Mainly on the north side of the island, on plains and plateaus up to 1,000 m.
What to read next
- 📜 Rethymno — Regional wines of the Rethymno area in western Crete.
- 🌳 Olive tree of Vouves — Considered the world's oldest fruit-bearing olive tree, in Ano Vouves on Crete; its age runs to thousands of years but is not precisely established; a natural monument since 1997.
- 🫒 Tsounati — An old oil cultivar of western Crete and the southern Peloponnese: 15–20% of Greece's olive land; the main cultivar of PDO “Selino Kritis” oil.
- 🍇 Vidiano — Vidiano is a white Vitis vinifera wine grape from Crete; VIVC gives Greece as its origin and Albanello x an unknown variety as its parentage.
- 🥃 Tsipouro — Greek grape marc spirit, EU GI «Tsipouro/Tsikoudia»: distilled in the presence of the pomace, from 37.5% ABV, sometimes with anise. Greece's answer to grappa.
Similar
📍 Thrace (Greece) · 📍 Epirus · 📍 Peloponnese · 📍 Thessaly · 📍 Macedonia (Greece) · 📍 Heraklion (Peza, Archanes)
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.
What it includes
Sources
- eAmbrosia — technical file: PGI «Κρήτη / Kriti» (Ares(2011)1411440)
- eAmbrosia — technical file: PDO «Πεζά / Peza»
- eAmbrosia — technical file: PDO «Αρχάνες / Archanes»
- eAmbrosia — technical file: PDO «Δαφνές / Dafnes»
- eAmbrosia — technical file: PDO «Σητεία / Sitia»
- eAmbrosia — the EU geographical indications register: Σητεία Λασιθίου Κρήτης (PDO, olive oil)