The Gourmet Wine Tour Heraklion: Explore Archanes Wineries and Discover Traditional Cretan Cooking

Embark on a gourmet wine tour in Heraklion and explore the wineries of Archanes. Discover traditional Cretan cooking and indulge in a wine tasting experience paired with delicious mezze dishes.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Archanes - Visit the traditional wine region of Archanes, known as the birthplace of Cretan wines with a rich history spanning 4,000 years. Delight in the diverse landscapes, from olive groves to vineyard-covered hills.
  • Garakis Winery - Begin with a guided tour at this small, promising family winery. Meet the winemaker and join a vineyard…
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • All taxes, fees, and handling charges
  • Wine tasting
  • Experienced driver/guide
  • Lunch included
  • Refreshments provided
  • Comfort of air-conditioned minivan transport
  • Local food tasting experience
What's Not Included
  • Beers and non alcoholic drinks
Additional Information

Join a small, hospitable group for an extraordinary tour of two wineries in the Archanes region. Start with a lively, contemporary boutique winery. Explore the facilities - from the production zone to the bottling area and cellars, all while having the winemaking process and techniques explained by the winemakers. This exploration is succeeded by a wine…

Location
Archanes
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(69 Ratings)
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Matthew_r
Jul 21, 2025
Best Wine Guide! - This is for true Wine lovers to experience this region of Wine. You will learn a lot about the local wines and have a great time doing so.
Review provided by Viator
Marie-france
Jul 13, 2025
Great wine and local scenic tour. - Great visit of two wineries. Small group of 4. Peter, the guide, explained all about Crete/Greeks wines. He is passionate about wines, very nice and took great care of us. We also had a great lunch with wine pairing. I highly recommend this tour to everyone who wants to discover Crete wines, olive oil and also local honey.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yeyoon_k
Jul 8, 2025
Excellent experience – friendly, knowledgeable, and personalized! - Excellent experience – friendly, knowledgeable, and personalized! We had a fantastic time on this winery tour! Pierre was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, sharing great insights not only about the wines but also about the region’s history and culture. What really stood out was how the tour was customized to our preferences — it felt like a truly tailored experience. Every stop was well-chosen, the pacing was perfect, and we never felt rushed. Highly recommend this tour for anyone looking for a high-quality, personal wine experience!
Review provided by Viator
Bernhard_w
Jun 24, 2025
Great wine tour - Piere has an impressive knowledge of wine and Crete – that is what made the tour very special. The wineries visited were excellently selected, the olive oil a delight, and lunch was also delicious. We would do the tour again anytime!
Review provided by Viator
Dalia_z
Jun 20, 2025
Best Wine Tour Ever! - This was a full day, educational, and incredible tour of food and Cretan wine. The guide was so knowledgeable and passionate, we spent the whole day learning and tasting amazing wines. He takes into account your preferences and gives you great new stuff to try. We never felt rushed, and we learned so much about wine and wine pairing! The meal at the end was also amazing and we got to try so many local and yummy foods. Would recommend this activity 100%!
Review provided by Viator
Bellekarls
Jun 1, 2025
Wine tour - My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our wine tour with Petras (I hope I’m spelling that right!). Thank you for making our honeymoon so special! We were paired with another lovely couple and the whole day was so informative. We visited two small, family run wineries and sampled so many different wines. I loved hearing about the wines directly from the source and seeing how much love they put into each bottle. Both places were extremely private and we felt like the only people there. The day finished with a fabulous lunch at a local restaurant paired with you guessed it, more wine. What a treat!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
David_l
May 23, 2025
The best in Cretan wine and food - Petras was outside our hotel to pick us up before time and from then until the end of the tour he was a gracious, informative and fun host and really knew his wine. We were the only ones on the tour and had a fabulous time. The first stop was Garakis winery, a small, new winery but with a multi generational history in the wine business. We loved their wines and quality over quantity philosophy (and bought two bottles, an aged white and a summer red), the explanation of the vineyards and especially the gorgeous little doggie Christine. More rugby ball than dog but so cute. We had delicious snacks too which went well with the wines. A tour of the whole process from growing to bottling was given and we were simply amazed at how it was all done by hand. A wonderful winery. Next we travelled a short distance to Stilianou winery which had stunning views on the terrace where we tried a variety of wines with yet more snacks that were chosen to go with the particular wines. We also checked out their cellar, containing barrels and bottles. You start with an olive oil tasting which is both informative and pleasant. We bought a dry red. All their wines are organic. By this stage we had tried 11 wines but given that they are all so good and the atmosphere relaxed and convivial, that you are never jaded. Finally, we headed off to Ayrarakis where we had a four course lunch paired with wines Petras selected, after checking our likes and dislikes. Needless to say, the food was silmply outstanding and really was fine dining. The setting, the service and the atmosphere were perfect. We bought the Dafni herbal white wine, which they rescued as a variety from near extinction. I’ve never tasted anything like it but I absolutely loved it. It was then just a 40 minute ride back to our hotel. Petras played us some of his favourite modern and traditional Cretan music. I cannot emphasise enough how professional and engaging Petras and the whole tour was. We learnt a lot about Cretan wines and realised that this is one if the best places in Greece to drink wine. Do book this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Steve
May 19, 2025
Fun Day - We had a great time today visiting two wineries as well as a restaurant with food pairing and tasted a dozen different wines. Our guide was knowledgeable and fun. Garakis was an especially nice Family-Owned vineyard. Christina, the dog was adorable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kazukot202
May 13, 2025
Great tour for wine lovers ❤️ - So happy that we went on this tour. You get to try great variety of wines while enjoying Crete Island. Amazing food as well :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lexirh
Apr 27, 2025
Book this tour - you will not regret it (but you will need a lie down afterwards) - Pierre was the perfect host and guide. His communication after booking was great through the TripAdvisor app, and he gave us the collection time quickly. We visited early in the season so were lucky enough to have a private tour for the two of us. Pierre shared his knowledge, experience and tips throughout the day, and we had easy conversation about wine, Crete and so much more. The two vineyards we visited were both family run with small but incredibly professional operations. Dracas at the first one gets a special mention for showing us their vineyard, giving his own insights, and introducing us to all the winery animals 😍 Once we had tried 10 different wines and 2 different types of raki, it was time to have lunch! Before we ate, we did an olive oil tasting, giving us even more knowledge. It was an incredible banquet at a beautiful little restaurant and deli. Even with the weather turning on us, we had a great view, and even better food. Thank you to Sofia for making sure we were wonderfully mothered with gorgeous food paired with another five beautiful wines. Also, that lemon tart was the closest I have ever found to my grandmother's recipe which was a wonderful surprise. 💛
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $192
up to 6 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).