Best Wineries in Rethymno – Crete

Rethymno is one of the regional units of Crete island, nestled between Heraklion and Chania. It is an ideal holiday destination, with fantastic beaches, a charming Old Town and major tourist attractions, whether you are looking for culture, history, nature or a combination of everything. The wine tourism in Rethymnon is still at an early stage of development. Major vineyards exist in the areas of Arkadi, Geropotamos, Phoenix and the west flanks of Psiloriti. The Rethymno wine producers make PGI wines from such varieties of grapes such as Athiri, Vilana, Vidiano, Thrapsathiri, and Kotsifali amongst others.

Klados Winery

The Klados Winery is a family-run rapidly growing winery that was established in 1997 and is located in Rethymno. This is the more recent location, 25 km from Rethymno, where the booming business found the necessary space to expand its operations and ensure an adequate production capacity. The varieties of grapes that the red wine is made from are Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Kotsifali and Liatiko (local varieties); the whites are from Sauvignon blanc, Vidiano and Vilana (local varieties). A wine tasting is also on offer for visitors, accompanied by rusks and local delicacies from Crete.

📍 Skepasti, 74057, Rethymno
☎ +30 2834051589
🔗 –kladoswinery.gr/

Kourkoulos Winery

A recently established and modern winery, locally owned and family-run, only 20 km from Rethymno city. It is located very close to the village of Patsos. This boutique winery released its first label for sale in 2017 and offers visitors stunning views of the valley, gorges and mountainscapes that dominate the area. Beginning with 2 labels on offer, a white and a rose, focusing on the local variety of Liatiko and a small production of 2500 bottles the winery is slowly expanding. For the moment, only Cretan varieties of wine are produced. In addition to the vineyards, the Kourkoulou winery offers guided tours where visitors can learn more about the winemaking process, production and equipment before making their way to the cellar for a tasting. A lot of care was taken to ensure the design of the buildings and visitor areas are highly accessible to all visitors.

📍 Patsos, Amariou 740 61

☎ +306948099169

🔗 kourkoulouwinery.gr/