READ · TEST · CONNECT
Learn to recognize grape varieties, ask better trial questions and find a wine at the dish instead of just with the colour of the label.
10 chapters · Greek words, practical explanations and connected reading routes.
01 · FLOOR
A vineyard is the beginning of a chain of choices. Grape variety, growing place, harvest moment and cellar work all contribute. A breed name helps to compare, but does not record how each bottle should taste.
Read this guide as a way to ask questions. Which grape has been used? Is the wine dry or sweet? Did it get ripening in wood? With such concrete questions you learn more than with the demand for the best wine on the island.
02 · FLOOR
Vidiano and Vilana are white varieties that you regularly encounter in Crete. Wines of Crete describes both as important entrances to the local wine world. Taste them as separate bottles and let the specific producer and yearling weigh.
Do not take a aroma list as an order to smell the exact same thing. First, write down your own impression: fresh, ripe fruit, soft or lively. Then look at the producer description and assess which words really help you.
03 · FLOOR
These names offer additional possibilities to look beyond one known white breed. Ask in a blend what role each variety has and whether the same producer also makes a separate version. This gives an interesting comparison test.
Keep labels or take a picture with your own trial note. After a trip you often remember a landscape better than the bottle name. A simple note with date, dish and one taste impression makes the memory more useful.
04 · FLOOR
Liatiko, Kotsifali and Mandilari belong to the red varieties of the Cretan wine world. They can be used separately or in combinations; dry and sweet styles exist side by side. The breed name alone does not tell what comes in your glass.
Start with the style you are looking for: smoother with a light meal, firmer with a powerful dish or a small sweet closure. Ask which available wine fits in with it. This gives the donor a concrete starting point.
05 · FLOOR
In general, yeasts turn glucose into alcohol during fermentation. The way juice and peels are treated affects, among other things, colour and structure. Furthermore, barrel, time and contact with yeast sediment can make a difference.
A technical term is only useful when you connect it to a test question. For example, ask what wood use adds to this bottle. Is it mainly smell, texture or development? One concrete example is better than a whole cellar word list.
06 · FLOOR
Find producer, origin, volume, variety or blend, alcohol content and the designation dry or sweet. Origin indications such as PDO and PCI say something specific about the product category, but do not choose the best bottle on your behalf.
A vineyard name, an island name and a protected origin are different types of information. Read them next to each other. Ask at a tasting what the distinction on the label means and whether a product sheet is available.
07 · FLOOR
Choose two wines and small tastings, with water. Smell, taste and note by glass how fresh, dry and firm it feels. First try without a bite and then with a small piece of the same dish.
Tasting doesn't have to mean drinking everything; use a spit bucket if you want. Order transportation when you visit a wine company and drink alcohol. The quality of your notes has nothing to do with the amount you consume.
08 · FLOOR
Look for a match or a pleasant counterweight. A fresh wine can work differently next to a creamy sauce than next to a sour tomato salad. The sauce and preparation often determine more than just the name of fish or meat.
For your own taste you choose one wine with two small snacks: a mild piece of bread with cheese and a bite of tomato with oil. Notice how the wine looks different. The result is your preference, not an exam with one good answer.
09 · FLOOR
Choose a company via current producer information and confirm opening, appointment, language and trial formula directly. This guide does not contain guaranteed opening hours or fixed prices. Plan one quiet visit rather than a long series of addresses.
Good questions are: which grape fits best here, which choice did you make in this year's edition and which local dish do you serve this wine yourself? Note also what you don't like; that makes a next advice better.
10 · FLOOR
Λευκό White. Κόκκινο - Red. - Red. Ροζέ - Oh, my God. - Oh, my God. Ξηρό O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O. Γλυκό Oh, sweet... sweet. Ποτήρι Oh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh... uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, glass. Μπουκάλι Question: Έχετε κρασί σε ποτήριDo you have wine per glass?
An alternative without alcohol fits equally well with the meal. Water, a herbal drink or another drink can give the tastes of the food space. The purpose of this guide is to choose more consciously, not drink anymore.
The sources support product names, regional context and specific applications. The test assignments, reflections and cooking exercises are their own editorial explanation. Images are AI illustrations.
NEW · 20 CHAPTERS · 18 DRINKS
From tsikoudia, rakomelo and Cretan wine to coffee, mountain tea and local lemonade. Discover origin, taste, usage and the words to order yourself.