Southwest from Heraklion

Crossing the island on the southwest route is not, on the whole, the most exciting of drives: on the western outskirts of the city you turn south, under the highway, following the sings to Festos and Mires. From the beginning, the road climbs, heading up to the island’s spine through agricultural country renowned for its vineyards. In the middle Ages this was traditionally the Malevisi, or Malmsey, wine-producing region.

A great winery to visit is Domain Zacharioudakis created at the top of the hill “Orthi Petra” located in the south part of Crete, at an altitude of 500 meters, north of Gortyna, next to the village Plouti. This Cretan organically cultivated vineyard, planted on the hill Orthi Petra in South Crete, a location that can guarantee exceptional harvests

Stelios Zacharioudakis is the founder of “Domain Zacharioudakis” in the village Plouti and he claims that there never came to a dilemma about selecting the location, since in Plouti his grandfather and his father cultivated their land. As he says with pride, “I think I responded to the call of oenoforos this earth to once again offer the wine. The gift of the Gods to Humans.”

The rocky, calciferous and sloping grounds combined with the altitude, the moderate weather conditions of Crete as well as the organic cultivation are the factors that create the conditions which result in our high quality organically cultivated grapes. The varieties which are organically cultivated are the red Kotsifali, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, besides the white varieties are Vilana, Vidiano, Malvasia di Candia, Malvasia di Candia Aromatica and Sauvignon Blanc. https://www.zacharioudakis.com/en/wines/