Life as a Greek Waiter tells what it’s like to work in a Greek restaurant on Zakynthos and see behind the scenes in a family taverna.
Mantalena Restaurant in Alikanas on Zakynthos
A few years ago Mike went to Alykanas on Zakynthos in the Ionian Islands to get a behind the scenes look at one of his favourite Greek restaurants: the Mantalena. He wrote a piece for The Times about a day in the life of the Mantalena, but didn’t expect to be challenged by the manager, Tasos, to work as a waiter in the evenings!
He discovered just how hard those waiters work on a busy night, from setting up the tables before the doors open till the early hours of the morning when the final customers have left and all the staff wind down together with their own meal.
Here’s Mike’s account of what it was like:
Dessert at the Mantalena Restaurant in Alikanas on Zakynthos
Life as a Greek Waiter
‘Smile!’ Tasos tells me as I stand in front of the Mantalena Restaurant in Alykanas on the Greek island of Zakynthos. ‘The customers want to have a good time. They don’t know it’s your first night as a Greek waiter, so act confident.’
I’d been staying with Tasos all week, so it seemed only fair to help out in his restaurant. After all, I had the white shirt and the Tom Conti beard. I may not have been Greek but then neither were most of the customers in summer, though the Mantalena stays open all winter catering to the islanders who know good Greek food. And there is such a thing. Try their stuffed vine leaves, or chicken stuffed with rice, onion, garlic, herbs and minced beef. ‘They’re mostly family recipes,’ Tasos told me. ‘The chicken one is from my auntie. Everyone says you can’t put minced beef into chicken but it tastes wonderful.’
I wouldn’t be taking the orders as I don’t write Greek and the kitchen staff don’t read English, but I could greet people, seat people, bring them a menu and the complimentary glass of ouzo, then clear away the debris afterwards. It would take a bit of pressure off the others. It was only early June, but by mid-evening all fifty tables would be full: That’s at least a hundred people needing menus, ouzos, bread, wine, starters, main courses, puddings, brandies, coffees or their bills.
Mantalena Restaurant in Alikanas on Zakynthos
I soon discovered that the one thing a waiter doesn’t do is wait. There’s no time. Hello, good evening, please have a glass of ouzo with our compliments, another beer of course, should I clear those plates away, take two moussakas to table 24 and they need some new knives and forks and pick up a chicken souvlaki from the grill on the way, we’re running low on ouzo, I’ll get your bill at once, hello, there are some empty tables around the side, please have a glass of ouzo, now whose is the stuffed squid, another carafe of house white, certainly, your bill, thank you, I’ll just get your change, two coffees and a walnut cake table 13, where are the clean tablecloths, is there a spare bottle opener, hello, how are you, would you like a glass of ouzo?
Occasionally you take a sip of water and wipe away the sweat caused by running around on a hot evening, into and out of the kitchen. It’s almost midnight before Tasos takes the final bill. As the last customers leave, we bring in the salt and pepper sets, the ashtrays, the menus, the final trays full of debris. Natasa is sweeping up, and the kitchen staff are madly washing down the surfaces. Tasos’s mother Soula starts cooking at 5.30 in the morning, and demands a clean kitchen when she arrives.
Zoe is cooking one last meal – for the staff. At 12.45 we tuck into tsatsiki, chips, salad, pork, chicken, moussaka, stifado, rice and a few bottles of beer. ‘Early tonight,’ says Tasos. ‘In August we’d still be serving now.’ Afterwards he empties the tips bowl and divides it amongst the real waiters. While Tasos and Zoe work out what’s wanted for the next day, I crawl away to my bed, take off my sweat-soaked white shirt, and resolve to leave bigger tips in future.
Mike’s stint as a waiter at the Mantalena Restaurant in Alykanas on Zakynthos was a few years ago now, but the restaurant is still there so check out the website for the Mantalena.
See Greece tells the story of the classic dish of Greek tzatziki, with a recipe for making your own version of this yogurt and cucumber dip.
A Bowl of Tzatziki
Tzatziki is a popular Greek dish with a rich history. Its origins can be traced back to ancient times. Here’s a brief history:
Greek Tzatziki History
Tzatziki likely originated in the Middle East, and its predecessor was known as rait, a yogurt and cucumber-based sauce. It’s thought that this was discovered by the Persians when they ruled India, and enjoyed an Indian biryani, but found it too hot for their tastes. They preferred eating it with the rait sauce, to cool it down, and eventually the sauce made its way to the Middle East
The sauce was eventually introduced to Greece. The Greeks adapted rait to their own tastes with their own ingredients, and it was renamed tzatziki. It became an integral part of Greek cuisine, known for its cooling and refreshing properties.
A Bowl of Tzatziki
What Does Tzatziki Mean?
So how did rait, or raita, become tzatziki? The answer is that when the Turks ruled Greece, they insisted that all Greek dishes be given Turkish names. Rait was similar to a Turkish dish known as cacik, which was pronounced more like chachik. In Greek there’s no equivalent of the ‘ch’ sound, so it became ‘tz’ instead. And cacik became tzatzik, which became tzatziki, or sometimes spelled tsatsiki or tzatsiki.
Greek Tzatziki with Gyros
When Do You Eat Greek Tzatziki?
Greek tzatziki can be enjoyed as a starter on its own, probably scooped up onto a piece of warm pita bread. It can also be part of a meze, one of several starters. It’s also good as an accompaniment to some dishes, including calamari, gyros and souvlaki.
Regional Variations
Like many Greek dishes, you’ll find different versions of tzatziki in different parts of the country. This usually depends on what fresh herbs are available. The traditional recipe calls for dill, but if dill doesn’t grow locally you might find it made instead with oregano, mint, parsley or thyme.
Also, the cucumber may or may not be peeled, and instead of being grated it might be cut up into tiny cubes. Instead of lemon juice, some recipes recommend a wine vinegar.
Greek Tzatziki with Meatballs
Greek Tzatziki Recipe
Here’s a simple recipe to make Greek Tzatziki:
Ingredients:
2 cups Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, grated and drained
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Grate the cucumber and place it in a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze out excess moisture.
In a bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, grated and drained cucumber, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped dill. Mix well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld.
Serve as a dip, sauce, or condiment with pita bread, grilled meats, or as a side dish.
What is a Greek Salad – a Greek Salad is made up of tomatoes, cucumber, onions, green pepper, olives, and feta cheese.
A Healthy Greek Salad
You’ll see Greek Salad on almost every restaurant menu throughout Greece, but what is a Greek Salad?
What Is a Greek Salad?
A Greek Salad is common throughout the whole of Greece, and you might see it called Horiatiki, Country Salad, Village Salad, or Peasant Salad. It’s a very healthy dish and can be served either as a starter or as an accompaniment to a main course. Sometimes at lunch you can have it as a meal in itself. Greek Salads usually come in generous portions, in a large bowl.
There can be slight variations in the way a salad is served, but nine times out of ten it will be a bowl of sliced-up tomatoes, cucumber, onions, and green pepper, with olives, and have a slab of feta cheese on top. There will be a sprinkling of fresh herbs over the top, usually oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil, though sometimes this will be left to you to add for yourself.
Feta Cheese
Although it’s common practice to put a whole slab of feta cheese on top of the salad, and let people cut it up as they dish out the salad onto their plates, when we make Greek Salad we prefer to cut up the feta cheese into cubes and mix it in with the other ingredients. It’s entirely up to you. There’s no hard and fast recipe. See our full page all about feta cheese.
Making a Greek Salad
Feta Cheese on a Greek Salad
You’ll find a recipe for Greek Salad in the lovely book Ikaria, but you can easily make it up for yourself. Here’s what we do.
Take three or four large tomatoes and slice them up into chunks. Finely chop a small red onion. You’ll be putting things into a big serving dish so each time you prepare an ingredient, put it in the bowl and mix it around, as this is easier than putting everything in and then trying to mix things.
Next slice up a small cucumber, or half of one of those big cucumbers you get in the supermarket. We like to cut up each cucumber slice into quarters, to give you very small pieces. That way the different flavours spread further throughout the dish. Mix in the cucumber.
Next slice up one green bell pepper. Again, we like to cut it into small pieces so that everything gets mixed in more and you get more of the different flavours in each mouthful. Stir it all into the mixture again.
Then add the black olives. We like to use pitted Kalamata olives and slice them into quarters, but you can do what you like. In Greece you’ll find both pitted and unpitted olives used. There are no rules!
We then add the feta cheese. As I said, we like to chop it up and mix it in, but for the traditional look you can put a whole slab of cheese on top. Finally, sprinkle it with oregano, which always looks nice against the white feta, and cover it with as much olive oil as you like. Serve it with some bread, to mop up the juices. We always make up a big bowl, enough to last us 2-3 days.
Greek Salad
For a little variety, you could also add in some capers. They do this in some of the islands in the Dodecanese. A Greek Salad basically uses up the healthy ingredients that are available, so if you want to add in something you have to hand, go ahead and do it. You don’t need salt, though, as the feta cheese is fairly salty.
What Is a Greek Salad Outside Greece?
If you order a Greek Salad outside Greece, you won’t necessarily get what we’ve just described. For a start, you’re unlikely to get one big bowl for everyone to share. You’ll probably get individual portions, often served on a bed of lettuce, even though this never happens in Greece. It may well have other ingredients, like salad potatoes, beetroot, cabbage, or garlic. But whatever is in it, it should still make for healthy eating.
The word ‘salad’ by the way, comes from the Latin word ‘sal’, which means salt. The Romans would make their equivalent of the Greek Salad by using raw vegetables dressed with salt, olive oil, vinegar, and herbs.
Greek Raki is an alcoholic drink made with distilled grapes and anise, and popular around the Mediterranean.
Glasses of Raki Accompanying Dessert
In Greece you’ll be offered different drinks at different stages of a meal. Ouzo is very much a pre-dinner drink, an aperitif, either neat or with water added. Metaxa is a kind of Greek brandy (though it technically isn’t a brandy) and always served after a meal though also in cocktails.
When to Drink Greek Raki
Greek raki, though, is very versatile. Some restaurants or tavernas will offer you a glass on the house when you sit down at your table. You can drink it during the meal, as it’s a good accompaniment to meze dishes (the Greek equivalent of the Spanish tapas), and it also works well with oily fish dishes.
Finally, it’s the perfect after-dinner drink too, and those restaurants which don’t bring you a pre-dinner raki will probably bring you a raki after your meal. Our favourite restaurants do both! Raki is especially popular on Crete.
Bottle of Greek Raki
How to Drink Greek Raki
As with ouzo, you can either drink raki neat or add some water to it to water it down. As with ouzo, this turns the spirit milky. Those who like neat spirits would throw their hands up in horror at the thought of watering any spirit down, including raki, but others like the taste of raki or ouzo but simply don’t care for the strong alcoholic content of the neat spirit, and they water it down so that they can enjoy it. You can also simply pop an ice cube or two into your glass. Whatever works for you.
What Does Raki Mean?
The name raki is derived from arak, which is an Arabic word for something that has been distilled. Both raki and arak are a mix of distilled grapes and aniseed. The word arak is generally used in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, while raki is used in Greece, Turkey, and other Balkan countries, and also in Kazakhstan for some reason. In fact raki is the national drink of Turkey. Greece doesn’t have an official national drink but its unofficial one is ouzo, which is like a more sophisticated version of raki.
Bottle of Greek Raki
What is Greek Raki?
Raki is made from grapes not used in wine-making, that are double-distilled and then blended with anise. Raki tends to have less of an anise taste than ouzo, but like any drink the quality can be very variable. We’ve had rakis that are so rough that they make your eyes water and we’ve been unable to finish them. But we’ve also had rakis that are super-smooth and make the perfect ending to a meal.
Bottle of Cretan Raki
The History of Raki
Raki has been made for centuries but a popular belief is that it was first made by monks on Mount Athos in the 14th century. We all know that monks like making alcoholic drinks – they make wine in Germany, beer in Belgium, chartreuse in France, and many other drinks in many other places. In truth, though, people have probably made a raki-like drink with grapes left over from wine-making for as long as wine has been made – which is for several thousand years.
For a long time it was a drink that people made at home, and because everyone made their own raki nobody bothered to make it commercially. That changed sometime in the late 20th century when not everyone had their own grapevines any more, and an increasing number of holidaymakers wanted to buy raki to take home.
Raki or Tsipouro?
In Greece you’ll also find a drink called tsipouro. In some places they are one and the same, and tsipouro is simply the local version of raki. In other places tsipouro is a slightly different drink, as you can get versions with or without anise added, but it’s usually hard for the average visitor to tell the two apart. To complicate matters, in some places there’s also a drink called tsikoudia. This too is a variation on the raki theme.
Rakomelo
Rakomelo is yet another drink but this one is made from mixing raki with honey (meli) to produce a drink that is sweeter than raki and not usually quite as strong. This is an after-dinner drink.
What is Metaxa? Metaxa is an amber Greek spirit combining brandy made by distilling wine, sweet wine from Samos and a secret recipe of Mediterranean botanicals.
Metaxa Bottles on Samos
What is Metaxa’s History?
Metaxa was created in Greece in 1888 by Spyros Metaxa. He was a silk merchant and enjoyed trying spirits from different countries as he travelled the world. Many of them were rough on the palate, though, and he wanted to create a unique spirit that was as smooth as the silks that he sold. Metaxi is the Greek for silk showing that the family’s silk trading goes back for generations.
Along with his brothers Elias and Alexander, Spyros built the first Metaxa distillery in Piraeus in 1888. They wanted to be near the port, and began exporting Metaxa around the Mediterranean, and it was a huge success. By 1900 they were exporting to the USA.
In 1968 a new distillery was built in the northern suburb of Kifissia, and the company remained a family-owned business until it was sold in 1989. It’s now owned by Remy Cointreau.
Metaxa’s Salamina Warrior
Metaxa Label Showing Salamina Warrior
Every bottle of Metaxa contains an image of a Greek warrior. This is known as the Salamina Warrior, and was on a medallion that was found when they were digging the foundations of the original distillery in Piraeus. The medallion depicted someone who fought at the Battle of Salamis, a historic naval battle when the Greeks defeated the Persians.
What Is Metaxa?
Touring the Metaxa Distillery in Athens
When it was created in 1888, Metaxa was called a cognac as it was meant as an after-dinner dark spirit and was partly made from brandy. The definition and regulations that we have today about cognac didn’t exist in 1888, and many similar drinks were called cognac.
In 1936 the regulations changed and only brandy produced in the Cognac region was allowed to be called cognac, so Metaxa was described as a brandy.
Then in 1987 came the ruling that brandy could not contain wine, so Metaxa either changed their recipe or changed what they called their spirit. The decision was made to stick to the original and now historic and successful recipe, forget about comparisons to brandy or cognac, and simply go forward as the unique spirit that is Metaxa.
What Is Metaxa’s Recipe?
Barrels of Metaxa at the Metaxa Distillery in Athens
Metaxa’s recipe is a closely-guarded secret. Only two people know the recipe, the distillery manager and Costas Raptis, whose title is Metaxa Master rather than Master Distiller. When we visited the distillery Costas joked that the recipe is written down (and presumably locked in a safe somewhere) in case he gets amnesia!
What we do know is that the basis of Metaxa is a brandy that’s made by distilling wine made from three Greek grape varieties: Savatiano, Sultanina, and Black Corinth grapes, also known as Korinthiakos. This is blended with sweet Muscat wines from Samos, and the result is aged in French limousine oak casks for at least five years. It’s then infused with Mediterranean botanicals and rose petals, and put back into barrels for another year. We only know about the rose petals because someone saw them being delivered to the distillery one time, and let the secret out, though if you take a sniff of Metaxa it isn’t too surprising.
What Are the Different Types of Metaxa?
Tasting Different Metaxas at the Metaxa Distillery in Athens
There are several more exclusive types of Metaxa for real aficionados, but the main types most visitors to Greece will come across are 5-star, 7-star and 12-star. This isn’t a reference to quality, or the reviews they’ve got on Amazon, but an indication of how long they’ve been aged.
The basic Metaxa is aged for at least 5 years, but the 7-star is aged for at least 7 years and the 12-star for at least 12 years. There used to be a 3-star Metaxa, which we remember tasting on early visits to Greece because we were curious to try it and it was all we could afford. That doesn’t seem to be around any more, which is probably a good thing.
Inevitably, the longer you age a spirit in barrels (provided you know what you’re doing), the more complex the flavours get, and the ‘better’ it tastes. However, taste is a very personal thing and you may prefer the 5-star Metaxa over the 12-star Metaxa. In which case, good news – it’s cheaper! Of course the only way to find out which you prefer is to try them all.
When to Drink Metaxa?
At the Metaxa Distillery in Athens
Metaxa is traditionally an after-dinner drink. You can either order a glass in the restaurant after your meal, and if they don’t have any you can move on to a bar and enjoy a glass there.
However, this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Bartenders are now using Metaxa in cocktails, too, so you can drink Metaxa in a cocktail before dinner if you like. However, if you order a neat Metaxa before dinner or during a meal, you’ll probably get a funny look.
You should drink Metaxa neat, but by all means drop an ice cube in the glass if you prefer your spirits to be a little diluted.
See Greece recommends the ten best dishes in Greece to try, especially if it’s your first visit, and also discover the best places to find them.
Greek Moussaka
Greece is a culinary paradise, offering a rich tapestry of flavors rooted in its history, geography, and culture. If you’re visiting Greece for the first time, here are ten must-try dishes, along with the best places to try them:
Ten Best Dishes in Greece
Moussaka
Greek Moussaka
This iconic Greek dish layers eggplant, minced meat (often lamb), and béchamel sauce, baked to perfection. It’s a hearty comfort food that embodies Greek cuisine. See our full page all about Greek moussaka, complete with a recipe for you to try.
Best Place to Try: Head to Ariston in Athens, a historic bakery and restaurant known for its traditional moussaka and other Greek classics.
Souvlaki
Souvlaki consists of skewered and grilled meat (usually pork or chicken) served with pita bread, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki. It’s Greece’s answer to fast food, but far more flavorful.
Best Place to Try: Visit Kostas in Athens, a legendary spot that has been serving souvlaki since 1950.
Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
This savory pastry is made with layers of phyllo dough filled with spinach, feta cheese, and herbs. It’s a popular snack or light meal.
Best Place to Try: Try it in Thessaloniki, the culinary capital of Macedonia (and the whole of Greece, locals would say), where bakeries like Terkenlis are famous for their spanakopita.
Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Dolmades
Dolmades are grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs, and sometimes minced meat. They’re often served as an appetizer or meze. See our full page on dolmades.
Best Place to Try: Sample them in Pelion, a region known for its fresh, locally sourced ingredients and traditional recipes.
Gyros
Similar to souvlaki but made with rotisserie meat, gyros are served in pita wraps with tomatoes, onions, fries, and tzatziki. They’re a street food staple.
Best Place to Try: Enjoy gyros at O Thanasis in Athens, a popular restaurant famous for its juicy, flavorful gyros.
Pastitsio
Often called Greek lasagna, pastitsio features pasta, minced meat, and béchamel sauce. It’s a comforting, oven-baked dish.
Best Place to Try: Try it in Nafplio in the Peloponnese, where traditional tavernas like Karonis serve authentic pastitsio.
Tzatziki
Tzatziki
This creamy dip made from yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and olive oil is a refreshing accompaniment to many Greek dishes.
Best Place to Try: Enjoy it in Crete, where the yogurt is exceptionally rich and creamy. Many tavernas in Chania serve homemade tzatziki.
Seafood (Grilled Octopus and Calamari)
OK, so we cheated as this could be any of several dishes, but in Greece all seafood is a highlight. Grilled octopus and calamari are particularly popular, often served with lemon and olive oil.
Best Place to Try: Head to the islands of Santorini or Mykonos, where seaside tavernas like Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna in Santorini serve fresh, expertly prepared seafood.
Baklava
Hard to pick out just one Greek dessert, but it has to be the ubiquitous baklava. This sweet dessert is made with layers of phyllo dough, nuts, and honey syrup. It’s a decadent treat with Middle Eastern influences.
Best Place to Try: Sample baklava in Thessaloniki, where pastry shops like Chatzis have been perfecting the recipe for generations.
Gemista (Stuffed Vegetables)
Gemista are tomatoes, peppers, or other vegetables stuffed with rice, herbs, and sometimes minced meat. They’re a staple of Greek home cooking. Our favourite is stuffed peppers, which we often have at home but stuffed with feta cheese rather than rice.
Best Place to Try: Try them in the area around Meteora, where local tavernas use fresh, organic produce from the surrounding farms.
Ten Best Dishes in Greece
Greek cuisine is as diverse as its landscapes, with each region offering unique flavors and specialties. Whether you’re exploring the bustling streets of Athens, the idyllic islands, or the serene countryside, these ten dishes in Greece will give you a true taste of Greece. Pair them with a glass of ouzo or local wine, and you’re in for a treat!
See Greece tells the history of Greek moussaka, the classic Greek dish, as well as providing a recipe for you to make your own.
Greek Moussaka
Moussaka, a beloved Greek dish, is a culinary masterpiece that has captivated taste buds worldwide. This article delves into the rich history of moussaka and provides insight into its traditional recipe.
The Origins of Greek Moussaka
Moussaka’s origins can be traced back to the Middle East, with various regional variations found across the Mediterranean. However, it’s the Greek version that has gained international acclaim. The dish consists of layers of ingredients, with eggplants (aubergines) and minced meat as the stars, all topped with a creamy béchamel sauce. To understand the evolution of moussaka, we need to explore its history.
Historical Influences
Moussaka’s history is a tapestry of cultural influences that have shaped its unique flavors. The dish’s roots can be traced to the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece for centuries. During this period, the Ottoman influence introduced ingredients like eggplants, tomatoes, and spices to Greek cuisine.
Ottoman Influence
Moussaka’s Ottoman heritage is evident in its use of eggplants, a staple ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine. The Ottomans, who ruled Greece from the 15th to the early 19th century, left their culinary mark on the region. The combination of spices, herbs, and layered cooking style can also be attributed to their influence.
Greek Adaptation
Over time, Greeks made moussaka their own by incorporating local ingredients and techniques. The use of minced meat, often lamb or beef, reflects the Greek preference for meats, while the addition of potatoes is a modern twist that sets Greek moussaka apart from its counterparts in other countries.
Greek Moussaka
The Modern Classic
Greek moussaka, as we know it today, evolved in the early 20th century. The dish’s popularity soared during this time, thanks to the efforts of Greek chefs and home cooks who refined and standardized the recipe.
Variations across Greece
It’s important to note that there are regional variations of moussaka in Greece. In some areas, you may find moussaka without potatoes, while in others, it’s made exclusively with vegetables. The use of spices and herbs can also vary, adding distinct regional flavors.
Greek Moussaka
The Classic Greek Moussaka Recipe
Now that we’ve explored the history and cultural influences behind moussaka, let’s dive into the classic Greek recipe. Keep in mind that while the core ingredients remain the same, there can be variations in preparation and seasoning based on personal preferences and regional traditions.
Ingredients:
2-3 large eggplants (aubergines)
500g minced meat (lamb or beef)
2 onions, finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
400g canned tomatoes or tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying
4-5 potatoes, peeled and sliced (optional)
For the béchamel sauce:
4 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
A pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
Instructions:
Begin by preparing the eggplants. Slice them into rounds, sprinkle with salt, and let them sit for about 30 minutes to remove excess moisture. Rinse and pat dry.
Heat olive oil in a pan and fry the eggplant slices until they turn golden brown. Set them aside on paper towels to drain.
In the same pan, add more olive oil if needed and sauté the onions and garlic until they become translucent.
Add the minced meat and cook until browned. Break it into small pieces as it cooks.
Stir in the canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, red wine (if using), cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the sauce thickens.
If you’re using potatoes, fry the potato slices until they’re slightly golden.
Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
To make the béchamel sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes until it turns slightly golden.
Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Cook until the sauce thickens.
Season the béchamel sauce with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly.
Beat the two eggs and fold them into the béchamel sauce.
Assemble the moussaka in a large baking dish. Start with a layer of eggplant slices, followed by the minced meat mixture (and potatoes if you’re using them). Repeat the layers until you run out of ingredients, finishing with a layer of eggplant.
Pour the béchamel sauce evenly over the top layer.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the moussaka is bubbling.
Allow the moussaka to cool for a few minutes before serving. This dish is often enjoyed warm, not piping hot, to allow the flavors to meld.
Moussaka is traditionally served as a main course, accompanied by a Greek salad and crusty bread. It’s a hearty, comforting dish that’s perfect for family gatherings and special occasions. Pair it with a glass of red wine for the ultimate Greek dining experience.
Conclusion
Moussaka is more than just a dish; it’s a reflection of Greek history and culinary creativity. Its journey from the Ottoman Empire to modern Greece is a testament to the dynamic nature of cuisine, shaped by cultural influences and regional traditions. Whether you savor it in a traditional Greek taverna or prepare it at home, moussaka is a delightful and flavorful experience that continues to be celebrated worldwide.
The See Greece guide to Greek grape varieties to help you know which wines to choose when dining in restaurants or buying wine in Greece.
Some Greek grape varieties have names that are hard to pronounce, and sound unfamiliar if you’re used to ordering your favourite chardonnay or merlot when travelling. They cover the alphabet from Agiorgitiko to Xinomavro, but what are these Greek grape varieties? Let’s take a look.
Greek Grape Varieties
Some Greek grape varieties are indigenous to Greece, and don’t grow anywhere else. Others are related to more familiar-sounding grapes grown around the world. Some vineyards have also experimented with growing non-Greek grapes, like chardonnay or shiraz, with mixed degrees of success.
Santorini is at roughly the same latitude as southern California, but has a semi-arid Mediterranean climate, and its own distinctive volcanic soil, so winemaking here is very different from somewhere like Sonoma or Napa Valley.
Agiorgitiko is a name you’ll come across, especially in the Peloponnese, where it grows widely. It’s native to the Nemea region, in the very north-east of the Peloponnese, and is one of the Greek grape varieties that you can compare to a more familiar name: Beaujolais Nouveau. Agiorgitiko produces red wines that are light and fruity, like a good Beaujolais Nouveau, but unlike the French wine it isn’t meant to be drunk immediately but can improve with aging over a few years.
Kotsifali is another commonly-seen name, and this is native to Crete. However, because Cretan wines are among the top Greek wines and are increasingly sold through Greece and overseas, you may well come across it elsewhere. On its own it produces a bold but subtle red wine, and it also lends itself well to blending. We sampled some while touring the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete.
Liatiko is also native to Crete and produces good red wines, but ones that are a little spicier on the palate. It’s also one of the varieties used to produce the blended sweet red wine, Malvasia.
Limnio is a Greek grape variety that’s native to, not surprisingly, the island of Limnos (Lemnos). It has been used here for hundreds if not thousands of years to produce a red wine by itself, but also blends well with a large number of other grape varieties including non-Greek grape varieties like Cabarnet Sauvignon and Shiraz. It’s a robust wine that goes well with meat and game.
Mandilaria is a red Greek grape variety that is grown on many islands, including the two big wine-making islands of Crete and Rhodes. It’s confusing because it goes by different names in different places, including Amorgiano, Kontoura, and variations on the name Mandalaria. It’s commonly blended with other wines to make red wines that are rich in colour but still fairly light-bodied.
Mavrodafni is another common Greek grape variety that is plentiful in the Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands. In these islands, Kefalonia has several good wineries. Mavrodafni grapes are blended with currants to produce a fortified sweet dessert wine.
Mavroudi is one of the oldest-known Greek grapes and it grows all over the Greek mainland. Mavro means ‘black’ and this grape produces very dark red wines, with a sweetish aroma and a robust and distinctive flavor. It’s one of those wines people tend to love or hate, like retsina. But you should at least try it to see which camp you’re in.
Negoska is a grape variety mainly grown in Macedonia and produces full-bodied red wines that are often rich with fruity flavours. As such, it’s a wine that often appeals to non-Greek palates.
Romeiko grapes grow most widely on Crete and in the Cyclades. It’s a very versatile grape that can be used to make red, white, and rosé wines, with equal success.
Vertzami is a grape that grows well in the Ionian Islands, in the Peloponnese, and elsewhere in mainland Greece, as well as on Cyprus. It produces a good quality red wine that is suitable for immediate drinking and which has a deep red colour and a taste of both red berries and spices.
Xinomavro is a Greek grape variety that grows in several parts of the mainland, and the vines have even been exported and grown in China and several other countries. It produces a high quality red wine that benefits from aging, and is a full-bodied wine that has been compared to the Italian Barolo wines. It’s definitely one to try if you come across it.
Greek ouzo is an aniseed-based aperitif made all over the country but especially on Lesbos, tasting like a Greek pastis or arak and usually drunk with water.
Greek ouzo bottles on Samos
Ouzo is produced all over the country and in the islands. It is especially associated with the island of Lesvos, and the town of Plomari in particular. Here there is an ouzo museum, and there are several distilleries around the island. But there are ouzo distilleries everywhere, including in Athens, on Crete, on Santorini, on Samos, and on Corfu.
What Is Ouzo?
Ouzo, like some other Greek spirits, is made from what’s left of the grapes when all the juice has been squeezed out of them. This is then distilled, with aniseed, to produce the ouzo, though other things can be used. In a way it’s a little like gin but using aniseed instead of juniper. You can add many things that are also often added to gin, like star anise, cloves, fennel and cardamom, and some distillers add mastic resin from Chios.
Ouzo must be at least 37.5% ABV and is typically anything from there up to 50%, though at least one distiller, Karonis, produces an ouzo that is 59% ABV. They’re based in Argos near Nafplion, and they have a museum and offer distillery tours – well worth doing as they also make tsipouro, a cherry liqueur, and a liqueur called Masticha made from the mastic resin.
Ouzo Labels
History of Ouzo
The first ouzo is said to have been made by monks on Mount Athos way back in the 14th century. Monks and alcohol have long been linked, like the beer-making Trappist monks of Belgium, The monks on Mount Athos originally made another Greek spirit, tsipouro, and experimented one time by flavouring it with aniseed. They rather liked the results and eventually a distinct recipe for ouzo evolved.
However, it wasn’t until 1856 that the first ouzo distillery proper opened. This was the Katsaros distillery near Larissa, about an hour’s drive east of Meteora and a 50-minute drive north from Volos. It’s still in business today and making, among other things, a triple-distilled ouzo. If you’re ever in the area it’s well worth visiting them and doing a distillery tour.
Where Does the Name Ouzo Come From?
No-one knows for certain, and there are several different theories, but it’s most likely that it comes from the Turkish word ‘uzum’, which means a grape.
How to Drink Ouzo
Ouzo is drunk as an aperitif. You can order it in a bar or cafe before going on to a restaurant, or order it in the restaurant to have before your meal or with plates of meze. It goes really well with lots of Greek starters, like seafood. Greeks will often order a bottle to share around the table, though for one or two people you’d just order it by the glass.
If you order ouzo in Greece it will always be served with a glass of water, or a carafe if you’ve ordered a bottle. You can drink it neat, though most people find it a little too strong for that and dilute it with water. Pouring water into ouzo turns it milky, and the amount you add is entirely up to you. You’ll soon discover how strong or weak you like to drink your ouzo, and can usually tell by the colour whether you’ve got the right balance or not. If you like it fairly strong then an easy option is to have it on the rocks, just dropping one or two ice cubes in.
Glass of Ouzo and Glass of Water
Ouzo in Cocktails
Ouzo has traditionally never been a cocktail ingredient, though with the recent surge in cocktail culture, and with bartenders wanting to experiment, ouzo is being used increasingly in cocktails. It will mix with lemonade, soda water, even vodka or whisky.
Cooking with Ouzo
Shrimps Cooked in Ouzo
Ouzo isn’t a common cooking ingredient but you’ll certainly find it on some menus. Shrimps in ouzo is one common dish, and delicious they are. We have a recipe for chicken in ouzo and garlic that we got off a chef in Kalami on Corfu, and that’s pretty good too. You’ll also see dishes like meatballs in ouzo, or ouzo and tomatoes, so it is quite versatile.
Greek feta cheese is the most popular cheese in Greece, usually made from sheep’s milk, with a soft texture and salty taste and used to top off a Greek salad.
Greek Feta Cheese
It’s impossible to miss Greek feta cheese when visiting Greece. If you order a Greek salad it will almost certainly come with a slab of white feta cheese on top of it. It’s a delicious cheese that is both creamy and salty at the same time, and the perfect accompaniment to the salad and its flavor-filled mix of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, olives, greens, and onions.
How is Greek Feta Cheese Served?
Feta is so popular in Greece that it is served in a variety of ways, not just with a Greek salad. You can order it as a dish on its own as part of a meze, and if you order saganaki, or fried cheese, chances are in most places it will be feta, although several other cheeses can also be used. And if you’ve never tried saganaki, order it the next time you get the chance. It’s unusual and really tasty.
Greek Feta Cheese
You will also find feta in tyropita (cheese pies) and in spanakopita (spinach pies), which have some cheese included as well. These are two of the most popular street foods in Greece, and we eat them all the time. It’s basically fast food, so some are better than others, but if you find a good one you will keep going back, guaranteed. An omelette with cheese in it? Yes, that will almost certainly be feta too.
How is Greek Feta Cheese Made?
In Greece, feta cheese is usually made with sheep’s milk, though it can also be made with a mix of sheep’s milk and goat’s milk. To be legally described as Greek feta cheese there should be no more than 30% goat’s milk. The milk is usually (but doesn’t have to be) pasteurized.
Feta Cheese on a Greek Salad
The milk is heated then cooled, when rennet is added. Once it’s solidified, the cheese is put in a cloth bag for the whey to drain away. The cheese is then cut up and salt added, and left to mature for several days. After this, the cheese is then put into brine and matured for several weeks at room temperature, and then for two months in a refrigerated but high-humidity place, though these things can vary from maker to maker. You then have feta cheese!
Where is Greek Feta Cheese Made?
Feta cheese can be made anywhere in the world, and is made from Armenia to Vietnam. That’s because it is a fairly straightforward cheese to make, using simple and available ingredients, and it goes well with a wide variety of food. However, some historians say it probably originated in Greece.
Within the EU (European Union) Greek feta has a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). In other words, you can’t make the cheese outside Greece and call it Greek feta cheese, even if made in the Greek style. In Greece it’s made across much of the mainland, and in some of the islands, the most notable being Lesvos, which is especially renowned for its feta as well as its wonderful ouzo.
If you’re wondering where to eat in Athens or Piraeus See Greece has a few suggestions including favourites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square and Syntagma.
Dourabeis Restaurant in Piraeus
We’ve also included some highly-acclaimed places, ranging from Michelin-starred restaurants that we aspire to eat in one day, to cheap tavernas that we go to every time we visit Athens and which simply ooze atmosphere.
This neo-classical mansion has contemporary art works on the walls and has been voted the best restaurant not just in Athens but in the whole of Greece several years in a row. Pyrronos 5, Varnava Square, tel: 210 752 4021, spondi.gr
To Kouti €€
One of the few reliable places on this busy Plaka street, most of the others catering for the fast tourist trade. Here the service is more leisurely, the menu’s unusual and the setting with its Acropolis views will give you a romantic night to remember. Adrianou 23, tel: 210 321 3229, no website.
Bakalarakia €
The Bakalarakia Restaurant in Athens
One of the Plaka’s basic basement tavernas, much older and more reliable than many of the smart places on the street. This is named after its speciality, a cod dish served with a garlic sauce. Kidathineon 41, tel: 210 322 5084, mpakaliarakia.gr
O Platanos €
The O Platanos Restaurant in Athens
It sometimes seems like The Plane Tree has been here for as long as the Acropolis, so well-established is it in its leafy square. Visitors love it but locals hang out here too, and though the food is nothing fancy, it is wonderfully cooked. Great atmosphere too, whether outside or inside. Diogenous 4, tel: 210 322 0666, eleinitsa.wixsite.com/platanos
Around Omonia Square
Athinaikon €
The Athinaikon Restaurant in Athens
Wonderful venerable old place with its wooden interior still intact, and some of the waiters dating from the same era. They have one of the best meze menus in town, dozens of dishes made fresh every day so it’s a chance to try lots of different things like grilled octopus or deep-fried whitebait. Themistokleous 2, tel: 210 383 8485, athinaikon.gr
Diporto €
Diporto: Plain and Simple
If you want a real Athens eating experience then head for this old place in a basement beneath the Central Market, where the market traders go for good, honest, fresh, hearty food, though you’ll find local business people there too. If you’re on a budget, it’s ideal. Corner of Theatrou and Sokratous, There’s no phone or website but you can read more about it here: https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/athens/2015/diporto/
Around Syntagma Square
Aigli Café and Restaurant €€€
Aigli Restaurant in Athens
Fabulous setting in the National Gardens by the Zappeion, but don’t assume it’s just another café as the bistro-style menu is very inventive, as is the more extensive (and expensive) French-influenced evening menu. Zappeion, tel: 210 336 9363, aeglizappiou.gr
Balthazar€€€
Sample Plates at the Balthazar
This has long been one of the most stylish places to eat and greet in Athens, housed in a wonderful 19th-century mansion on the north-east edge of Kolonaki.Vournazou/Tsocha 27, tel: 210 644 1215, balthazar.gr
Ratka €€-€€€
International menu ranges from sushi to pasta in this chic place which has been a fashionable meeting and eating spot in Kolonaki for decades. Haritos 32, tel: 210 729 0746, no website.
Ouzadiko €€
This contemporary take on a traditional Greek ouzerie shows off the new Greek-style cooking at its best with a long list of meze, the Greek version of tapas, to choose from, and the chance to find out that not all ouzos taste the same. Karneadou 25-29 (in the shopping mall), tel: 210 729 5484, no website.
Benaki Museum Café €
Dine at the Benaki
Great place for a spot of lunch on this attractive second-floor terrace, with a very popular buffet on their Thursday late-night opening, for which you would be advised to book. Koumbari 1/Vasilissis Sofias, tel: 210 367 1000, benaki.gr.
Dexameni €
Well-loved and long-established café-restaurant, with mainly light meals but a great people-watching place in a lovely little Kolonaki square. Platia Dexameni, tel: 210 723 2834, no website but you can read more here: https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/athens/2013/dexameni/
Piraeus
Alli Skala €€€
Alli Skala Restaurant in Piraeus
This distinguished restaurant has a wonderful courtyard and isn’t over-priced by Piraeus standards. It has a wider menu than just seafood and more seafood, with meats, vegetarian dishes, and good old-fashioned Greek dishes like Greek sausages. Serifou 57, tel: 210 482 7722, allhskala.gr
Jimmy’s Fish€€-€€€
Jimmy’s Fish
Ask an Athenian to recommend one Piraeus fish restaurant and chances are it would be this one, not just for the fresh fish and its speciality seafood pasta dishes but also its lovely setting on the harbour at Mikrolimano. Don’t expect to turn up late on a sunny Sunday lunchtime and expect to find an empty seat. Akti Koumoundourou 46, tel: 210 412 4417, jimmysfish.gr
Dourabeis €€
Dourabeis Restaurant in Piraeus
If a seafood restaurant has been in business for over sixty years then it must be doing something right, and the secret here is: keep it simple. The freshest of fish, the lightest of grillings and dinner is perfect. Not cheap but then fish never is. Akti Dilaveri 27-29, tel: 210 412 2092, facebook.com
For a Crete olive oil tour See Greece visits Biolea, one of the few olive oil factories on Crete that you can tour.
Biolea Olive Oil Bottles
Biolea is one of the few olive oil manufacturers in Crete that you can visit. So we did, thanks to Isidoros, our tour guide from Go Crete. Outside the factory we are greeted by our guide, Chloe Dimitriadis.
Crete Olive Oil Tour
‘Last week when it rained,’ she says, ‘the trees were happy as it was the first rain for four months.’
It was hard to believe it had rained so recently, as when we arrived in late September it was gloriously hot with temperatures into the low 90s (32-34C). It’s not the kind of weather when you would normally do a factory tour, but this was no normal factory.
Chloe welcomes us and explains that while Biolea may be a factory, they still use a traditional stone press.
‘Crete has one of the biggest concentrations of olive trees in the whole Mediterranean. We make 5% of the olive oil in the world, and Greece is 3rd in the world for olive oil production after Spain and Italy.
‘They’ve been making olive oil here since Neolithic times. The average person in Greece consumes 32 litres of olive oil a year, which is twice as much as in Italy.’
After this explanation of facts and figures, Chloe moves on to what everyone in the small tour group wants to know: How to make sure you get good quality when you buy.
Map (c) Google Maps
Buying Good Quality Olive Oil
‘First look for the word virgin,’ Chloe explains. ‘By EU laws this is 100% pure olive oil. If it doesn’t say virgin, stay away. Extra virgin is the same thing, 100% olive oil, but with lower acidity. Extra virgin isn’t necessarily better than virgin. There are other factors.
‘You must also look for cold-pressed, which means it is done below 27 degrees and hasn’t been burned. If you blast it with heat you get bigger quantities but you lose the health content. Even if you go over 30 degrees you start to lose qualities.’
Chloe knows so much about olive oil because it was her father who started the factory about 25 years ago.
‘He was one of the first to become organic at the time when everyone was going industrial,’ she says. ‘Everyone thought he was crazy!’
Biolea Olive Oil Vats
Chloe explains that they have about 3,000 olive trees in their village, and it takes two months to harvest them. They put nets down on the ground and beat the tree branches with electronic beaters to shake the olives loose. They then get them to the factory as fast as they can, for the ultimate freshness.
She then leads us inside the factory where we see the modern-looking machine that presses the olives, with three large stone presses inside it. The machine works in the traditional way, but eliminates the need to have donkeys trudging around to turn the stones.
One of the hardest things, Chloe tells us, is keeping everything clean.
‘We’re an organic factory so don’t use any chemical cleaners. It’s all done with hot water and pressure – and olive paste is very hard to get off!’
Another tip Chloe passes on to us is to store olive oil either in dark glass or a tin, and to avoid plastic bottles.
Biolea Lemon-Flavoured Olive Oil
Flavoured Olive Oil
As well as producing their natural stone-milled cold-pressed estate olive oil, Biolea also makes two flavoured olive oils, lemonio and nerantzio. These are done by throwing in the peel from lemons or bitter oranges when they mill the olives. At the tasting we do after the tour, both the lemon and the orange olive oil are huge hits. They’re tangy and aromatic, and everyone wants to buy at least one bottle of each.
The company produces about 20,000 litres of olive oil a year, and the production sells out by about March. They could make more but, like many of the food and wine makers we met on Crete, they go for quality over quantity. They use all their own olives, and only buy any in if they have a bad harvest. Even then, they will only buy organic olives from farmers who they are sure know what they’re doing.
Know Your Olives
Chloe then gives us another reason why it’s important to know exactly what you’re buying: ‘80% of Cretan olive oil is exported in bulk in containers to Italy where they blend it with olive oil from Tunisia, Spain and other countries. It’s therefore possible that the Italian olive oil you buy in the supermarket is blended and has Cretan olive oil in it. If it was blended and bottled in Italy then it can be called Italian olive oil, no matter where the olives came from.’
Biolea exports 70-80% of its own production, so if you’re not lucky enough to visit the factory in its idyllic setting surrounded by olive trees and mountains, in Astrikas, west of Chania, where can you buy their organic olive oil?
‘Our biggest market is Japan,’ Chloe tells us, ‘then the USA and Canada, and some European countries too.’
Crete Olive Oil Tour
For details of the free tours of the Biolea olive oil factory, see the Biolea website.
See Greece would like to thank Go Crete for arranging the visit to see olive oil making on Crete.
See Greece visits and tours the Manousakis Winery on Crete with a wine-tasting and a chance to buy their tsikoudia, sea salt, olive oil and other goodies.
A twenty-minute drive southwest from Chania brings us to the delightful Manousakis Winery. Their name will be more familiar to you when you know that it’s here they make Nostos Wines, a familiar name on some of the better wine lists in restaurants around Crete.
The winery is very attractive, set out like an old Cretan village, and extremely colourful with flowers growing in old olive oil cans, basil plants in ceramic pots, and a huge rosemary bush growing around the base of a tree.
Flowers in Cans at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
There are tables with bright tablecloths, where people are enjoying meals or snacks, or doing wine-tastings. To one side of the central courtyard, a cookery course is taking place, one of the many events the winery holds, including live music concerts.
Winery Shop
Sea Salt for Sale at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
We explore the winery shop, where we find some of the produce they make here, in addition to the wine. There are pots of sea salt, jars of olive oil, bottles of the Cretan spirit tsikoudia, ceramics made by a local artist, and t-shirts with funny slogans on them. We can’t resist buying the one that says ‘We are what we drink’. In that case, at the moment we’re 50% Cretan wine and 50% raki.
Love Story
Ashfin Molavi, Co-owner of the Manousakis Winery on Crete
Like most vineyards on Crete it’s a family business. The winery is run today by Alexandra Manousakis (whose parents now live in the USA) and her husband Ashfin Molavi. Alexandria had been born in Washington DC and was living in New York when she decided to return to Crete to run the family vineyard.
Ashfin was born in Sweden, trained as a sommelier, and then moved to Athens where he worked in a top restaurant. Here he met Alexandra, who was travelling back and forth from Crete to Athens trying to get the best restaurants there to stock their wines. Before long they were married, and Ashfin was helping run the winery. Ashfin does the blending, and they also have a winemaker and a viticulturalist.
Charity Support
Signs at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
“A percentage of the profits from the first two wines and from our sea salt and olive oil go to a charity for handicapped children,” Ashfin tells us as he gets ready to do a wine-tasting with us. “It goes to a school for children with special needs in Chania. Alexandra had two sisters who were both born early and had problems. We have a saying that ‘many small creeks turn into a river,’ so we do what little we can. Alexandra is on the board of the school as it is something that is very dear to her heart.”
Manousakis Wines
In the Gift Shop at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
“My father-in-law went to the USA at the age of 11 because of poverty, looking for a better life. . He refurbished the house here before the winery existed. He was coming back visiting for 20 years and then in 1993 decided to start the winery. Alexandra took over in 2007, and then I came in 2010. So, let’s try the wines!”
Manousakis Wine Tasting
We started with their 2 Mazi White, which is a blend of two grapes, Roussanne and Vilana, and is made in cooperation with the Lyrarakis vineyard. It’s beautifully fresh and aromatic, with a light citrus aroma, and an easy-drinking white that’s 12% ABV. There’s also a rosé and a red in the same range.
A Wine Tasting at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
“We do 60,000 bottles a year in total,” says Ashfin, “and are a small boutique winery. We plant all our own grapes. We don’t buy in. My father-in-law wanted to make wine that was good enough to be sold in the USA, and not just locally, so he set high standards.”
Next in the tasting is an interesting-sounding wine, a Nostos Muscat of Spinas. Spinas is a village to the west of the vineyard where there are 120-year-old vines of the Muscat grape, originally from Samos. Muscat wine is more associated with Samos, and mainly as a dessert wine. Here at Manousakis they age theirs for 5-6 years and the result is an excellent and very floral regular white wine. It has grassy and citrus notes, as well as the floral sweetness you get from Muscat grapes. It’s also really inexpensive for a wine of this quality, at only 13 euros a bottle at the time of our visit.
A Wine Tasting at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
We then try another white, their Nostos Vidiano 2015. “This is the number one grape variety on the island,” Ashfin explains, “and the number one up-and-coming grape in Greece.” Aged for 6 months in oak barrels, it has that lovely buttery-oaky taste that you get in my favourite chardonnays, and yet this too is only 13 euros.
“You can find our wines in Chania at Salis, which has 500 wine labels on the list. Also at other restaurants, in wine shops and at hotels around Crete. Some go to Athens. We export 30% to Sweden, Denmark, and other European countries, ten countries in all, including the USA.”
We try their Nostos Roussanne 2015, which has the buttery-oaky quality of the Vidiano but with a nuttiness to both the aroma and the taste. Ashfin gives us a taste of the same wine from 2012, and it’s developed a darker colour and an even richer and thicker taste.
A Wine Tasting at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
The Nostos Rosé is pink, very balanced, not too sweet, striking a good balance between light and drinkable, and more complex. The first red we try is the Nostos Grenache 2015. They only plant three red grape varieties, of kinds that you find all around the Mediterranean: Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. Grenache is originally from Spain, then moved to France, and has been grown on Crete for hundreds of years. It’s a lovely, light and fruity red.
They produce more than three reds, though, as they blend them in different ways. Nostos Alexandra’s is 40% Syrah, 40% Mourvèdre and 20% Grenache Rouge and is a deep ruby red colour with a thick and rich taste of strawberry, cherry, other fruits and spices. It would be wonderful with a good meaty meal.
Vats in the Winery at the Manousakis Winery on Crete
We sip our way through the Cuvée Alexandra (their flagship wine), the Nostos Blend and the Nostos Syrah, whose label shows Alexandra’s grandfather, a carpenter who built the building that became the winery. When you talk about family wineries, this is the kind of thing you mean.
Finally Ashfin kindly treats us to a glass of their Nostos Mourvèdre 2012. They’re the only vineyard on Crete which grows the Mourvèdre grape, and they only have one small plot of it. They only make two barrels a year of this 100% Mourvèdre red wine, which is deliciously rich, fruity, full-bodies, meaty, peppery, floral… the aromas and tastes just go on and on.
Tsikoudia Bottles from the Manousakis Winery on Crete
It’s a perfect end to our Manousakis wine tasting, a rare wine which only they produce on Crete. It’s what wine tourism is all about – meeting with the makers, and trying their unique wines.
Manousakis Wine Tastings
Tours must be booked in advance through their website. It’s not necessary to book tastings in advance although it’s advisable during the busy summer months. https://www.manousakiswinery.com/visit
Our visit to Manousakis was part of a food and wine tour of Crete booked for us by the excellent www.gocrete.net.
See Greece tours the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete, and learns about Crete grape varieties such as plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari and kotsifali.
Touring the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
The Cretan wine business is booming, a fact that was recognised recently by Wine Enthusiast magazine. It nominated Crete on its shortlist for Wine Region of the Year, along with Champagne, Provence, Sonoma County and the eventual winner, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Illustrious company indeed.
Touring the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Vineyards at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
On a tour of one of the island’s biggest wineries, Lyrarakis, we learn one of the reasons why from our guide, Eva Gouvianaki. ‘There are lots of parents who started wineries,’ she says, ‘and now their children are the second generation. They are educated as oenologists, whereas the parents learned simply by doing it. Right now we have specialists, and the wine is better. The parents started and the children took it further. But here we believe in meraki – it means if you’re going to do something you want to do it with passion.’
The Founding of Lyrarakis
Flowers at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Lyrarakis was founded by brothers Manolis and Sotiris Lyrarakis in 1966 and they made an unusual decision which turned out to be farsighted, and another reason for the current success of Cretan wines. They concentrated on growing two local grape varieties, plyto and dafni, which no-one else was using to make wine and which might well now be extinct if not for the Lyrarakis brothers.
Today there are over 50 wineries on Crete, many of them growing familiar imported grape varieties like syrah and merlot, but Lyrarakis and others prefer their native varieties like plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari and kotsifali. They make distinctive wines that are part of the terroir of Crete, the largest and most southerly of the Greek islands.
Karoula Wine Press
Karoula Wine Press at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Before we tour the winery and tastes the wines, Eva drives us out to see another of the Lyrarakis brothers’ legacies, the Karoula wine press. Crete is home to many ancient wine presses, including the oldest known press in the world, some 3500 years old. The Karoula press dates from the 14th century and is carved out of the area’s natural rock.
‘It was a communal press,’ Eva explains, ‘where everyone would bring their grapes to tread them, and the juice would flow down the slope. There was a second pressing nearby. Everyone knew that the press was here, but one of the founding brothers thought it was important to protect it so he reported it to the authorities to help preserve it for future generations. Those are our vines behind the press, the plyto grapes. At one time this whole valley would have been filled with vines.’
Karoula Wine Press at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Cretan wines have a distinguished history. Homer reported that they were known and loved throughout the known world. The Minoans exported wine to Egypt, which is about 400 miles away across the Libyan Sea. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Cretan wines were exported to Venice, where they were rated very highly indeed.
Lyrarakis Today
Snacks Accompanying a Wine Tasting at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Today Lyrarakis, the biggest and oldest winery in the Iraklion region, produces a million litres of wine a year, half of which is exported to the USA, Japan, China and several other countries. In the UK the importers are Berry Brothers and Rudd, who have supplied wine to the royal family since the reign of King George III.
Tasting Room at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
Lyrarakis is now run by the second generation, the five children of Manolis and Sotiris Lyrarakis. As we enter the tasting room and impressive restaurant, a young girl enters and skips through the room.
‘And here comes the third generation,’ Eva laughs, as we sit down to taste the wines, and pair them with cheese and other Cretan delicacies. We try the dafni, which has hints of rosemary and lavender – and which you can buy in M&S in the UK. Their Legacy rosé is unusually dark for a rosé, almost a plum colour, while the intensely delicious Malvasia of Crete dessert wine uses a blend of plyto, dafni, vidiano and vilana grapes which are dried in the sun for nine days to concentrate the sugars.
Wines for Sale at the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete
We also try their Symbolo wine, a complex and fruity wine, heavy on the tannin. It’s a flagship wine, only made when the grapes are excellent, and last produced in 2012. The good news is… 2016 was an excellent vintage on Crete, making 2017 the perfect year for wine-lovers to visit.
The Kalimera Archanes renovated stone houses are in the village of Archanes, about 7 miles (11 kms) from the Lyrarakis Winery, and a similar distance from Iraklion Airport. They can be booked through Sunvil Holidays.
Greek retsina is a dry white wine made and drunk all over Greece with a distinctive pine and resin flavour that people usually either love or hate.
Retsina Bottles
For us, when we visit Greece, our first meal is very often kalamari (squid) and a bottle of retsina, perhaps preceded by an ouzo. It’s the very taste of Greece on a plate and in a glass. It tells us we’re back in our beloved Greece at last. If retsina is an acquired taste, then we acquired it long ago.
What is Greek Retsina?
Retsina is a dry white wine that has been in contact with pine resin to give it its unique flavour. The flavour of retsina is hard to describe, though once you taste it you never forget it. People who don’t like it compare it to turpentine, which we obviously think is unfair. Perhaps they’ve just had some bad retsinas, for as with any wine the quality varies.
Greek Retsina
It’s crisp, a little lemony, and even though it’s dry there can be a touch of sweetness to it. The overpowering taste is of course the pine resin, however. Imagine walking through a pine forest on a hot summer day and being able to capture that aroma in a bottle. To us, that is the essence of retsina.
Which Greek Retsina to Choose?
Of course there is more than one type of retsina and flavors vary, depending on the process. One name you see throughout the country is Kourtaki, though there are other best-selling brands including Malamatina and Ampelicious.
Kourtaki Greek Retsina
Many of the bigger and better winemakers like Gai’a started including a retsina in their line-ups, after a surge in its popularity a few years ago. If you find a bottle of Ritinitis Nobilis from Gai’a on offer anywhere, do try it. These quality retsinas tend to be lighter than the more commercial brands, concentrating more on the wine, and on the citrus taste rather than on being too resiny.
What we like to do is ask if the taverna or restaurant has any local retsinas, so we can try some we’re unlikely to find anywhere else. You don’t usually get draft retsina in the way you get house wines, made by the taverna-owner, as unless you know what you’re doing it’s easy to ruin a good wine by adding too much resin flavour to it.
Cheap Greek Retsina
Retsina traditionally comes in a 50cl bottle with a screwtop cap on it, though some of the more upscale brands use a conventional 70cl bottle with a cork or plastic stopper. It’s one of the cheapest bottled Greek wines that there is, so it’s very popular with students and those on a budget. Some people like to mix it with soft drinks to make a kind of retsina spritzer, and to make the retsina last longer. You can also mix it with colas, if you like, though we prefer our retsinas straight.
Greek Retsina Wine Bottle
For a long time it was seen as the poor man’s drink, which is one reason it’d had such a poor reputation in the past, but with the 21st-century renaissance in Greek winemaking, people have come to realise that retsina can be made well.
Retsina Rosé
The vast majority of the retsina made in Greece is white, but there are a few rosé retsinas around. They’re not common so you should definitely snap one up if you see it.
Which Grape is Retsina Made From?
Most retsina is made from the savatiano grape, which is the country’s most widely-planted grape. It is drought-resistant, which helps see it through the hot Greek summers, and it makes pretty reliable if not very exciting wine – though it can make good wine, if the winemaker is prepared to put more work in.
Retsina Bottle
Two other Greek grape varieties, the assyrtiko and the rhoditis, are often blended with savatiano, or sometimes used on their own, to produce yet another retsina variation. On the island of Rhodes, the most common grape is the athiri, so you’ll get a slightly different retsina flavour yet again.
On Lemnos, the only white grape grown is the muscat of Alexandria, so it’s used for retsina as well as regular wine. As the grape is normally used for dessert wines because of its aromatic nature, you’ll find retsinas from Lemnos to be more aromatic too.
What to Eat with Greek Retsina?
Glasses of Greek Retsina
Retsina goes well with a large number of dishes. Fresh seafood is an obvious choice, though it will also pair well with meats such as roast chicken and roast lamb, because of the way Greeks like to use a lot of herbs and garlic to add flavour to their roast meat dishes. It goes well with dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) and other Greek starters, like fried sardines and anchovies, or even saganaki (fried cheese)
The History of Greek Retsina
So why do the Greeks like wine with a resin taste to it? The tradition goes back over 2,000 years when Greeks stored wine in clay vessels called amphorae, which you can see in almost every archaeological museum in the country. In order to keep them air-tight and keep the wine fresh for longer, Aleppo pine resin plugs were used as they were found to be very effective at keeping the air out.
A Simple Way of Enjoying Greek Retsina
The resin flavour penetrated the wine on sea voyages, and the Greek sailors found they developed a liking for the taste. It’s thought that the first resinated wines were made in about the 2nd century BC. Even when, probably in the first century AD, the Romans invented the wooden barrel with a wooden bung that proved ideal for storing and transporting wine, the Greeks continued using the resin to flavour their wine because by then they liked it so much.
Today the resin is added during the fermentation period of the grapes. And just as barrels have been around since the Romans, so too has retsina – and we’ll drink to that. Yia Mas!
UNESCO made Thessaloniki a City of Gastronomy, under its Creative Cities network, the only city in Greece to be acknowledged for its unique food and drink.
Modiano Market Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia. In November 2021 it also became the first city in Greece to be declared a City of Gastronomy by UNESCO.
Creative Cities
As well as designating certain significant places as World Heritage Sites, UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) also has a series of Creative Cities. These are cities which are considered exceptional in one of seven creative fields, such as music, literature, crafts and folk art, film… and gastronomy.
At the time of writing there are only thirteen Cities of Gastronomy in the world, including Parma in Italy, Tucson and San Antonio in the USA, Rouen in France… and now Thessaloniki in Greece. Thessaloniki also has fifteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and was already referred to as Greece’s unofficial culinary capital.
Thessaloniki: City of Gastronomy
So why has UNESCO made Thessaloniki the first City of Gastronomy in Greece? One reason is that Thessaloniki has long been at a crossroads of cultures. It was, for example, the second most important city of both the Byzantine and Ottoman vast empires. It also offered a safe haven to Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, which led to Thessaloniki at one time having Europe’s biggest Jewish community.
Thessaloniki is 500 km (311 miles) from Athens, but only 600 km (373 miles) from Istanbul, 300 km (186 miles) from Sofia in Bulgaria, and 240 km (149 miles) from Skopje in the Republic of North Macedonia. Its food and drink combines elements of native Greek cooking, Middle Eastern cuisine, and influences from various southern European nations.
Thessaloniki Market
Thessaloniki Street Food
Like all gastronomical centers, it isn’t only because of haute cuisine. Good food cities are also noted for good street food. In Thessaloniki this would include local specialities like koulouri (similar to bagels and topped with sesame seeds), or trigonaPanoramatos. These are decadent cream-filled pastries with various possible toppings and are hyper-local, as they come specifically from the Thessaloniki suburb of Panorama.
Or try bougatsa for breakfast, which can be savoury or sweet depending on your taste or mood – it’s basically a filo pastry pie that can be filled with feta or some other cheese, or with a sweet custard cream. Another local specialty is soutzoukakia. These are meatballs but more Middle Eastern than Italian, with spices like cumin and cinnamon adding a spiciness to the mix.
Thessaloniki Cuisine
Thessaloniki may not have the several Michelin-starred restaurants that Athens has, including the acclaimed two-star Spondi, but it can more than hold its own when it comes to classy, contemporary, gourmet cuisine. Likewise, its cocktail scene is a thriving one, and there has been a renaissance in the Ladadika quarter, where down-at-heel shops have been converted into restaurants and bars, both smart and casual.
The city’s historic Modiano Market is also getting a makeover, and while it won’t lose its traditional butchers and fishmongers, it’s being modernised and will add live music, food festivals and other events to bring it bouncing into the 21st century. This is where you’ll find all the best produce from the whole of Macedonia, one of Greece’s main food-producing regions. Look for deliciously sweet Florina red peppers, juicy Naoussa peaches, and olives from Halkidiki, showing that Kalamata isn’t the only place you can grow the best olives.
Thessaloniki Wine
In the last few years Greece has emerged as a leading wine destination, after previously being known for cheap table wines and the Greek speciality, retsina, which we love but not everyone develops a taste for. If you head southwest from Thessaloniki towards Athens, you’ll pass by some of the best wine-growing areas on the mainland.
Don’t let the fact that many Greek grape varieties are not known outside Greece and have strange names like malagousia and assyrtiko. Any decent wine waiter will be able to tell you which one tastes like a chardonnay or which like a cabernet sauvignon, so that you have a reference point. Don’t miss the unique opportunity to try good Greek wines that you won’t find elsewhere, some not even outside of Thessaloniki.
See Greece explains the long history of the Greek dish of dolmades, or stuffed vine leaves, which goes back to ancient Greece, and provides a recipe.
Dolmades
Dolmades, a popular Greek dish, have a surprisingly rich history that dates back to ancient times. These stuffed grape leaves, known as “dolmades” in Greek, are part of a broader family of dishes referred to as “dolma” or “dolmeh” in various Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Here’s a brief history of dolmades.
Dolmades with Beans
History of Dolmades
Ancient Roots: The concept of stuffing grape leaves and other vegetables can be traced back to the ancient Middle East, particularly in regions like Persia and the Levant. The technique of using vine leaves as wrappers became popular due to their abundance.
Greek Influence: Dolmades are a significant part of Greek cuisine. The Greek version of dolmades often features a filling of rice, herbs, and sometimes ground meat, although vegetarian versions are common. These delicious morsels have been enjoyed for centuries in Greece.
Ottoman Influence: During the Ottoman Empire’s rule over Greece, culinary exchanges occurred, leading to the incorporation of ingredients like rice and various spices into the dish. This Ottoman influence can be seen in many Greek dishes, including dolmades.
Variations: While the basic idea of dolmades involves grape leaves stuffed with a flavorful filling, there are numerous regional and personal variations. Some may use minced meat, while others prefer a vegetarian filling. The filling can include rice, herbs, onions, and spices, resulting in a delightful mix of flavors.
Grape Leaves to Make Dolmades
Recipe for Greek Dolmades:
Here’s a classic recipe for Greek Dolmades:
Ingredients:
50-60 grape leaves, blanched and stems removed
1 cup of rice
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup of fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup of fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
In a pot, heat half of the olive oil and sauté the chopped onion until translucent.
Add the rice and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring.
Add the dill, mint, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix well and let it cool.
Place a grape leaf flat on a work surface, shiny side down. Add a spoonful of the filling at the bottom of the leaf and fold the sides in, then roll it tightly into a small parcel.
Arrange the dolmades in a wide pan, seam side down. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and add enough water to cover them.
Place a heavy plate or lid on top of the dolmades to prevent them from unraveling during cooking.
Simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes or until the rice is tender and the grape leaves are soft.
Let them cool, then serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.
See Greece picks the best restaurants on Santorini, choosing the top gourmet and fine-dining eating places with some exclusive dining experiences.
Vinsanto Wine from Santorini
Whether you’re a die-hard foodie or a traveler seeking the finest dining experiences on your vacation, Santorini has got you covered. This beautiful Greek island in the Cyclades is home to some of the best restaurants that not only serve gourmet meals but also offer views to die for.
Ambrosia Restaurant Santorini
Our first stop is Ambrosia in Oia. Enjoying a reputation as one of the best gourmet dining establishments on the island, Ambrosia is known for its Mediterranean cuisine. It boasts dishes with a mix of international flavors and traditional ingredients, including good pasta and risotto dishes, and is comfortably positioned in a cosy environment with stunning caldera views.
Next, we recommend Selene in Pyrgos Kallistis. Since 1986, Selene has been a center of gastronomic delight on Santorini, offering visitors a culinary journey featuring local products and traditional cooking methods. The restaurant shares a home with a Santorini Gastronomy Center, which you can visit too, and they also offer wine tastings.
Then there’s the elegant 1800 Restaurant, also in Oia. Positioned in a restored mansion, this dining place boasts charming aesthetics, an art gallery, and a menu filled with flavorful Greek and Mediterranean dishes that highlight the tastes of Santorini. They have a lovely roof garden with great views.
Our journey takes us next to the Argo Restaurant in Fira. This restaurant promises an unforgettable dining experience anchored in a rich culinary tradition and a contemporary twist. Expect beautiful presentation, just as beautiful as the caldera views visible from the restaurant. You can also do tours with cookery lessons and wine tastings.
Don’t miss The Athenian House, in Imerovigli. This establishment emphasises bringing the sophistication of Athenian cuisine to the island. Their charismatic chef, Christoforos Peskias, creates emotional and unexpected flavors that you won’t soon forget. Don’t miss the Ouzo Sorbet!
Next on our list is the Lauda Restaurant in Oia. Established in 1971, Lauda is renowned for its innovative menu and stunning surroundings. The restaurant features a selection of locally grown products, which are used to prepare dishes inspired by contemporary Aegean cuisine. For a treat try their tasting menu which can be paired with wine, cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks.
Santorini wouldn’t be the same without Lycabettus, which is also in Oia. With its position on a cliff’s edge offering panoramic views, it serves up a delightful fusion of Greek and modern cuisine, making every mouthful a delightful exploration of taste and texture. The ultimate experience is the Sommelier’s Table, limited to one couple a night for a wine tasting and food pairing.
For those interested in pairing their meals with spectacular wines, Santo Wines Winery in Pyrgos runs a successful restaurant offering traditional Greek cuisine with their very own wines.
Back in Fira, we have Salt & Pepper. This small and intimate family-style restaurant makes the cut with innovative and delicious meals made from fresh local ingredients.
For those who love seafood, To Psaraki in the marina at Vlychada, could very well be one of the best places on the island. It combines traditional Greek recipes with fresh and locally-caught fish.
Each of the above restaurants stands out for different reasons – some for their views, others for their astonishing creativity. Still, the common thread that unites them is this: they demonstrate a deep appreciation for Santorini’s native ingredients and flavors.
Enjoying local dishes, prepared with skill and creativity while complementing the stunning vistas makes this gourmet dining experience a sensory delight in ways more than one.
And, for a truly memorable experience, why not enjoy a bottle of Santorini’s iconic white wine, Assyrtiko, with your meal? The crisp, refreshing notes of this local wine form a perfect pairing with the Mediterranean delicacies of the island.
So there we have it, a list of the best restaurants on Santorini, just for you. Happy dining! Bon Appetit! Or as the locals would say, ”Kali Orexi”.
Visiting Santorini wineries is a popular activity on this Greek island in the Cyclades, whose volcanic soil provides a distinctive terroir.
Sign for the Wine Museum on Santorini
Santorini Wineries: A Journey Through Volcanic Terroir and Ancient Traditions
Santorini, a jewel of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, is renowned for its breathtaking sunsets, whitewashed villages, and unique volcanic landscape. But beyond its iconic beauty lies a rich and deeply rooted winemaking tradition that has captivated people for millennia.
The island’s distinctive terroir, shaped by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption, has fostered a winemaking culture unlike any other, producing wines that are as singular and captivating as Santorini itself.
The Wine Museum on Santorini
A History of Winemaking on Santorini
The story of winemaking on Santorini dates back an astonishing 3,500 to 4,000 years, making it one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Minoan civilization, which flourished before the island’s massive eruption around 1600 BC, cultivated vines and produced wine. While the eruption buried the island in a thick layer of volcanic ash, effectively wiping out all life, the resilient vines were eventually replanted, and winemaking resumed, a testament to the island’s enduring viticultural spirit.
During the Middle Ages, particularly under Venetian rule from the 13th to 16th centuries, Santorini’s wine trade truly flourished. Venetian merchants introduced the island’s wines to European markets, where they quickly gained a reputation for their intense acidity, minerality, and remarkable aging potential.
The sweet, sun-dried wine known as Vinsanto became a particularly prized export, even serving as the official Eucharistic wine for the Russian Orthodox Church for a period. This historical significance speaks volumes about the quality and longevity of Santorini wines.
Picking Grapes at the Gavalas Winery on Santorini
One of the most remarkable aspects of Santorini’s wine history is its immunity to the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century. Unlike most of Europe, where vineyards were decimated by this vine louse, Santorini’s unique sandy, volcanic soils acted as a natural barrier, preventing the parasite from surviving. As a result, many of the vines on Santorini are ungrafted and centuries old, contributing to the unparalleled depth and complexity found in the island’s wines today. This ancient lineage gives Santorini an almost mythical quality in the wine world.
Traditional viticultural practices, such as the unique “kouloura” vine-training system, have been preserved and perfected over generations. This method involves weaving the vines into low-lying, wreath-like baskets on the ground, protecting the grapes from the island’s strong winds, scorching sun, and minimal rainfall, while also capturing the nocturnal sea mist for essential moisture. This ingenious adaptation to the harsh environment is a cornerstone of Santorini’s winemaking heritage.
Today, Santorini’s winemakers skillfully blend these ancient traditions with modern technology, producing world-class wines that continue to gain international recognition. The island’s dedication to its indigenous grape varieties and unique terroir ensures that Santorini remains a vital and fascinating region for wine enthusiasts.
The Wine Museum on Santorini
The Taste of Volcanic Earth: Typical Santorini Wines
Santorini’s wines are truly a reflection of their volcanic origin, offering a sensory experience unlike any other. The island’s unique soil, high temperatures, strong winds, and limited rainfall contribute to wines with distinctive characteristics.
Assyrtiko: This white grape variety is the undisputed queen of Santorini and accounts for the vast majority of the island’s vineyard plantings. Assyrtiko wines are celebrated for their bracingly high acidity, often described as “piercing” or “razor-sharp,” which gives them incredible freshness and longevity. They typically exhibit intense minerality, often evoking notes of wet stone, flint, and a distinctive salinity, a direct influence of the volcanic soil and sea air. Aromas lean towards citrus, particularly lemon and grapefruit, sometimes with hints of green apple or passionfruit.
While most Assyrtiko is fermented and aged in stainless steel to preserve its crispness and purity, some producers also create oaked versions, known as Nykteri. These barrel-aged Assyrtikos develop greater complexity, with notes of toasted nuts, honey, and a richer texture, while still retaining their signature acidity. Assyrtiko’s vibrant character makes it an ideal pairing for the island’s fresh seafood cuisine.
Nykteri: A Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) wine, Nykteri is a dry white wine made primarily from Assyrtiko grapes (at least 75%), often blended with smaller percentages of Athiri and Aidani. Traditionally, Nykteri grapes were harvested at night (hence “nykteri,” meaning “night” in Greek) to avoid the intense daytime heat.
These wines are typically aged in oak barrels for at least three months, resulting in a more full-bodied wine with a richer texture, heightened aromas of citrus peel and honey, and a longer, more complex finish.
Vinsanto: This naturally sweet dessert wine is arguably Santorini’s most famous and historically significant wine. Vinsanto (a name derived from “Vino di Santo” or “wine of Santorini”) is made from sun-dried grapes, primarily Assyrtiko, Athiri, and Aidani. After harvesting, the grapes are laid out in the sun for 7 to 15 days to dehydrate, concentrating their sugars and flavors.
The resulting must undergoes a slow fermentation, often lasting several months, and is then aged in oak barrels for a minimum of two years, though many Vinsantos are aged for significantly longer. The long aging process contributes to its characteristic amber color and complex aromas of dried fruits (apricot, fig, raisin), honey, caramel, coffee, and spices. Vinsanto offers a rich, velvety texture and a delightful balance of sweetness and acidity, making it a truly exceptional dessert wine, perfect for savoring on its own or with rich cheeses and desserts.
Athiri & Aidani: These are other indigenous white grape varieties found on Santorini. Athiri produces lighter, more aromatic white wines with floral and citrus notes, while Aidani contributes delicate floral aromas and a subtle sweetness. Both are often blended with Assyrtiko to add complexity and aromatic nuances to dry white wines.
Mavrotragano & Mandilaria: While Santorini is predominantly known for its white wines, there are also a few red varieties. Mavrotragano is a rare red grape gaining recognition for producing intensely colored, full-bodied wines with firm tannins and aromas of dark fruit, herbs, and spices. Mandilaria, another red grape, offers deep color and high tannins, often contributing to robust blends.
At the Hatzidakis Winery on Santorini
Uncorking the Experience: Booking Santorini Wine Tours
For any visitor to Santorini, a wine tour is an absolute must-do. It offers a unique opportunity to delve into the island’s liquid history, witness its distinctive viticultural practices at first hand, and, of course, taste the exceptional wines. Booking a wine tour in Santorini is straightforward, with a variety of options to suit different preferences and budgets.
Many tour operators specialize in wine experiences, offering both small-group and private tours. These typically include transportation to several wineries, guided tours of the vineyards and cellars, and multiple wine tastings, often paired with local cheeses, cured meats, and traditional Greek meze (appetizers). Some tours even incorporate a sunset viewing at a scenic caldera-edge winery, combining two of Santorini’s most iconic experiences.
The Wine Museum on Santorini
You can book wine tours online through various tour aggregation websites or directly on the websites of individual wineries. It’s advisable to book in advance, especially during the peak tourist season (May to September), as popular tours and wineries can fill up quickly. Many tour companies offer flexible booking options, including “book now, pay later” policies and free cancellation up to a certain point.
When booking, consider the duration of the tour, the number of wineries visited, the types of wines offered for tasting, and whether food pairings are included. Private tours offer more flexibility in terms of itinerary and pace, while small-group tours provide a social atmosphere and are generally more cost-effective. Don’t hesitate to check reviews and compare options to find the perfect Santorini wine adventure for you.
The Wine Museum on Santorini
Gems of the Vine: Main Santorini Wineries to Visit
If you want to go it alone, Santorini boasts an impressive collection of wineries, each with its own charm, history, and unique offerings. Here are some of the main wineries that are highly recommended for visitors:
Santo Wines: As the largest producer on the island, Santo Wines is a cooperative winery representing the majority of Santorini’s grape growers. Perched dramatically on the caldera cliffs in Pyrgos, it offers breathtaking panoramic views, especially at sunset.
Santo Wines provides a comprehensive tasting experience, showcasing a wide range of their PDO Santorini wines, including various Assyrtiko expressions and their renowned Vinsanto. Their facility is modern and well-equipped, with a restaurant that pairs local dishes with their wines.
Sigalas Winery on Santorini
Domaine Sigalas: Located in the northern part of the island near Oia, Domaine Sigalas is a boutique winery celebrated for its commitment to quality and innovation. Founded by Paris Sigalas, a pioneer in modern Santorini winemaking, the winery is known for its exceptional Assyrtiko wines, including single-vineyard expressions and oak-aged versions.
They also produce excellent Aidani and a highly regarded Vinsanto, as well as some excellent red wines from Mavrotragano. The winery offers a beautiful tasting room and often hosts food pairing experiences with local delicacies.
Estate Argyros: With a history dating back to 1903, Estate Argyros is one of the oldest and most respected wineries on the island, owning some of the oldest ungrafted vineyards. Located in Episkopi Gonia, the fourth generation of the Argyros family now runs the estate, focusing on crafting high-quality, age-worthy wines.
They are particularly renowned for their exquisite Vinsanto, which can be aged for many years, as well as their powerful and elegant dry Assyrtikos. Their new, modern winery provides a stunning backdrop for tasting their exceptional portfolio.
Venetsanos Winery on Santorini
Venetsanos Winery: Perched on a cliff overlooking the caldera in Megalochori, Venetsanos Winery holds the distinction of being Santorini’s first industrial winery, built in 1947. Its unique architectural design, built from the top down, allowed for gravity-flow winemaking long before it became a popular concept.
The winery offers fascinating historical tours of its subterranean cellars and provides stunning views during wine tastings, particularly at sunset. They produce a range of acclaimed white and red wines, blending tradition with a forward-thinking spirit.
Gaia Wines: Situated directly on the beach on the island’s eastern coast, Gaia Wines offers a unique “beach winery” experience. Housed in a renovated tomato processing plant, Gaia focuses on producing high-quality Assyrtiko, including their popular “Thalassitis” (meaning “from the sea”) and a “Wild Ferment” Assyrtiko. Their location allows visitors to enjoy wine tastings with the sound of the waves as a backdrop, and they also produce an excellent Vinsanto.
The Wine Museum on Santorini
A Journey through Time: The Koutsogiannopoulos Wine Museum
Nestled in a natural cave eight meters below ground, the Koutsogiannopoulos Wine Museum offers a fascinating and immersive journey into Santorini’s winemaking past. Located in the village of Vothonas, this unique museum is the creation of the Koutsogiannopoulos family, who have been making wine on the island for four generations, dating back to 1870. It took the family 21 years of meticulous work to excavate and transform this 300-meter-long labyrinthine cave into a captivating exhibit space.
The museum meticulously recreates the traditional winemaking process through a series of engaging dioramas and authentic artifacts, ranging from antiquated grape presses and distilling equipment to primitive bottling machines. Visitors are guided through the various stages of production, learning about the challenges and ingenuity involved in crafting wine on the island from the late 1600s to the mid-1900s.
The exhibits are accompanied by narratives and family records, deeply connecting the museum experience to the Koutsogiannopoulos family’s enduring story and their dedication to preserving Santorini’s winemaking heritage.
Beyond the historical displays, the museum also showcases how the Koutsogiannopoulos family has adapted modern technologies while maintaining the exceptional quality of their wines. A visit typically concludes with a wine tasting of the family’s current productions, including their renowned Assyrtiko, Vinsanto, and other local varieties.
The museum is open year-round, with extended hours during the peak season, and offers guided tours in multiple languages, making it accessible to a wide international audience. Pre-booking is recommended, especially during busy periods, to ensure availability.
The Koutsogiannopoulos Wine Museum is not just a collection of artifacts; it’s a living tribute to the ingenuity, perseverance, and passion that define Santorini’s extraordinary winemaking legacy. It offers a truly unique perspective on the island’s culture, enriching any visit to this remarkable Cycladic gem.
See Greece uncovers the best restaurants on Mykonos, choosing those gourmet restaurants known for their fine dining, and some with tasting menus.
Eva’s Garden Restaurant on Mykonos
Sumptuous dining experiences await visitors to the Greek island of Mykonos in the Cyclades, as it is home to some of the finest and top-quality gourmet restaurants. Food lovers who find themselves on this beautiful island are in for a culinary treat. Today, we’re here to share our list of the best restaurants on Mykonos.
The Chef at the Matsuhisa Restaurant on Mykonos
Best Restaurants on Mykonos
Our first stop is the renowned Matsuhisa Mykonos in the Belvedere Hotel in Mykonos Town. Celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s restaurant offers an exciting fusion of Japanese cuisine with Peruvian ingredients. Mykonos’ branch continues to uphold the reputation with an exquisite menu and stunning views of the Aegean Sea. Their signature black cod in miso is a must-try.
Next on our list, we have the acclaimed Interni, in Matogianni. This place is a mecca for both Greek food lovers and those seeking an opulent al fresco dining experience. Interni opened ahead of the crowd back in 2000 and features both conventional Greek dishes and modern interpretations, made with the freshest of local ingredients.
Another top-tier establishment is Remezzo, in Polikandrioti. It’s been an iconic destination since 1967 and is perfect for those who love gourmet dining and sophisticated cocktails. With stunning views of the old port, it provides an unforgettable dining experience. How about risotto with asparagus cream, roasted scallops, shrimps and shellfish?
For more fine Italian dining on Mykonos, look no further than Sale&Pepe, in Lakka, . Exceptional Italian cuisine is prepared with a modern twist, ensuring it leaves an unforgettable impression on diners. They have a range of fantastic pizzas, homemade pastas, risottos, and wonderful fresh seafood.
Sample Dish at the Koursaros Restaurant on Mykonos
Our list would be incomplete without mentioning Koursaros, in Meletopoulou. Known for its delicious seafood, its menu encompasses a wide range of Mediterranean seafood dishes, as well as some of the best sushi on the island. The ambiance of its lush garden adds a romantic touch to your night out.
Prepare for an enchanting dining experience at Eva’s Garden, located at Gouma Square in Kalogera. Serving Greek dishes, this place combines tradition and innovation to present flavoursome dishes in a unique rooftop garden setting. Some of the dishes sound simple – dolmades, spinach pie, moussaka – but you won’t find them done better anywhere, and there are more international offerings like penne with smoked salmon or chicken with cashews and soy sauce.
Next on our journey is Buddha-Bar Beach, based at the Santa Marina Resort, Ornos. Perfectly located by the sea, it serves innovative fusion cuisine, and their sushi and cocktails are noted for their flavourful twists. Try their green chicken curry with jasmine rice, or black pepper wok-fried beef.
We wrap up our list with Scorpios, also in Paraga. This well-designed beachfront eating place serves up local cuisine but with an international flair. Their tasting menus offer a variety of stunning dishes, and there’s always something happening here, including music and other events.
While exploring these gourmet eating places, keep in mind that dining in Greece is a leisurely affair. Allow yourself ample time to savour and enjoy the meal.
Don’t worry if you’re not a seafood lover. These fine dining establishments offer a wide selection of meats, poultry, and vegetarian dishes that are equally delicious.
While it’s not necessary to dress up for dinner, some of these establishments encourage smart-casual attire. So, it’s always worth checking before you go.
Don’t forget to make a reservation, especially during peak season. Many of these places are high in demand and might be fully booked.
If possible, plan to dine at sunset. The breathtaking view adds an extra touch of magic.
Consider trying local wines; Mykonos produces excellent wines that wonderfully complement your meal.
If you’re celebrating a special occasion, let the establishment know ahead of time. They often provide added touches to make your evening even more special.
Most of these fine dining places offer both a la carte and set menu options. For a complete culinary delight, consider opting for the tasting menus.
If you have any dietary restrictions or food allergies, let the restaurant staff know in advance. They’re typically very accommodating.
The dining prices in Mykonos may be on the higher side, but the combination of the picturesque views, the exceptional service, and the excellent food all add up to a truly unforgettable dining experience.
Make sure to leave room for desserts. Greek cuisine is famous for its sweet delights, and trust us, it’s worth trying!
In a nutshell, Mykonos is a food lover’s paradise where every diner can find something to satisfy their palate. “Kali Orexi” or as they say in French, “Bon Appétit!”
