“Taste the Cretan terroir and its wines”
2 Day Unique Wine Tour and Cretan Rusk Making in Heraklion, Crete
Heraklion, Crete
Wonderful Culinary Holiday Greece
A trip into the Cretan Vineyard and a gastronomical workshop for bread and rusks! Are you a cooking, nature, and wine lover? Then, this trip is designed for you! Discover the secrets of the Cretan wines and enter into the magic world of bread making on a two days trip. What treasures does the Cretan land hide that you can discover by participating in this interactive two-day trip? In these two days, you will get in touch with the history and culture of winemaking and you will sense the aromas of indigenous wines. You will also feel the warmth of the Cretan hospitality where a Cretan mum and a specialist in agroecology invite you to the magic world of traditional paximadi (rusk). The aim is to connect the ritual of bread making with the modern lifestyle, in the context of historical continuity from the Stone Age until nowadays.
Meet the instructors
Stella, Christina, & Ioannis
Highlights
- Initiation in the vine cultivation theme in a wine-tasting room
- Visiting an oenologist's vineyard and getting involved in the seasonal field-works
- Visit ancient wine presses, pass from olive groves and beautiful rural landscapes in a lovely hike
- Tasting of Cretan wines accompanied with paximadi and cheese
- Learn about cereals, understand sourdough
- Knead your own bread/risk and bake your dough
- Daily delicious breakfast and lunch
- 1 night accommodation
2 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: French
Group size: 2-12 participants
Airport transfer available:
Heraklion International Airport (Nikos Kazantzakis Airport) (US$ 39 per person)
Heraklion International Airport (Nikos Kazantzakis Airport) (US$ 39 per person)
Accommodation
During this retreat, you will be staying at a boutique hotel in Heraklion, just by the old Venetian port.
Program
Schedule
Day 1
How many secrets are actually hidden in the grape and in the cultivation of the vine?
A glass of wine includes the aroma of the fluorescence of the vine and the herbs which grow on its borders, the taste of the ripe grape that the picker tastes before throwing it in the bucket, the sound of the viticulturer’s steps, and the pickers’ laughs, the touch on the shoots which is either soft or violent, the sight which is lost in the extended green (canopy) and calms the spirit.
The wine is a result of senses but is as well enjoyed with them. Each of the senses has its own role; sight corresponds to the color, smell to the aromas, taste to the flavors, the touch to the mouthfeel, but what about hearing?
In the ‘secret aromas of wine’, the term ‘terroir’ is hidden, which corresponds to the soil, climate, cultivation, and personality factors, that make a wine unique, meaning with identity.
Provisional program
Initiation in the theme in the wine tasting room which is located at the entrance of the village. Visiting the Venetian or Minoan wine presses in an 1h30' hike and getting involved in the cultivation of a traditional Cretan vineyard. The participants are going back to the tasting room where a tasting of Cretan wines accompanied by paximadi and cheese will be provided. The trip ends with a meal consisting of local specialties.
- 09:30 - 17:30 Houdetsi village - walks around the fields - wine tasting
- Starting location for guiding: Houdetsi village
- Return location: Houdetsi village
- Distance of trekking/walking: 5 km
Day 2
In this gastronomical workshop you will have the chance to:
Learn about cereals
Species and local varieties, their characteristics, their evolution, and course through time. You will grind some local seeds to make a part of the flour you will use for the bread while discussing on several products and the benefits of grinding cereals at home.
Understand sourdough
What exactly is this smelly thing? The way to start a sourdough and how to maintain it, how it helps in bread-making, other ways to make the bread rise in comparison with sourdough, and its benefits for our health.
Knead your own bread / rusk
A mystical and purifying procedure. You experiment by discussing the little secrets of good kneading and shaping, which boost the rising of our bread. The shaping depends on the type of bread products you want to have.
Bake your dough
After letting it rest for a while in the shape you want, you will put it in the oven, electric for smaller quantities, or wooden oven for larger, and take our precious bread. The second baking required to get the Cretan rusk called “paximadi”, will be described thoroughly, but it will be made by the team after the end of the workshop, as it takes a long time. You will engage to get your rusks to you before you leave Crete.
Taste the local cuisine
While the bread is rising, you will take a taste of the Cretan cuisine, a cuisine simple but not simplistic, full of colors, aromas, and vivid, yet distinct, tastes. Simple creations of minimum effort with pure local ingredients smells that make you travel, and unique tastes in danger of disappearing through time. All the above will be accompanied by warm, fresh-baked bread.
- 09:30 - 15:00 Skalani - gastronomical workshop
Provisional program
- Breakfast
- Cooking class
- Lunch in a traditional Cretan house with a tree garden
- Distance covered by car: 13 kilometers
Important note
Adults and Children
Tours are mainly addressed to adults and children above the age of 17. However, due to variations between the different themes, it is always preferable to contact with us, for examining the adaptability of the trip you have chosen, to the child's presence.
- Children up to 3 are travelling for free, as long as they share the same room with the parents
- Children from 4 to 8 have a discount of 25%
- Children from 9 to 12 have a discount of 20%
Please contact Petassos Travel for more information.
Location
This culinary holiday takes place in two villages located 10 and 20 kilometers away from Heraklion for your wine-tasting and gastronomy workshop. Crete is a very mountainous island, with an extremely diversified landscape and ground relief, which makes it very interesting and endless. There, new discoveries and exploration never end.
The great advantage of Crete is the possibility to visit very different areas in a very short time from the forest to the desert, from the big mountains to the fascinating sea, isolated but also cosmopolitan villages and busy cities, ancient sites with at least 6000 years of history, and modern technological centers full of institutions and universities.
Food
During this retreat, you will be served a delicious breakfast at the hotel and Cretan cuisine lunch at both workshops. Please note that the dishes you will prepare are based on seasonal products and might change from one season to the next. If there is a special product you would like to taste or get to know, please inform Petassos Travel in advance. Please mention if you have any allergies or intolerance to any food.
Day 1
- Breakfast
- Wine tasting of 5 local high-quality wines in a special wine-tasting room
- Local delicacies to accompany the wine tasting
- Picnic in nature
- Water (1 liter)
Day 2
- Breakfast
- Lunch in a traditional Cretan house with a tree garden
- Coffee or tea
- Fresh orange juice or home-made lemonade
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea
- Alcoholic beverages
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
- Other dietary requirements on request
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- 1 night accommodation
- Experienced oenologist and a local cook
- Thematic booklet
- Wine tasting of 5 local high-quality wines in a special wine tasting room
- Local delicacies to accompany the wine tasting
- Picnic in nature
- Water (1 lt), coffee, tea, or fresh orange juice/homemade lemonade
- Third-Party Liability
- Taxes
- Cooking class
- Lunch in a traditional Cretan house with a tree garden
- Ingredients for the workshop
What's not included
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
- Personal expenses and tips
- Anything not mentioned above
How to get there
Recommended Airports
HER
Heraklion International Airport (Nikos Kazantzakis Airport)
4 km
Transfer available for additional US$ 39 per person
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Heraklion International Airport (HER). Transfer from this airport is available for an additional cost of 35 EUR. The meeting point will be at Heraklion City. You will be transferred in an air-conditioned minibus of 9 seats or 4X4 cars. The transfer begins from a central location in Heraklion City. Participants who stay outside Heraklion City should come on their own to the meeting point.
Airport: Heraklion International Airport (Nikos Kazantzakis Airport)
Airport transfer available:
Heraklion International Airport (Nikos Kazantzakis Airport) (US$ 39 per person)
Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 50% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.
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