Greece Mini Series: Crete with Alexandra Manousakis
Did you know that Crete is the largest Greek island? Or that it’s covered in mountains? How about that the Minoan civilization started making wine on Crete somewhere between 3000-1500 BCE? How amazing is that?!
Despite these early efforts, the historical legacy of wine production in Crete did not continue all of the way up to the present. After being conquered by various empires and people groups, Crete was taken over by the Turks and remained under their control until 1913 and the production of wine was forbidden, which meant that Crete fell behind in the winemaking process. In the 1990s, there was a revival of family-made wines, which dramatically helped with the quality of Cretan wines. The community of winemakers in Crete has a strong connection, especially through the work of Wines of Crete, which works to promote Cretan wines, foster cooperation among wineries in Crete, and encourage wine tourism in the region.
The two main white wines you should know from Crete are Vidiano and Vilana and the main red wines you should know from Crete are Kotsifali and Mandilaria. Vidiano is a full-bodied, white wine with creamy characteristics, often compared to Chardonnay. It can be a little more difficult to find in the U.S., but it’s gaining more popularity and attention. Vilana is considered the main white wine of Crete. It’s typically higher in alcohol, has spicy flavors, and is quite aromatic. Though these are two popular white wines from Crete, Crete is dominated more by red wines than white. Additionally, red blends are usually more common than single-variety grapes. Kostifali is a thinner-skinned grape variety, often with developed fruit characteristics and lower acid. It’s also often blended with Mandilaria because Mandilaria is deeper in color in tannin. It adds structure to a lot of the blends it’s in. Because of that, it is blended with lighter-skinned grapes to balance out the wine. Because Kostifali is a thinner-skinned grape, it makes a perfect balance between the two, though there can be other grapes besides Mandilaria that Kostifali is blended with.
Though these four indigenous grapes are very popular and you’ll be likely to find them on wine labels for Cretan wines, there are a lot of international varieties that are being grown in Crete or that are being blended with indigenous grapes. This diversity can be a little confusing for consumers, but it also adds a lot of excitement to exploring Cretan wines! There are so many kinds of wines and lots of wineries in Crete, which means there is something for everyone to love.
In Episode 116 of the Wine CEO Podcast, I interviewed Alexandra Manousakis, wine producer of Manousakis Winery, a winery her father started in 1993 on Crete. As I mentioned above, the 1990s were a revival of family-made wines and wineries in Crete and Manousakis Winery was part of this movement. In this interview, Alex and I talk about her journey to becoming a winemaker and how she learned more about wine in her 20s to be able to work at Manousakis Winery. Something interesting about Manousakis Winery is that they chose to grow French varieties of grapes in their vineyard. Later, they also planted Greek varieties, but the French varieties produced great wines for their winery. We discuss the different grapes and wines that are being grown and produced at Manousakis Winery.
We also talk about the sustainable practices of Manousakis Winery. Even back in 1993, Alex’s dad was very passionate about making sure that their grapes were organic. Additionally, the winery has other practices to be more sustainable, like growing their own vegetables for their tasting room and not printing paper brochures for tours of their winery.
One of my favorite things that we talked about, of course, was the food pairings at their tasting room! They feature a lot of Cretan favorites to go along with their wines: stuffed tomatoes and peppers, lamb, fava beans, and a delicious sounding “Cretan bruschetta” as Alex describes it. Once again, I was reminded that I need to put Crete at the top of my travel destinations so that I can try all of these delicious food and wine pairings where the ingredients are going to be the freshest and the food preparation authentic! This also led us to a discussion of the other products that are made at Manousakis Winery, such as Tsikoudia, similar to grappa, and also their own olive oil.
Alex’s work at the winery is not the only amazing part of her life, but she is also a restaurant manager, an artist, and a mom! You can hear more about all of those ventures (and get an adorable surprise visit from her daughter), along with more details about Crete and Manousakis Winery in Episode 116 of the Wine CEO Podcast. Make sure to subscribe to the Wine CEO Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts so that you don’t miss any of the upcoming episodes in this mini-series on Greece. Yamas!
All photos courtesy: Manousakis Winery