We are just back from the 2020 wine fair in Platanias, near Chania. We are so excited by the additions to our wine list that we just had to write about them! We’ve not even finished constructing the list! But here are some new finds that we are certain to include in our Panokosmos Wines for 2020. Wines of Crete organise this event every year and its a great experience.
At last, a good Cretan sparkling wine!
First of all, at last a really good Cretan dry sparkling wine. This is from Douloufakis, a winery south of Iraklion, and the current offering is vintage 2016. Its made by the traditional champagne process, with second fermentation in the bottle in 2017. Its matured in the bottle and was released last year. We’ve been offering a Greek champagne from the mainland, but have struggled to find a good Cretan version. It’s a difficult process to get right, but Nikos Douloufakis has done it!
Best red wines in Crete?!
We continue to be impressed by the quality of the red wines from Daskalakis.
Mother and daughter are key figures here, creating the most splendid wines, with vintages going back to 2012.
This year we will be offering the magnificent Enstikto (means “instinct”). Its a deep red wine, with heady aromas, a blend of the local Kotsifali with the noble Syrah. This is so deep, full of dark plummy fruit, with a peppery aftertaste that seems to last for ever!
More young talent in the Wines Business
A new find for us is the Klados winery near Rethymno. This family run winery was started by Manolis, an oeneologist, in 1997. 10 years later they were able to upgrade to modern wine making technology.
As Stelios told us, they specialise in the famous Rethymnian Vidiano grape variety. We have selected their “Great Hawk”, a blend of Vidiano and the perfumed floral Muscat grape. With these two grapes they have produced a beautiful citrus nosed fresh and fruity wine with good body.
A lovely new winery to visit in the Rethymnon area
Its great for us to be able to introduce Kourkoulou Winery, a new winery started by brother and sister. Meanwhile the vines are looked after by their father.
This is within easy driving distance of Panokosmos. Including a visit to this winery…
…we have created a lovely day drive to the Amari valley taking in the Potamos dam and Taverna Aravanes in Thronos. With only 30 minutes on the red grape skins, they’ve produced a delightful delicate orange-pink rosé. This makes a light and refreshing drink on warm summer evenings.
And we are hoping that their Liatiko will make one of our easy drinking reds. Its not yet bottled but showing great promise. For red wine lovers its sometimes difficult to find wines which fit with the hot summer days of the Mediterranean. But with this Liatiko, or perhaps the vintage but still light Kotsifali/Liatiko blend from Daskalakis, we hope to satisfy this need.
What a range of wines to try!
So we are still presenting 9 of the 33 wineries on the island of Crete, and offering 25 different wines!
Its ridiculous really for such a small establishment to offer such a wide range, but we find it so hard to whittle down the great choices. And we believe we are absolutely unique on the island (and probably in Greece!) in offering all these wines by the glass. So our guests can try out the different offerings in the privacy and intimacy of Panokosmos.
And we look after our wines with vacuvin storage and refrigeration, besides which most open bottles don’t last long with ourselves and our guests being active imbibers!
Panokosmos: the place to try Cretan wines…
To sample the Panokosmos wines for 2020, and for a very special holiday, come to Panokosmos and experience the luxury of a first class hotel, the intimacy of a private villa, with the atmosphere of staying with friends! It will be a holiday you will never forget!