Scalarea Estate (Boutari Winery Crete), Heraklion

Many thanks to Marios and Katerina who kindly introduced me the quality products of Boutari and the estate even though I did not have a reservation and came off-season. Wonderful view on surroundings, olive trees and vineyards, accessible by car.

Beautiful modern winery, amongst the rolling hills of Olive trees and Vineyards. The wine was very good and the staff knowledgeable, informative, and pleasant.

Great place and tour. Our guide Georgia spoke fluent English and was knowledgeable and nice. The tour consists of the explanations in the grounds (the vineyard and winery are in an old Cretian estate), the fermentation vats and the first aging stage (all other stages including bottling are done in other sites of the company); a 20-minute video about the history of Cretian wine and the winery, and wine tasting. The tour is 1 hour long. Our tasting included 3 wines: a local white, a non-local red and a local wine liqueur. They then gave us a local red too. The local wines are excellent and interesting (I am no wine buff). For 5€ per person I consider this excellent value. The area itself with the vineyards and olive groves on the rolling hills is lovely.

Exclusive winery! We got a private tour for 20€ per person. Afterwards there was a tasting of three different wines with a fabulous view. What surprised us a lot: included in the price was a plate full of Cretan delicacies that really filled you up! The Boutari winery is really worth a trip!

Enjoyed a short tour and a wine tasting. A variety of white and red still wines. Not all to my personal taste, but some of the reds were very good. Nice modern visitor centre.