Wine Tasting & Food in Zourida Gorge, Crete: 8 Wines, 8 Courses

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Free cancellationExcellent qualityLikely to sell out

1/17

Duration4h

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Eight wines and eight dishes where most visitors see only crowds

A wine tasting and food experience in Crete's Zourida Gorge pairs eight Greek wines of the highest quality with an eight-course Cretan feast made entirely from locally sourced organic ingredients. You taste and eat on a stone-built balcony inside the gorge while a guide explains local winemaking methods and traditional cooking. Groups stay under 14 people.

The Experience

Eight wines and eight courses unfold over four hours on a stone balcony built into Zourida Gorge, a secluded corner of Rethymno that most visitors never reach. The wines come from across Greece—native varieties chosen to stand out from the rest—and each one arrives with a Cretan dish cooked on the spot with 100% organic, locally sourced ingredients. The menu moves through aged cheeses, smoked cured pork, vine leaf rolls, hand-rolled pasta with mushrooms and pork, lamb simmered for four hours, fried zucchini with graviera, and flatbread stuffed with soft cheese and thyme honey. Nothing is plated ahead of time; the food cooks as you taste, so the heat and the flavors arrive together.

A guide walks through the winemaking heritage behind each pour and explains the traditional methods that built Cretan cooking—how the olive oil, the herbs, the slow-cooking times and the organic sourcing shape what lands on your plate. The gorge itself frames the whole thing: the stone walls, the light, the quiet that comes from being away from the crowded sites. Groups cap at 14 people, so the balcony never feels packed and the guide can move at a pace that lets questions land.

Water and soft drinks come with the tasting; the wines are the focus. Two Cretan spirits round out the 10 wine labels you taste across the afternoon. Wear comfortable shoes for the walk to the balcony, and bring an appetite—the eight courses are substantial and meant to be eaten, not sampled.

What’s included

Eight Greek wines and two Cretan spirits.
nine traditional Cretan dishes cooked on the spot with locally sourced 100% organic ingredients (aged cheeses, smoked cured pork, vine leaf rolls, hand-rolled pasta, lamb, flatbread, fried zucchini, and dakos).
bottled water and soft drinks.
tutored explanation of ancient Cretan cooking methods and local winemaking heritage.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by The Secret Gorge - Restaurant & Wine Tasting Experience

Is this one for you?Book this if you want a guided tasting paired with live cooking: an English-speaking guide walks you through Greece's winemaking heritage and ancient Cretan techniques while eight wines and nine dishes are prepared on a gorge-side balcony.