Lyrarakis & Titakis Wine Tour from Heraklion: 10 tastings & lunch

Taste rare Cretan wines at two family wineries, then sit down to a home-cooked lunch in a village courtyard.

A half-day wine tour from Heraklion Prefecture visits Lyrarakis and Titakis, two family-run wineries in Crete's Peza Valley, where you taste 10 wines made from indigenous grape varieties, walk through vineyards and cellars, and explore a working olive mill. The day ends with a traditional Cretan lunch in Archanes, served at a family table with local wine and raki. Groups stay under five travelers per vehicle.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit wineries and enjoy Cretan lunch

• Tour Titakis Winery and taste 5 wines
• Visit local olive mill and taste oils
• Explore Lyrarakis Winery and taste wines
• Enjoy traditional Cretan lunch in Archanes

The experience

Titakis Winery sits in an urban industrial space called FABRIKA, where you walk past imposing tanks and old winemaking machines that trace the family's history from the 1950s onward. The tasting covers five wines, and you visit the Vineyard Garden where all the famous Cretan grape varieties grow. Between the two wineries, you step into a local olive mill to watch olives transform into extra virgin oil using both traditional stone presses and modern methods. You taste different varieties on local bread with oregano, the simplest and most direct way to know what the oil is.

Lyrarakis sits in the Cretan hills of Alagni village and has preserved rare indigenous grapes like Dafni and Plyto since 1966, varieties that had nearly disappeared. You walk the vineyard with mountain views, explore the cellar, and taste unique wines paired with Cretan rusks and local olive oil. The five wines here complete the ten-wine tasting across both stops. Lunch happens in Ano Archanes, tucked into narrow lanes at a family table with no sign and no menu. Just the smell of slow-cooked lamb, stuffed vegetables, and wild greens. You sit under vines or next to a warm oven and eat dishes made with seasonal produce and olive oil from the village, wine poured freely throughout the meal.

The tour runs 7.5 hours and includes round-trip transfers from Heraklion Prefecture in an air-conditioned vehicle. Groups stay small: up to four travelers per vehicle, or a minivan for larger parties. Bottled water, all fees and taxes, and raki are included alongside the lunch and wine. A live English-speaking guide leads both wineries. The minimum age is 18.

What’s included

• Wine tasting of 10 indigenous wines.
• bottled water.
• all fees and taxes.
• small-group transport in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• visits to two family-run wineries.
• olive mill experience.
• traditional Cretan lunch with local delicacies, wine and raki included.

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to SaturdayDeparts at 11:00

Book up to2h before

AgesAdult (18 and older) · Under 18: can't be booked

GroupUp to 7

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by Heraklion Wine Tours

Is this one for you?The tour leaves from Heraklion Prefecture with pickup included, so you don't need a rental car or a taxi to reach the wineries: the group travels together in one vehicle. This works well if you're staying in the city or elsewhere in the prefecture and want to spend a half-day tasting without managing the drive yourself.

Traveler reviews

5.00★★★★★★★★★★

4 verified traveler reviews

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What grape varieties will I taste at Lyrarakis and Titakis?

Lyrarakis specializes in rare indigenous Cretan grapes like Dafni and Plyto that the family has preserved since 1966. Titakis grows all the famous Cretan varieties in its Vineyard Garden and blends native grapes with selected international ones. The ten wines across both stops showcase this mix of heritage and modern winemaking.

How does the olive mill visit work?

You step into a local mill to watch olives transform into extra virgin oil using both traditional stone presses and modern methods. You taste different oil varieties on local bread with oregano, experiencing the craft directly without narration. Just the smell, the warmth, and the taste of the process itself.

What is the lunch like in Archanes?

Lunch sits at a family table in Ano Archanes with no sign or printed menu, just home-cooked Cretan dishes made from seasonal produce and village olive oil. You eat slow-cooked lamb, stuffed vegetables, and wild greens, with wine and raki poured throughout the meal, sitting under vines or beside a warm oven the way locals do.

Do I need to arrange my own transport from Heraklion?

No. Round-trip transfers from Heraklion Prefecture are included. You travel in an air-conditioned vehicle with up to four other travelers, or in a minivan if your group is larger.

How many wines will I taste across both wineries?

You taste ten wines in total: five at Titakis during the FABRIKA tour and vineyard visit, and five at Lyrarakis paired with Cretan rusks and local olive oil.