There is no better country to go to and have food and wine tastings as Greek culture is intertwined with tasty and healthy food as well as delicious wine to accompany it. Below we have hand picked the most fun and fulfilling tastings at various destinations in Greece that will leave your taste buds satisfied.
Minoan cooking class by the beach, Crete
Your day starts with a scenic drive to the East of Elounda, reaching the Minoan island of Mochlos. The excavations on Mochlos brought to light a plethora of unique findings, Minoan shrines, workshops and a pre-palatial cemetery. The island had become a magnet and center for new industries, including the manufacture of gold jewelry, stone vases and faience 4,000 years ago. On the beach, an Archaeologist will introduce you to the Minoan cuisine around the hearth fire. Your culinary adventure will proceed, with you making Minoan-style lentils in ceramic pots on the hearth, make and bake pita flavored with herbs or dried fruits. You will enjoy the fresh food you cooked along with some starters, right on the spot. After your meal, you will be provided with Minoan-style ceramic pots, designs, the colors of paint and you just learn, paint and enjoy your time! You can also take home the vessels you painted as a nice little memorabilia.
Food and wine pairing, Athens
Discover the Greek wine culture and sample some of the finest Greek wines paired with a high quality 5-course dinner, designed by an executive Wine Specialist. You will learn all about the indigenous Greek grape varieties and the components that make them so unique and you will taste their differences. During this experience you will have the opportunity to enjoy a high quality 5-course dinner while tasting 5 different wines. The wines are carefully paired with specially designed menus that allow their unparalleled qualities to shine. This unique culinary experience combines creative Greek cuisine, fine Greek wines and a deep culinary knowledge all in a high quality and relaxed environment.
Sightseeing and cooking class, Santorini
First stop on your sightseeing and cooking class excursion is Megalochori village, one of the most picturesque villages on the island, whose existence is recorded back to the 17th century. Admire the historical mansions, the old traditional houses, the pirate hideaways and learn about the exciting history of merchants and wealthy land barons that used to run the place. Grab a seat at a traditional cafe and enjoy a Greek coffee accompanied with a mastic submarine, one of Greece’s most simple, yet wonderful desserts! Next stop is Emporio, the largest traditional settlement on the island. View the stunning old windmills on the hillside, the narrow whitewashed alleyways, the iconic blue domed churches and the ruined medieval castle. A unique landscape full of scenes, waiting to be captured with your camera lenses! Final stop is the Nomikos Estate, where you will learn about the unique products that grow only in the arid Santorinian soil, the salty climate and the warm Mediterranean sun. Witness the life cycle of Santorinian tomatoes, caper, fava beans and Santonuts from the production into the package and indulge in their tasting! The tour ends in the most creative way! Take part in a cooking class and learn to cook traditional Santorinian recipes under the guidance of a professional chef. Have your lunch and the dessert while enjoying the majestic view!
Food and culture, Thessaloniki
Start by meeting your host. Begin the day by tasting a few starters to open up your appetite for later. Have conversations about local life and traditions (food or other) along the way! Walk around parts of town that only locals are familiar with, see how people live their daily life and get a real feel of Thessaloniki. Have some appetizers and beverages to go along. Visit the open market; see how residents shop for food and other necessities. Add flavor to this experience by having a few more delicacies. Complete your tour with a tummy full of tasty treats and wonderful memories.
Cooking class, Chios
Kampos is located only 5 kilometers south of Chios Town and you can easily access it on the local southbound bus route. Once you get to Kampos you will make your way to the Mansion as you have been instructed upon booking, where you will be greeted by your host/hostess for the evening. After you’ve had a moment to catch your breath and meet the rest of your group, you will roll your sleeves up and get cooking! Following your hostess’ instructions, you will make five mouthwatering Greek dishes! Time to taste the fruit of your labor – the food is ready! You will sit in the garden for a lovely dinner, and enjoy food, wine and conversation with your fellow foodies!
George Koletsos is Co-Founder of Kudos Life Experiences. Kudos Life Experiences is a custom-designed private travel specialist to Greece, for the discerning and sophisticated traveler who is seeking to return to the authentic form of personal discovery and explore really life-enriching travel experiences.If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.
George Koletsos is the Founder and CEO of Kudos Life Experiences.
Kudos Life Experiences is a bespoke luxury travel specialist, delivering life-enriching journeys that can deeply touch the soul of the sophisticated traveller, through a selective offer of authentic experiences that most people are unaware they could discover. In doing so, we create and deliver unique travel stories, we uncover and provide handpicked accommodation, and we are proud of our insiders extraordinary service, always preserving the highest standards of privacy and execution that set us apart. Prior to Kudos, George has served as the Secretary General of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).
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9 Comments
There are a lot of wines in the world and I’m finding it difficult to know what to drink with what. I enjoy wine and am beginning to move on beyond the “white wine with fish and red wine with meat” stage. It would be great to go to Athens and do the food and wine pairing experience. I’ve done similar things before and it is surprising to see what the experts come up with. Last week I did a similar experience in Denmark and a sparkling French Rose, not too sweet, was the best dessert wine that I have ever had.
The fact that Greek’s national dish is the meze, a succession of wonderful small dishes, says it all. The country is so blessed with natural resources that they don’t just have one national dish they have a whole host of them. Nowadays everyone’s obsessed with tapas but the Greeks have been doing it tastily for centuries. Definitely a country to visit for its abundance of both great foods and great wines.
The Minoan Cookery Course sounds absolutely brilliant. What I like about it is how authentic it is with an archaeologist there to give you all the historical background. I think too often nowadays we over complicate and over think so much of our food preparation.
Being able to take home the Minoan Ceramic pots would be a very unique souvenir. I would love to do a Minoan meal for my friends when I get back home.
I’ve always wanted to make it to Santorini, been wanting to get there for now three decades. Doing the Cookery class would be a very special way of getting to know the place, it’s food and it’s people.
Sometimes you can be spoilt for choice! Next time I visit Greece, one of my favourite early summer haunts before it gets too hot, I must remember this post and organise us to do some of these great activities.
This post is exactly what I needed! I’ve been a fan of food and wine tastings since the first time I got to experience it in Napa. It’s been so long since I had a tasting because I spend most of my time doing long hours of paperwork and such. In 5 days, I’ll be leaving the country and I’ll say hello to Athens again. A relaxing vacation around Greece will surely reset my spirit. Hoping to find these tastings around.
I definitely find the food in Greece superb. There’s a lot of great restaurants in Oia. I once ate at Petrosia which is run by a generations of the family. I particularly like the Souvlaki. But the amazing thing was the view! The restaurant overlooks the volcano, it was a sight to behold. I haven’t tried cooking classes though, and it looks quite interesting.
Great to see a number of cooking classes amongst the recommendations. I think that the days of aimlessly wandering round on holiday are fading. Lots of my friends want more dynamic travel where they talk to the local people and take part in their way of life. I’ve done cookery courses and they are great ice-breakers. Soon you’re chatting with your teacher about all sorts of things, though usually the conversation quickly returns to food and drink.
I worked at a Greek restaurant when I was a younger lad. And to this day I still think that Greek food is some of the best on the planet. I’m half Italian too! I love the way their different pastas mix with a Mediterranean style of olives, peppers, etc. Souflaki, tzatziki. I just love Greek food so this would be incredible.
Food and wine pairing, Athens
Discover the Greek wine culture and sample some of the finest Greek wines paired with a high quality 5-course dinner, designed by an executive Wine Specialist. You will learn all about the indigenous Greek grape varieties and the components that make them so unique and you will taste their differences. During this experience you will have the opportunity to enjoy a high quality 5-course dinner while tasting 5 different wines. The wines are carefully paired with specially designed menus that allow their unparalleled qualities to shine. This unique culinary experience combines creative Greek cuisine, fine Greek wines and a deep culinary knowledge all in a high quality and relaxed environment.
Food and wine pairing, Athens
Discover the Greek wine culture and sample some of the finest Greek wines paired with a high quality 5-course dinner, designed by an executive Wine Specialist. You will learn all about the indigenous Greek grape varieties and the components that make them so unique and you will taste their differences. During this experience you will have the opportunity to enjoy a high quality 5-course dinner while tasting 5 different wines. The wines are carefully paired with specially designed menus that allow their unparalleled qualities to shine. This unique culinary experience combines creative Greek cuisine, fine Greek wines and a deep culinary knowledge all in a high quality and relaxed environment.
Sightseeing and cooking class, Santorini
First stop on your sightseeing and cooking class excursion is Megalochori village, one of the most picturesque villages on the island, whose existence is recorded back to the 17th century. Admire the historical mansions, the old traditional houses, the pirate hideaways and learn about the exciting history of merchants and wealthy land barons that used to run the place. Grab a seat at a traditional cafe and enjoy a Greek coffee accompanied with a mastic submarine, one of Greece’s most simple, yet wonderful desserts! Next stop is Emporio, the largest traditional settlement on the island. View the stunning old windmills on the hillside, the narrow whitewashed alleyways, the iconic blue domed churches and the ruined medieval castle. A unique landscape full of scenes, waiting to be captured with your camera lenses! Final stop is the Nomikos Estate, where you will learn about the unique products that grow only in the arid Santorinian soil, the salty climate and the warm Mediterranean sun. Witness the life cycle of Santorinian tomatoes, caper, fava beans and Santonuts from the production into the package and indulge in their tasting! The tour ends in the most creative way! Take part in a cooking class and learn to cook traditional Santorinian recipes under the guidance of a professional chef. Have your lunch and the dessert while enjoying the majestic view!
Food and culture, Thessaloniki
Start by meeting your host. Begin the day by tasting a few starters to open up your appetite for later. Have conversations about local life and traditions (food or other) along the way! Walk around parts of town that only locals are familiar with, see how people live their daily life and get a real feel of Thessaloniki. Have some appetizers and beverages to go along. Visit the open market; see how residents shop for food and other necessities. Add flavor to this experience by having a few more delicacies. Complete your tour with a tummy full of tasty treats and wonderful memories.
Cooking class, Chios
Kampos is located only 5 kilometers south of Chios Town and you can easily access it on the local southbound bus route. Once you get to Kampos you will make your way to the Mansion as you have been instructed upon booking, where you will be greeted by your host/hostess for the evening. After you’ve had a moment to catch your breath and meet the rest of your group, you will roll your sleeves up and get cooking! Following your hostess’ instructions, you will make five mouthwatering Greek dishes! Time to taste the fruit of your labor – the food is ready! You will sit in the garden for a lovely dinner, and enjoy food, wine and conversation with your fellow foodies!
George Koletsos is Co-Founder of Kudos Life Experiences. Kudos Life Experiences is a custom-designed private travel specialist to Greece, for the discerning and sophisticated traveler who is seeking to return to the authentic form of personal discovery and explore really life-enriching travel experiences.
If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.
There are a lot of wines in the world and I’m finding it difficult to know what to drink with what. I enjoy wine and am beginning to move on beyond the “white wine with fish and red wine with meat” stage. It would be great to go to Athens and do the food and wine pairing experience. I’ve done similar things before and it is surprising to see what the experts come up with. Last week I did a similar experience in Denmark and a sparkling French Rose, not too sweet, was the best dessert wine that I have ever had.
The fact that Greek’s national dish is the meze, a succession of wonderful small dishes, says it all. The country is so blessed with natural resources that they don’t just have one national dish they have a whole host of them. Nowadays everyone’s obsessed with tapas but the Greeks have been doing it tastily for centuries. Definitely a country to visit for its abundance of both great foods and great wines.
The Minoan Cookery Course sounds absolutely brilliant. What I like about it is how authentic it is with an archaeologist there to give you all the historical background. I think too often nowadays we over complicate and over think so much of our food preparation.
Being able to take home the Minoan Ceramic pots would be a very unique souvenir. I would love to do a Minoan meal for my friends when I get back home.
I’ve always wanted to make it to Santorini, been wanting to get there for now three decades. Doing the Cookery class would be a very special way of getting to know the place, it’s food and it’s people.
Sometimes you can be spoilt for choice! Next time I visit Greece, one of my favourite early summer haunts before it gets too hot, I must remember this post and organise us to do some of these great activities.
This post is exactly what I needed! I’ve been a fan of food and wine tastings since the first time I got to experience it in Napa. It’s been so long since I had a tasting because I spend most of my time doing long hours of paperwork and such. In 5 days, I’ll be leaving the country and I’ll say hello to Athens again. A relaxing vacation around Greece will surely reset my spirit. Hoping to find these tastings around.
I definitely find the food in Greece superb. There’s a lot of great restaurants in Oia. I once ate at Petrosia which is run by a generations of the family. I particularly like the Souvlaki. But the amazing thing was the view! The restaurant overlooks the volcano, it was a sight to behold. I haven’t tried cooking classes though, and it looks quite interesting.
Great to see a number of cooking classes amongst the recommendations. I think that the days of aimlessly wandering round on holiday are fading. Lots of my friends want more dynamic travel where they talk to the local people and take part in their way of life. I’ve done cookery courses and they are great ice-breakers. Soon you’re chatting with your teacher about all sorts of things, though usually the conversation quickly returns to food and drink.
I worked at a Greek restaurant when I was a younger lad. And to this day I still think that Greek food is some of the best on the planet. I’m half Italian too! I love the way their different pastas mix with a Mediterranean style of olives, peppers, etc. Souflaki, tzatziki. I just love Greek food so this would be incredible.