Crete wine festival 2011 – Rethymno

Unlike France and Italy, when you think of Greece, top quality fine wines do not immediately spring to mind.

Although in latter years, the wine industry has undergone a high profile resurrection in Greece, and is beginning to produce some top-notch mouth-watering wines that could even rival the likes of Italy, France and New Zealand.

The island of Crete accounts for 20 percent of Greek wine production, and local winemakers are increasingly becoming recognized by the wine industry in Greece and beyond, as the island begins to stamp its mark on the premium wine market. Having set the contemporary Cretan wine production scene straight, you may not be as surprised when we inform you about the wine festival which takes place in Rethymno each year.

In mid-June the city of Rethymno, rich in ancient history and clinging on to its old aristocratic veneer, gears up for a two-week celebration of Cretan wine.

For a small entrance fee, visitors can drink as much wine as they desire and enjoy a hedonistic time dancing to music under the strong mid-June sun.

Although to bring relief from the heat the island of Crete occurs in the summer, the Cretan Wine Festival is held in the coolness of the Municipal Garden in Rethymno town. Local producers pitch their products under the shade of the many trees in the garden and flaunt their top quality wine, as well as other local products such as olives, cheese and herbs, bringing much needed absorption to the lashings of wine rushing through the systems of the festival attendees.

Although wine is naturally consumed in abundance at the festival, the event provides a rich programme, including a big emphasis on traditional Greek, and particularly Cretan folklore music, with local and international bands entertaining a crowd of ‘slightly’ intoxicated visitors.

Despite its emphasis on wine, the whole family is welcomed to the festival, with many educational and entertaining activities for children being put on.

This highly popular and extremely ‘merry’ event highlights Crete’s interdependence of tourism with tradition, culture and local cuisine and produce, and is well worth a visit.

For more information on the Cretan Wine Festival and other events in Rethmymno, click here.