Alexakis Winery Guided Tour & Wine Tasting in Crete

Alexakis Winery is a family business. It was founded by Stelios Alexakis, a Chemical Engineer-Oenologist, and Sofia Alexaki in the 1970s. From its early days, the winery has remained a true family endeavour, now continued by their sons, Lazaros and Apostolos Alexakis, both trained oenologists — Lazaros at the University of Florence and Apostolos at California State University, Fresno — who are actively involved in production, marketing and the winery’s ongoing evolution.

Alexakis Winery is the largest private winery in Crete , equipped with modern facilities and significant production capacity. The company not only produces its own acclaimed label wines but also services other leading Greek wine producers, with a storage capacity of up to 16 million litres.

For decades, the winery has been collaborating with grape growers across Crete, especially in the Heraklion region, on a contract-farming basis, building long-term relationships and gaining deep knowledge of the island’s viticultural diversity. This close engagement with growers and terroir enables Alexakis to select vineyards with distinct character for each grape variety vinified, including indigenous Cretan varietals such as Vidiano, Vilana, Kotsifali, Mandilari, Assyrtiko and more.

Winery Tour and Wine Tasting

• Crete’s Largest Private Winery Tour: Explore the Alexakis Winery facilities and learn about 50 years of family oenological expertise — from the Chemical Engineer father who founded it to the internationally trained sons who are taking it forward.
• Cretan Variety Portfolio: Discover the full range of Cretan indigenous varieties that Alexakis cultivates and the winemaking philosophy — equal parts Florentine tradition and Californian innovation — that shapes each wine.
• Extended Wine Tasting: Taste the Alexakis range — including extended tasting options not available in standard visits — and experience the quality that has made the largest private Cretan winery one of the island’s most respected.

Alexakis wines have earned recognition both in Greece and internationally, with exports to markets such as the United States, Russia, and China, where the winery supplies both under its own label and through private-label arrangements.

Beyond winemaking, the estate also offers wine tours, tastings and educational programmes, welcoming visitors by arrangement and promoting Cretan wine culture under its motto “Celebrating Crete!”.