Day 1 Spiritual Wine tasting and Chania City Walk
Today we start our exploration with a wine tour at Tsagarolon Monastery. This beautiful and serene monastery is situated on a sloping hill just ten miles from Chania. We’ll get a glimpse into daily life in Ancient Crete as we explore the remains of a village and parts of a Minoan house. The museum offers further exploration of the site and archaeological artifacts. At the end of our full-day Chania and Agia Monastery tour, we will leave each other with a better understanding of the history and geography of this stunning area. We will have ventured across both the urban and rural sides of the region and soaked up the sights and sounds relevant to Crete’s historical narrative. The Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Tzagarolon is one of the most important Monasteries with a rich contribution to the history and culture of the island. The Monastery was built at the end of the Venetian domination in Crete (1632) by the brothers Ieremia and Lavrentios Tzagaroloi who hailed from a large Venetian-Cretan family. From the past to the present, the Monastery farms organic olive and vine cultivation and produces fine wine, organic extra virgin olive oil, traditional tsikoudia, pure thyme honey and unique balsamic vinegars combined with thyme honey or fresh orange. In the basement of the Monastery, where in the past was the olive oil mill, there is a folk museum where one can admire a large collection of old objects and agricultural tools. The old mill and the screw press used to extract the olive oil are also preserved in this area. In this space anyone can taste all the fine products of the Monastery and admire the imposing wine cellar. After discovering, through a journey in time, history and taste, the visitor can buy the Monastery’s products in the traditional store. Τhe Monastery cultivates 17 hectares of vineyards. Among the wines the local variety of Romeiko is singular with its special white dry, red dry and sweet wine. The varieties of Trebbiano, Muscat of Alexandria, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have adapted to the microclimate of the area and give a unique collection of 11 different wines. You can combine your visit to the historic Monastery with a tour of vineyards and olive groves and complete your journey with a wine tasting in an area dedicated to wine tastings. Short city-walk in the Venetian port of Chania.
