Manousakis Winery Tsikoudia

Our Tsikoudia is a distillate from the marc, or pumace, of our Roussanne grapes. Tsikoudia has a long standing history here in Crete and is used not only as an aperitif, but also for it’s therapeutic powers that locals believe it has. Traditionally, most households produce this strong spirit and enjoy it either at room temperature or directly from the freezer.

You will hear Tsikoudia being referred to as Raki on the eastern part of Crete. In the Chania area, it is almost always referred to as Tsikoudia which comes from the word tsikouda, meaning grape pumace.
To this day, the tradition of making Tsikoudia is a big event in any village. Normally, the entire village gets together, each family bringing their grape pumace and distilling it all night long, sometimes non-stop for a few days depending on harvest quantities.

Here at the winery, we have been making Tsikoudia for decades but will be releasing it under our own label for the first time in November 2015.

The packaging of our Tsikoudia is inspired by old style pharmaceutical bottles and the idea that it is this mysterious liquid that has been more or less a local secret for thousands of years. You see the minotaur planting his labyrinthine vineyard, wearing his traditional Cretan costume, having a great time.Some Details…

Tsikoudia, distillate from the marc of Roussane grapes
Variety: Roussanne
Soil: Schist, sandy clay loamy
Altitude: 320-600 meters (1050-1950ft)
Vineyard pruning and trailing: Goblet and Vertical Shoot Position, trained in either double cordon Royat or Guyot simple.
Harvest: August 15th to August 25th
Distillation : Single distillation of grape marc in copper stills with plateau
Vintages:
2014 (3.200 bottles of 500 mL)