Idaia Winery
“Idaia” is the first name of ancient Crete. This was the name of the mother of the ten Kouretes. Her husband Zeus, was the king of Crete. Zeus wanted to honour his wife, therefore he named the whole island “Idaia”. The company’s trademark is the daisy (Rodakas) with eight leaves which comes from the Faistos’ plate. The ancient Greeks used to believe that symbolizes the Sirius star. That emblem is often found in ancient Greek findings.
Idaia winery is located in Venerato, a charming village in the heart of the vineyards at the Malevizi district. It is a part of the appellation Dafnes area. Venerato is situated in one of the lowest hills of Psiloritis mountain. On the east side of the village there are rich vineyards and olive groves. Next to the vineyards there is the old monastery of the Virgin Mary. On the southeast an ancient river can be found with the name of Apollonas. On the south of the river, on a mound, there is a very old monastery of the Virgin Mary of Paliani, the feast day of which is on the 15th of August. In the center of the monastery there is a very old church, rich in archeological terms.
Venerato, as well as all the Malevizi region, was renowned for its famous sweet wines. During the Venetian rule times these famous wines were given the name Malvazia. They were exported, with ships that left from the Herakleion port, throughout the Mediterranean Sea. This area is rich in ancient and Roman winepresses, indicative of the strong presence of wine production in this area, since Minoan era until today.
Vasilis Laderos and Volitaki Calliope are couple not only in life, but also in the passion of creation wine ,are active oenologists since 1992 and 1997 respectively.
Idaia Winery was created in 1998 with a lot of love and knowledge about wine.
They share this love for wine, while promoting indigenous Cretan varieties because their first priority.
Their main vision is to put a small stone with hard work and respect for Cretan wine, as they connect their lives with this value.
Moreover , the care of the vineyards throughout the time ,aims to highlight the Cretan varieties and personality which give a unique identity to idaia’s wines.
The Idaia Winery has a 30-acre vineyard , additional is managed 40-acre vineyard with potential capacity of 90,000 bottles .Idaia wines are included in the PGI Crete and PDO Dafnes categories.
The 35% of idaia are exported to the USA, Germany, France, England, Poland every year.
In conclusion, Idaia Winery is a small family winery that loves and respects wine at the same time.
GRAPE VARIETIES
The production of wines derived from traditional local varieties such as Kotsifali, Liatiko, Mandilaria which are the red ones, and Vidiano, Vilana, Thrapsathiri which are the white ones. The company’s main philosophy is to highlight the quality of our local varieties on one hand, and create new combinations of the local varieties with European varieties such as Syrah, Grenache Rouge, Sauvignon etc. The calcium-rich, clayish soil of the vineyards, the very low yields, the special microclimate which is formed by the cool Aegean summer breeze compounds a unique land for viticulture and wine production.
