Manousakis Winery, Vatolakos, Crete

The winery was founded in 1983 when Ted Manousakis wanted to re-connect with his Cretan heritage. Fourteen years later, his daughter Alexandra returned to join the business too. The winery is the culmination of the father and daughter’s dream, to produce and share world-class wine in a place they love. Since Ted is neither an oenologist nor a viticulturist, he carefully selected an expert team of consultants, including Laurence Feraud, Pascal Marchand, and many others to conduct research. They concluded that the Mediterranean varieties of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Roussanne would grow best on the scent-filled terroir of the Lefka Ori Mountains of western Crete. Their production methods are motivated by a belief in organic farming: respecting the environment is crucial, along with being sensitive to the balance of the ecosystem and encouraging sustainable development. Their vineyard workers treat each vine by hand, with individual attention and care. Due to the variation of soil conditions, they practice customised farming and a ‘mosaic’ style of cultivation, which is necessary for uniform fruit ripeness and the production of great quality wines. The word ‘Nostos’ appearing on many of the labels translates as ‘a yearning to come home’ and this is at the heart of the Manousakis philosophy. As well as their Cretan wines, Manousakis also produce a traditional Cretan Tsikoudia, the local name for the grape marc spirit, from Roussanne.