Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Crete, large island to the south east of greece famous for the Minoan civilization (c.2000–1400 bc). Its wines were most famous in the Middle Ages when the island was known as Candia. Today the most important viticultural centre is the area south of Heraklion, although ambitious producers are also to be found around Chania in the west and Sitia in the east. See also malvasia, malmsey, naples, and venice.