Lyrarakis is a Greek winery that gained international recognition for reviving several nearly extinct grape varieties of Crete. The company has now been active on Crete for two generations. They make mainly 'single variety' wines from one grape, such as Plyto, Dafni and Melissaki - grapes almost no one had heard of until recently, but which are now being used again on Crete.
Lyrarakis was started in 1966 by the current winemaker's parents. Only at the start of the 1990s did Lyrarakis start making wines under its own name. Its vineyards lie at just over 500 meters altitude, about half an hour's drive from Heraklion in the middle of Crete. The family owns 14 hectares of rolling vineyards with gravel and shale in the soil. Crete's climate is dry and warm. Over time, a number of grape varieties have fully adapted to the climate, but by the end of the last century several of them were threatened with extinction.
It was precisely the Lyrarakis family who made an effort to prevent that. That's why they make wines from 'forgotten grapes' such as Plyto, Dafni, Melissaki, Mandelaria and Thrapsathiri. Naturally we love that at AndereWijn, which is why you'll find several of them in our range.
Lyrarakis doesn't only make wine from forgotten grapes, incidentally - they've also planted Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. If you're ever on Crete, be sure to get in touch with them, since they offer various excursions and tastings. We currently have four wines from Lyrarakis in our range. You can view all our wines from Lyrarakis here.
If you want to know more about this winery, here you will find the link to the website of Lyrarakis.
Orange wine (27) 
Fresh (90) 
Light (36) 
Rosé (14) 
Aromatic (22) 
Medium (98) 
Sparkling (27) 
Ripe (71) 
Full-bodied (99) 
