PDO ARCHANES

 The PDO Archanes zone, established in 1971, is located in the north-central part of
the regional unit of Heraklion and is the middle of the three consecutive PDO zones
in the area. To the east it borders the PDO Pezas and to the west the PDO Dafnes. It
covers areas in Archanes (Ano and Kato Archanes, Vathypetro, Karnari, Patsides),
Heraklion (Vasilies, Skalani) and Temenos (Agios Syllas, Prophet Elias). In this historic
land, a little south of Knossos, the PDO Archanes zone begins, which reaches south
to Vathypetro, where one of the oldest Minoan wine presses was discovered. The
central point is the sacred hill of Giuchtas (811 m.), an important monument of
antiquity. Although the zone does not have the size and fame of Peza, its red wines
stand out for their special characteristics, mainly due to the increased presence of
the Mandilaria variety, which differentiates the style from the neighboring PDO Peza.