Manousakis Winery Shuttle Service Tour and Taste

Take a miss on this tour

Pretty marginal if you have ever visited a winery. Not worth the time or money. Basically a very expensive wine tasting

Response from the operator: Dear Rose, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry the experience did not meet your expectations. This product is specifically offered as a winery shuttle service and tasting experience, including hotel pickup/drop-off and transportation by our driver-escort, followed by the winery visit and tasting conducted by the winery’s own team. We understand that experienced winery visitors may be looking for a more extensive or educational wine experience. The winery program and tasting are organised directly by our winery partner, and we will certainly share your feedback with them. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you on one of our other Uncharted Escapes experiences around Greece. Kind regards, Manos Malaxianakis Uncharted Escapes – Tours Beyond the Ordinary

via Viator

Avoid – unless “rush, rush, rush” is your idea of a wine tasting

Small things matter. Unfortunately, during our visit, almost every small thing went wrong — and together they made for a very disappointing experience. Our visit was supposed to start at a certain time, but the previous group had apparently overrun. We ended up waiting outside for around 30 minutes. Naturally, our own visit was then shortened by roughly the same amount of time. We got a very quick walk-through of the production facilities before being rushed into a tavern-style room for the tasting. And that’s where the real fun began. As a couple, we were given the smallest table right by the entrance. The floor was uneven, so the table wobbled, and we had to rearrange our glasses just to create enough space. The service was equally rushed. While pouring the white wine, the waitress managed to drop some wine on my wife’s dress. I also noticed that my tasting glass had significantly less wine than everyone else’s. I wasn’t particularly bothered by it, but my wife asked if I could have the same amount as the others. The waiter explained, with a grin, that my amount was correct because this was a tasting, not an opportunity to get drunk. He then poured the same amount as everyone else and sarcastically added that “a happy client is important.” At that point, the comment did more damage than the missing wine ever could. The “wine presentation” itself was extremely basic. A bottle was held up, a few flavours and grapes were mentioned, and then it was on to the next one. No real interaction, no questions about what aromas or flavours we could detect, no explanation of how to taste the wine, no discussion of the wine’s characteristics. Just pour, explain, move on. Rush, rush, rush. And then came the smell. For reasons unknown, the main entrance door was left fully open. A strong sewer-like smell filled the room where we were sitting. This also seemed to invite an army of flies to join our tasting. We spent a considerable part of the experience trying to keep flies away from our cheese platter. Nothing says “premium wine tasting” quite like defending your cheese from flies while breathing in a sewer smell. Overall, this felt more like a rushed tourist stop than a genuine wine-tasting experience. Perhaps our group simply caught them on a particularly bad day, but unfortunately, we can only review the experience we actually had. If you are looking for a professional, relaxed and educational wine tasting, I would spend your money elsewhere.

Response from the operator: Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed feedback. We are genuinely sorry that your experience at the winery did not meet your expectations. We would like to clarify that CHQ07 is operated by Uncharted Escapes as a shuttle and tasting experience. Our responsibility covers the booking process, hotel pickup and return transportation, and our driver-escort service. The winery visit, wine presentation, tasting, facilities and service within the winery are organised and delivered directly by the winery’s own team. Nevertheless, Manousakis Winery is our cooperating partner, and therefore we take your comments seriously. The issues you describe regarding the delay, rushed presentation, table arrangement, wine service, staff interaction, flies and unpleasant smell are certainly not the experience we want our guests to have. We will forward your detailed feedback to the winery and request that these points are reviewed and appropriate corrective actions are taken. From your review, we understand that there were no issues with the Uncharted Escapes booking, pickup, transportation or driver-escort service, and we are sorry that the winery portion ultimately affected your overall impression of the experience. We sincerely hope we have the opportunity to welcome you again on one of our own excursions in Crete or elsewhere in Greece and demonstrate the level of service and guest experience that Uncharted Escapes strives to provide. Kind regards, Manos Malaxianakis Uncharted Escapes – Tours Beyond the Ordinary

via Tripadvisor

Honeymoon in Greece

Manolis was an excellent driver through that rough terrain on Crete. He shared a lot of history and information during the drive. At the winery, everyone was welcoming and the tour was incredibly informative. The tasting and lunch were to die for!

via Tripadvisor

Good fun cheese / wine tour

Great short half day trip, good value small group of 6 adults and had a great driver that looked after us and was fun and entertaining. Tour was just long enough for me with good wine tasting and we ordered a cheese board for two that would have fed 4! Just order some bread to go with it as it is Just cheese on the board. Highly recommend tour …good fun!

via Viator

Highly recommended

Absolutely fantastic - we booked this as an anniversary experience and were not disappointed. From pick up, we felt welcomed and very looked after. The winery itself was gorgeous, a lovely location and so special to see a different side of Crete on the journey up. Very friendly staff. Lovely wines and food. It’s worth noting the actual vineyards are 5km away, but the site itself is lovely and well worth a visit despite this. Special shout out to our driver, Spiros, he was amazing - we had great chats with him on both legs of the journey, he gave some great recommendations in the area and was overall outstanding. As we were also quite early he took us on some scenic detours and pointed out some lovely areas including churches and ancient olive trees which was appreciated, and he shared a great knowledge of the are and its history. I’m also a nervous passenger and get easily motion sick, and even after a wine tasting felt safe and secure in his car. Highly recommended!

via Tripadvisor