Archaeological research has identified amphorae made in Crete at many sites in the eastern Mediterranean, such as Paphos, Miletus, Samos, Tinos, Eretria, Athens and Piraeus, Corinth and Isthmia, Argos, Thebes, and Thassos.

Cretan wine was very popular with the Romans and Cretan amphorae found at various places throughout Europe, such as Marseilles, Strasbourg, Vindonissa-Switzerland, Lyon, in Vienna-Austria, Narbonne, Anse de Saint-Gervais, Fréjus. Some were even found in the Black Sea region, in Tropaeum Traiani at the mouth of the Danube.

The retaking of the Iberian peninsula by the Christians led to the establishment of the sea route from Italy to northern Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar.

In the second decade of the 14th century, the Venetians organised convoys of four to five ships to Flanders and England, where sweet Mediterranean wines became famous.

The conquest of Crete by the Ottomans in 1669 gradually limited the supply of sweet wines to the northern European market. The gap in the market was filled by the sweet malvasia wines from Madeira.

Wine transport was combined with convoys from Syria and Egypt, which stopped at Heraklion (Candia) to load products for Venice, Genoa, Marseilles, etc.

From there, wine was transported over land to Flanders, La Rochelle, and Bordeaux.

Ships crossed the Bosporus and reached the ports of the Danube, and from there the cargo/wines were transferred to Lviv. This city was a product distribution hub in eastern and central Europe. A study of the city’s Registry covering a period of 80 years in the 16th and 17th centuries, indicates that 32 Greeks settled there.

The products they traded included products from Crete, mainly wine. One of them, Konstantinos Korniachtos, a merchant from Heraklion, became prominent and his home has housed the Historical Museum of Lviv for about 120 years.

Cretan amphorae were also found along the Adriatic and on the Italian Peninsula. Many of them were found near Rome, since the sweet Cretan wine was very popular with Roman nobles. Locations include Durres-Albania, Rome, Ostia, Pozzuoli, Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabia, Sybaris, Porto Recanati, Cremona, Luni, and Milan.

Shipwrecks loaded with Cretan amphorae were also found in this area; in the bay of Saint Raphael, at the shipwreck near Pyrgi between Corsica and Italy, as well as at the wreck of Alberti in the Aeolian Islands in Sicily.

The Cretan Vineyard has a significant presence at one of the largest wine museums, la Cité du Vin, in Bordeaux.

This partnership started in 2016 and continues to this day. In this context, special events are organised for the region of Crete.

The presence of the Wines of Crete at the London Wine Fair in 2019, 2022, and 2023 was a resounding success.

Crete is now part of the international wine community and its presence at a trade hub such as London highlights how serious and competitive it is.

Naval missions with wine amphorae were sent to North Africa, where Cretan amphorae were found in Alexandria, El-Alamein, Taposiris Magna, Theiadelphia, Tebtunis, and Mons Claudianus. They were also sent to Carthage, Sabratah and Berenice of Cyrenaica.

The Cretan Vineyard has participated in the most important exhibition on Greek wine for the past 10 years. This exhibition is organised on an annual basis in Athens and all important wine production units of Greece are present. Crete is represented by many Cretan wineries and the Wines of Crete Network, with wines, leaflets, and brochures from all winemakers who cannot physically attend. Thus, all visitors, whether sector professionals or not, have the opportunity to get all the information they need without missing a single Cretan winery.

The OiNotika exhibition, the annual institution for Cretan wine on the island, relocated to Athens in 2016, with Cretan wineries now having established this annual meeting in the capital.

This action is a crucial step for Crete and the broader recognition of Cretan wine among businessmen and consumers of Athens and the surrounding areas

Cyprus is strategically located and is continuously developing its tourism product, having expanded its tourist season to cover the entire year, while also making significant investments in the sector of gastronomy.

The excellent living standards and the attraction of visitors of a high standard, as well as the increase of interest in gastronomy and wine, has drawn industry professionals to the island, creating the right conditions for organising wine fairs. At the same time, the culture and tradition of Cyprus is closely related to that of Crete. This fair has been organised since 2022.

The presence of the Wines of Crete at the ProWein International Wine Trade Fair (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023) has become an institution and, beyond that, it has become a model presentation of Wine Producing Regional Greece.

This trade fair is held in Düsseldorf, Germany, and the goal is to make professionals fully aware of Crete’s presence on the global wine map.

The Network of Cretan Winemakers, the Wines of Crete, is the entity which ensures the development and promotion of the Cretan vineyard. Thanks to the initiatives taken by the Wines of Crete during recent years, Cretan wines find the place which they deserve in the universal wine map whereas, simultaneously, the necessary conditions for Crete to become known as a significant wine destination are created.

Through the Wines of Crete network, Cretan wine travels worldwide, in trade fairs like Prowein (Düsseldorf, Germany), and London Wine Fair (London, United Kingdom).

Finally, the Wines of Crete network organizes training seminars abroad as well as trips to other worldwide wine-producing zones through the European ERASMUS program, aiming to exchange information, know-how etc.