Olive Oil Tasting in Crete: Our Afternoon at Vassilakis Estate

I have dipped bread in olive oil my entire adult life. I have drizzled it, dressed with it and cooked with it. What I had never done, until one hot July afternoon in Crete, is sip it neat from a glass like a fine wine. Blame Natasha.

Natasha works at the Niko Seaside Resort in Agios Nikolaos, and when we asked her what we should do beyond the beach, she did not hesitate. Book the olive oil tasting at Vassilakis Estate, she said. So we did. Then we waited two days for our slot, getting more excited by the hour, which is a strange thing to admit about olive oil but here we are.

This post covers everything you need to know about olive oil tasting in Crete at Vassilakis Estate, from prices and how to find the right building, to the tasting method itself, the museum mill, and the shop that nearly finished off our cabin baggage allowance. As always, this experience was entirely self funded. We booked and paid ourselves, and every opinion is our own.

We booked the 2pm private tour at 45 euros each. Experiences at Vassilakis Estate start from 20 euros, so there is a price point for everyone, but Pam and I always choose private where we can. We like to ask questions, take our time and not feel like part of a herd. For an extra few euros, it is worth every cent.

The estate sits in the Mirambello Valley near the north east coast of Crete, about a 25 minute drive from Agios Nikolaos. We had a hire car and found it without drama. One tip though. When you arrive there are a few buildings and it is not immediately obvious where to go. We marched confidently into the factory first, which is not the check in. Head for the beautiful house with the chairs outside. That is where you check in and where the tasting itself happens. Everyone we accidentally interrupted was lovely about it and pointed us the right way, which set the tone for the whole afternoon.

Val, our host for the session, came down to greet us at the house and led us upstairs to an air conditioned tasting room. On a warm Cretan afternoon, those two words matter.

Waiting for us on the table was a mat with four small glass tasting bowls of olive oil, a plate of sliced apples and fresh bread. Pam and I exchanged a look that said everything. We had skipped lunch, half hoping there might be bread involved but not daring to assume, because nobody tells you to come hungry to an olive oil tasting. Consider this your official notice. Come hungry.

Before a drop was tasted, Val talked us through the story of the estate. The first Manolis Vassilakis built one of the first stone olive mills in the region back in 1865, and the family has been producing olive oil here ever since, with the fifth generation already learning the ropes. The groves around the estate include olive trees between 3,000 and 4,000 years old. Standing among that much history, with the Mirambello Valley stretching out around you, the 45 euros already felt like a bargain.

There were four oils in front of us, but that day we would be tasting three of the oils the family produces, VEe, Charisma and the Vassilakis Estate label, with the fourth kept back as a surprise. I am not telling you what the surprise is. It is one of the best moments of the tour and you deserve to experience it cold, like we did.

Val walked us through the tasting method step by step, and honestly, it felt like a wine tasting with better snacks. Here is how it works.

• Cup the glass in the palm of your hand and slowly roll it, like you would swirl a wine glass, for around 40 seconds. The warmth of your hands gently heats the oil and releases the aromas.
• Keep the small glass plate on top while you warm it. It traps every aroma inside.
• Hold the glass under your chin, lift the plate, and breathe in. The hit of olive oil is instant. Pam and I just looked at each other. It genuinely greets you in the face.
• Take a sip and draw it across your mouth with a little air, exactly as you would at a wine tasting.
• Eat a slice of apple between oils to cleanse your palate, so you can actually tell them apart.

The first thing that surprised us was the pepperiness. There is a warmth, almost a heat, at the back of the throat that you simply do not notice when olive oil is hiding under a salad. Sipping extra virgin olive oil neat was a first for both of us, and it completely changed how I think about something I use every single day.

The three oils are siblings rather than strangers. All were delicious, with some more peppery than others and small differences in taste. Val asked us to pick a favourite at the end. Pam went for the VEe. I chose the Vassilakis Estate label. But truthfully, if a bottle of any of them landed in my kitchen I would be thrilled. The quality speaks for itself, and the awards agree. The estate has been named Best Greek Olive Oil Producer and holds more than 20 international quality awards.

Then came the surprise fourth tasting, which I am still not telling you about. What I will say is that it turns the session from a lovely afternoon into a proper little education. You leave feeling like a bit of an extra virgin olive oil connoisseur, which is exactly the point.

With the formal tasting done, Val told us to enjoy the rest of the oils with the bread. Reader, we ate the entire plate. Pam and I had been living on bread and olive oil since we landed in Crete, so this was less a tasting and more a homecoming.

Then Val asked a question that stopped us both. Have you ever had extra virgin olive oil on a potato? We had not. We are butter on a jacket potato people, born and raised. So while we had been tasting, a lovely lady behind the counter had been quietly cooking potatoes, and out they came, hot and ready for the oil of our choice.

I expected a polite drizzle. What we got was a potato absolutely lathered in extra virgin olive oil, spilling over the sides, with Val cheerfully explaining that this is far better for you than butter, so you can have lots. Everything we were brought up to believe about fat and butter and arteries briefly flashed before our eyes, and then we ate every last bite. It was delicious. I have not looked at a jacket potato the same way since.

After the tasting, Val took us around the estate itself, starting with the original 1865 stone mill, now kept as a museum. This is where an animal, most likely a donkey, would walk in slow circles turning the great stone wheels that crushed the olives, with the oil running off to the side. It is a beautiful, humbling piece of machinery and we took plenty of photographs. When you consider the same family went from that stone wheel to the modern facility next door, the scale of the story really lands.

From there we walked round to the bottling side of the operation. We visited in July, just before the schools broke up, and with harvest season still months away the bottling lines were quiet, but Val talked us through how everything is bottled on site and pointed out the awards along the way. Here is the fact that stayed with me. Around 90 percent of the extra virgin olive oil produced at Vassilakis Estate is exported, with only 10 percent staying in Greece. The world clearly knows something good when it tastes it.

The tour ends, dangerously, in the shop, where you can try more or less everything the estate makes. We went straight for the balsamics, because Pam and I have always been olive oil and balsamic people. There were three to try. A honey and thyme balsamic, an orange balsamic, and a carob syrup, made from the carob fruit that grows here in Crete.

The carob was the revelation. It tastes a little like chocolate, a little like molasses, and it is rich in magnesium. Val told us some people take a spoonful each morning to set them up for the day, and, brilliantly for us, it is dog friendly. Pam bought a bottle on the spot. The orange balsamic was a close second, syrupy and delicious, while the honey and thyme was the one we had been most excited about but liked least. That is the joy of tasting before you buy. Everyone will leave with a different favourite.

We also tried the estate honey, their olives, their own limoncello, a glass of local wine and even some of the olive based skincare samples. Then we did what any sensible person does and bought a few products, because how could we not? If you are travelling cabin bag only, do not panic. They sell 100ml mini bottles, so there are no excuses. And if you fall properly in love, the estate has a delivery service and will ship your order home for you.

We visited with Daisy, of Crazy Daisy Travels fame, and I suspect she may be the first dog ever to attend an extra virgin olive oil tasting. Not only was she welcome, but while we were in the factory a member of the Vassilakis family came over specially to say hello to her. If you have ever seen Daisy, you will understand. She is quite possibly the cutest dog you will ever set eyes on. It was a small moment, but it made us feel genuinely looked after, and it says a lot about how this family runs their estate.

From the workers who kindly redirected two lost British women out of their factory, to Val guiding us through every aroma, to the lady quietly cooking our potatoes, every single person we met was warm and generous with their time. Val came out to wave us off at the end, and we sat outside with a couple of drinks before leaving, in no rush at all. Nothing felt scripted. It felt like being welcomed into someone else’s family story for an afternoon, which, of course, is exactly what it is.

• Food lovers who want to understand what they are actually eating, not just buy a pretty bottle
• Couples and friends looking for something to do in Crete beyond the beach
• Dog owners, because Daisy gives it her full approval
• Anyone staying in or near Agios Nikolaos with a hire car and a spare afternoon
• Foodie gift hunters, thanks to the minis, balsamics, carob syrup and shipping service

An olive oil tasting in Crete might not be the first thing on your list, and that is exactly why it should be. For 45 euros each we got a private session with a brilliant host, three award winning oils, a genuine education, a surprise I refuse to spoil, a museum, a factory tour, the best dressed potato of my life and a shop we are still talking about. The whole experience runs on five generations of family pride, and you can taste it.

If you are anywhere near Agios Nikolaos, hire a car, book a slot at Vassilakis Estate and come hungry. Thank us later. And thank you, Natasha.

Experiences start from 20 euros per person. We booked the private tasting at 45 euros each, which included a guided tasting of three extra virgin olive oils, bread, apples, a surprise fourth tasting, freshly cooked potatoes with olive oil and a full tour of the mill and bottling facility.

The estate is in the Mirambello Valley near the north east coast of Crete, around a 25 minute drive from Agios Nikolaos. We hired a car and found it easily. When you arrive, head for the house with the chairs outside to check in, not the factory buildings.

Yes. We brought Daisy with us and she was made a fuss of by everyone, including a member of the Vassilakis family who came over specially to say hello during our tour.

On our visit we tasted three of the estate oils, VEe, Charisma and the Vassilakis Estate label, followed by a surprise fourth tasting. All are award winning extra virgin olive oils produced on site, and around 90 percent of production is exported around the world.

Yes. The shop sells full size bottles, cabin friendly 100ml minis, balsamic vinegars, carob syrup, honey, olives, limoncello and olive based cosmetics, and the estate offers a delivery service so you can ship your order home.