Wine Tasting at Callinico Winery — Zakynthos in a Glass

Most visitors to Zakynthos know the olive oil. Almost none know the wine. This is partly geographical — the Ionian islands don’t have the visibility of the Peloponnese or Crete in the Greek wine world — and partly historical: the 1953 earthquake destroyed many of the old estates and disrupted the viticulture that had flourished here under Venetian rule.

What has survived — and quietly thrived — is a wine culture of genuine interest, centred on grape varieties found nowhere else and a style of winemaking that reflects the island’s particular combination of limestone soils, sea winds, and high sunshine hours.

Callinico is one of the estates worth understanding this through.

The Winery

Callinico is a family-run estate in the Vasilikos peninsula, the green tongue of land that forms the southeastern tip of Zakynthos and is most commonly known (and undervalued) for its relative quiet and lack of development compared to Laganas Bay.

The estate occupies about 12 hectares of vine, planted primarily with:

Pavlos — the dominant indigenous red grape of Zakynthos, producing wines of medium body with characteristic dried herb and dark fruit character. This grape is found almost exclusively on Zakynthos and a few other Ionian islands.

Goustolidi — a white indigenous variety, more aromatic than Pavlos, with apple and citrus notes and natural high acidity.

Verdea — the most distinctive and unusual wine of the island, made from a blend of indigenous white varieties that are vinified in an oxidative style, producing a wine of golden colour, nutty-saline character, and remarkable complexity. Verdea was widely made across the Ionian islands in Venetian times; it is now produced in tiny quantities by a handful of estates.

The Tasting

Tastings are held in the estate’s stone building, a 19th-century structure that survived the 1953 earthquake (one of few in the area). The tasting room opens directly onto a terrace overlooking the vineyards, with the Ionian Sea visible on clear days.

A standard tasting covers four wines with accompanying antipasti: local olives, cured meats from the mainland, and the estate’s own olive oil. The format is informal — no rigid presentation, questions welcome, the family member hosting typically speaks enough English for full conversation.

For serious interest, ask about a barrel tasting. The estate ages its Verdea in small oak barrels in the cellar below the tasting room — visiting the cellar and tasting directly from barrel is possible when arranged in advance.

The Verdea

The Verdea deserves its own paragraph because it’s unlike anything most visitors have encountered. The oxidative vinification — exposure to air during ageing — develops flavours of almonds, dried apricot, and sea salt. It’s not a fresh, fruity wine and it’s not trying to be. Chilled, it makes a remarkable aperitif; at room temperature, it pairs with hard cheese and cured fish in a way few other wines do.

It’s also fragile — open bottles decline fast and should be consumed within a few days. Buy what you’ll drink.

Practical Details

Location: Vasilikos peninsula, southeast Zakynthos
Booking: Required — tastings are by appointment (contact via the estate website or telephone)
Hours: April–October; hours vary by season
Price: €15–25 per person including wines and antipasti; cellar tastings €35
Getting there: 25 km from Zakynthos Town; rental car recommended
Purchasing: Wine is available to buy at the estate; shipping to EU addresses possible for larger orders