Philema Food Tours Naxos - Agiou Georgiou

Είχαμε μια μοναδική, γεμάτη εμπειρίες ημέρα. Η Ελένη μας ξενάγησε και μας έδειξε πράγματα που δεν θα είχαμε ανακαλύψει μόνοι μας! Ευχαριστούμε πολύ!!

Manos is the best tour guide and driver in all of Greece. If you have an opportunity to experience your tour consider yourself one of the chosen ones. It will make your trip. I guarantee it. Gordie Bufton Author of The Connection Effect.

We booked the Cheese & Wine trails the first full day we arrived in Naxos and it was the best decision we could have made for the trip. It may seem a little pricey when you first book it if you don't know what to expect, but it was well worth it. Eleni, the owner, was so knowledgeable, courteous, and professional and really made our trip to the island one to remember. The entire experience far exceeded my expectations and I wish we could have done one of their tours each day we were there. They picked us up from our hotel which was nice because you get to try different wines and drinking and driving isn't even an option. The cheese farm owners spoke no English, so Eleni and Manos translated our entire visited -- which was impressive! We ate authentic Greek food straight from the farm and actually got to help make cheese (I thought we'd just be watching). At the winery, we got to try no less than 6 wines (and the pours are way more than a typical tasting so you actually get to taste the wine)! To give you an idea of what to bring/expect: when we toured the cheese farm and winery I brought my camera and wore flip flops + my husband brought a GoPro. These are locals and they don't mind photography!

Eleni created a full-day CUSTOM CHEESE and food tour for our family of 4: 2 parents, 1 child (age 8), 1 grandparent, and each stop was more exceptional than the next! We began the day visiting 6,000-year-old olive tree (perhaps the oldest in the world) and the spot had an almost mystical quality. Next we visited a cheesemaker farmer couple who create some of Naxos' best PDO cheese using traditional methods and had the pleasure of joining the process. Our daughter was enthralled with all of the adorable farm animals, playing on the covered porch swings, not to mention becoming absolutely smitten with the farm dog, Harry. We were also served a wonderful spread of homemade food, wine, and treats. At our second cheesemaking stop we experienced a different type of Naxos cheese being made and had a chance to see tools that have been passed down through the generations of a family. Naxos is an ideal place for bee keeping and we were able to get up close to a queen bee with glass enclosure protection followed by out-of-this-world honey splashed donuts and gooey sesame treats. Our final stop was with an organic olive oil producer in one of the most idyllic settings we have ever seen. We took a lovely stroll to follow a natural spring down stone terraces to a grove where we discovered a wood table laden with all the components to put together a rustic potato and olive salad feast. It was an incredible day and Eleni and her team are top notch!

Super sweet tour on Naxos. It was very late in the tourist season when we contacted this company. We got a very personal tour of some of the hidden gems on the island. One of my favorite stops was at a family farm that made cheese. We made cheese right in the family kitchen and had a fantastic lunch featuring their cheeses. Might of had a little wine, too. Made some other stops with a great tour guide that spoke perfect English. Had some laughs and asked many questions. Even got to see olives being crushed. I highly recommend this tour.

My husband and I took a half day wine and olive oil tour with Philema Food Tours, and had an incredible time. Eleni and Depy picked us up at our Airbnb and took us to an olive grove to meet Kostas and Stratos. There we learned about olive trees and harvesting olives. After the grove, we headed inside and got to tour Stratos’s state of the art olive oil press. We then sat down for an olive oil tasting/lunch with Kostas and Stratos. We learned how to taste olive oil, for instance when olive oil is fresh you should taste a spiciness in the back of your throat. We had a delicious salad with oranges, chives, olives and olive oil. We also got to try citrus infused olive oil over potatoes. We then drove to Konstantinos vineyard where we toured Konstantinos grapes, gardens and projects. Konstantinos showed us his grandfather’s garden and let us try herbs he picked out of the ground. Konstantinos passion and energy is truly remarkable. It was a pleasure to learn more about sustainable winemaking from him. After our tour of the vineyards and gardens we sat down to try wine. The wine was phenomenal, and each wine had its own story which Konstantinos shared with us. The wine was paired with two local cheese, olives and carrots Konstantinos had picked for us on our tour of the garden. We also got to try grape molasses and a try of liquor made out of grapes. Eleni’s knowledge and respect for Naxos and the artisans we got to visit made this a truly once and lifetime tour. Eleni and Depy were a delight to talk to, I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Naxos, it is well worth the money.

A custom Naxian food & wine pairing evening in a local vineyard, put together by Eleni and her business partner Konstantinos from the CAVA WINE - OINOCHOROS wine bar in Naxos town The occasion: A significant birthday for me! A group of 10, incl. older teens. This was a standout experience from my celebration of a significant birthday with family & close friends here in Naxos. Normally, such an experience is done at full moon, but the winds were too high then, so we were able to do it a few days later. Kostantinos was also gracious in working with my budget for the evening. The vineyard is called the Tranampelo Vineyard, near Glynado - Κτήμα Τρανάμπελο - and we learnt all the family history behind the site. Winegrower Konstantinos is a fount of knowledge, and guided us on a tour of the various plantings after a welcome glass of sparkling wine. We also got to see the original vines planted by his grandfather. Everything is as organic, biodynamic etc as possible. Herbs & plants which discourage pests are grown near the vines. And the majority of the vegetables & fruit came from the organic garden on site too! Plate after plate arrived to pair with different wines - natural, organic, unusual. The food quality & love gone into the preparation of each dish was only fantastic. And more than generous - the famous Greek hospitality in action! We even had to ask for takeaway boxes, and let me tell you, the Greek Dolmades (vine-leaf rolls) & Spanokopita (spinach pie) was utterly tasty next day too. Everyone said how special the experience was. It was also lovely to meet at a pick-up point and be taken by the Philema tours minivan up to the vineyard. Could not recommend this experience more if you are lucky enough to happen upon a time when Eleni & Konstantinos can put it together for you. If not, I have no doubt that Eleni's food or marble tour would be equally outstanding. And if you can't make that, you HAVE to pay a visit to Konstantinos' wine bar as mentioned above, where you might have the good fortune to run into his very distinguished-looking Chemist Dad - who of course brings that expertise to bear in the vineyard!