Dafnes Village

Dafnes is a proud Cretan village in Iraklion prefecture, surrounded by other villages Veneráto, Avgenikí, Kerásia and Síva. The dimos local government is Palianí Παλιανή, named after the nunnery on the outskirts of Venerato.

The village sits along a ridgeline looking over the foothills of Mt Psiloritis, surrounded by gently sloping valleys. It is an agricultural centre busy producing sultanas, grapes, wine, spirits, vegetables and olive oil.

The name comes from daphni which means laurel. This is a tree that was growing in the chapel of the village.

The village sits just up from the national road with access to both Iraklio and the thriving agricultural valley of Messara. The village has been on the trade routes of the island for many years. Since the 13th century it has been known for its dafniano wine.

Today the famous red wine VQPRD ‘Dafnes’ is produced by the Agricultural Cooperative of Iraklion, from liatiko variety.

The hub of village life is the kafenion, of which there are plenty in Dafnes. The central plateia is shaded by beautiful large eucalyptus trees, and ringed by cafés and kafenia. On one side of the plateia is the small church of Agia Zoni Agios Nikolaos, a beautiful rough stone church dating from 1685.

As a centre for winemaking, the region has a few different wineries including Douloufakis and Vergitsis wineries. See our wine page about the wine grown here. The industry suffered in the mid 80s with the phylloxera virus, forcing winemakers to plant American rootstock. This initial problem has proved a long-term gain for Cretan wine, as a wider range of varietals are now grown all over the island, resulting in tasty modern wines.

The village and the whole region celebrates in a week-long wine festival. This year the festival runs from 29 June to 8 July 2007. There is plenty of Cretan music, dancing and wine drinking to enjoy.

A nearby gorge forms part of the European walking path E4.

See our page about nearby village of Kerasia for more descriptions of the area, and our food page which relishes village life, foods and rhythms.

Close by are the other wine regions of Peza and Archanes, and of course the ancient Minoan site of Knossos.

To the south by the national road lies the town of Mires. It is easy to reach this town in the centre of the Messara plain within a one hour drive, and close to it are the historic sites of Festos and Gortys.

Also within driving distance is the leafy mountain village of Zaros, with fresh mountain trout a specialty at tavernas.

Dafnes is a truly authentic Cretan village.