The Raki Distillery

Historical house which has been beautifully restored with private pool and traditional, physic garden in a rural setting

This is a fascinating 19^th Century Venetian house with a living history. It is set just above a small, traditional working distillery that still features the original copper funnel and boiler where the seeds, stems and peel from the grapes are distilled to produce the famous Cretan raki or ‘tsikoudia’ as it is known locally.

The house has been beautifully restored and many of the original features have been retained. A short flight of stone steps leads up to the main level. Here, there is a large farmhouse style kitchen with an original large farmhouse dining table seating 8 guests. The kitchen is really well-equipped and also aesthetically pleasing to the eye. To the right of the kitchen, a doorway leads to a lovely living room with traditional divan sofas set around an open fire-place. A wooden stairway leads up from the living area to a very romantic mezzanine level. This mezzanine level features a stunning old pine double bed which has been created out of an original loom for weaving.

On the living room/kitchen level there are two bedrooms: The first is one of the prettiest double bedrooms imagineable with its own ensuite bathroom with shower. The second is a beautifully decorated twin bedroom also with its own ensuite bathroom with bath and shower. Both bedrooms, and in fact all rooms throughout the house, have been exquisitely decorated using touches of traditional designs and fabrics but all in the very best of taste. The whole of this upper level has air-conditioning.

From the kitchen, a wooden staircase leads down to the lower level which has metre-thick stone walls and is cool even in the height of the summer. This area, with its cool constant temperature, would have been the place where the wine and raki would have been stored in former times. This has now been beautifully renovated and comprises of a large double bedroom with a small seating area and a bathroom with bath and shower. Doors lead from the bedroom out onto a terraced area shaded by thick stone arches.

Beyond the arches is a truly delightful walled garden. It has been laid out as a traditional style Mediterranean physic garden where all the plants and flowers have health-giving properties. The garden is full of thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, scented geraniums, roses, lavender, jasmine, chilles and sage punctuated by pomegranate trees, walnut trees and a vine-clad pergola dripping in luscious black grapes. Under the shade of a mulberry tree is a large outdoor dining area, and to the left of the garden is a small, private pool for cooling off in the hottest parts of the day.

A pathway through the garden leads down to the low stone and wood building that houses the distillery which is situated just above the country road. Across the road, is a wonderful organic vegetable garden full of seasonal vegetables of all kinds as well as a hen house. Guests are treated to fresh produce and eggs daily.

This is a fascinating 19^th Century Venetian house with a living history. It is set just above a small, traditional working distillery that still features the original copper funnel and boiler where the seeds, stems and peel from the grapes are distilled to produce the famous Cretan Raki or Tsikoudia as it is known locally.

The house has been beautifully restored and many of the original features have been retained.