Vilana

Vilana is the workhorse white of Crete and its most widely planted white grape, the backbone of everyday Cretan whites and of PDO Peza, where the white wine must be made entirely from it. It gives light, fresh, easy-drinking wines with lemon, orange and pear, a lift of jasmine and a herbal edge, best enjoyed young and cold.

From workhorse to quality white

Vilana's likely name origin, from the Latin villanus, meaning rustic or peasant, matches its history as a high-yielding table-wine grape. That heavy cropping is exactly what quality-focused growers now work against: grown at altitude on poor soils and picked at low yields, Vilana tightens up into something far more interesting than its reputation suggests. There are around six hundred hectares across the island, concentrated in Heraklion and Lasithi, with vineyards between three hundred and six hundred metres.

Genetically, the solid finding is its link to Vidiano; the 2023 Cretan study places the two together with a shared origin. A separately reported analysis describing Vilana as a natural cross of Albanello and an unknown parent circulates in the trade but is not something we can confirm from a primary study, so treat it as attributed rather than settled.

In the glass and at the table

Vilana is light-bodied with soft, moderate acidity and medium alcohol, a thirst-quenching white for grilled fish, seafood, salads, meze and fresh cheeses. Most is made for drinking within a couple of years, though some oak-aged versions reward a little more time. It is the classic PDO Peza white, and names like Douloufakis, Lyrarakis and Economou all work with it.