There are half a dozen wineries on Zante, but icon artist Giannis Giatras’ family estate Art and Wine – reached via a road that ambles through citrus groves and mountain villages slumbering on pine studded slopes – produces some of the best Heptanese varieties, including refreshing golden Robola whites and complex spiced and flowery Avgoustiatis reds.
Giannis’ wines slip down easily with those spicy lado tyri cheese meze, but don’t drink too much: it’s a (nail bitingly) picturesque route to Cape Skinari, homeport for a fleet of glass bottom boats that make the three-hour round trip to the Blue Caves (elephant-legged limestone arches reflected in cyan blue waters) and Navagio, the beach where MV Panayiotis (one of the globe’s most photographed shipwrecks) washed up in fierce storms in the 1980’s.
Back on dry land, intrepid drivers could cut across the island for sunset views and snacks at Stavros, a rustic taverna with half a dozen tables scattered across a rocky outcrop high above the sea.
Nervous drivers will prefer Diachroniko where hearty dishes, whose ingredients are sourced in the Plessas family’s farm, easily make up for the (sylvan rather than spectacular) views.
