Many travelers associate Cretan cuisine, primarily, with excellent wines. Indeed, local drinks deserve the highest praise. You can taste popular wines literally at any restaurant and bar of the island; the resort has also lots of attractive liquor stores. Cretans are very fond of their national drink, and can use it literally every day. The wine is diluted with water and drunk like a normal soft drink; even local children are allowed to drink such mix. Some varieties of wine are quite light-bodied, and if they are diluted with water, you get almost a soft drink.
Going on a trip to one of local wineries with children, don’t be surprised when they would be offered to taste specialty wines too. And if you warn the guide in advance and ask him not to offer children any wine, he'll wonder why they are punished so severely.
Speaking of national dishes, first of all it is worth to mention their naturalness. All products used for meals undergo very gentle heat treatment; chefs prefer to use only seasonal products for cooking culinary delights. It would be difficult to find a hot vegetable salads and stews in local restaurants, but the choice of light vegetable soups and fresh salads is surprising.
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