Graviera 12 mothes aged.

Hard cheese from sheep milk. Sweet, buttery and nutty, shaped by a 12-month maturation process.

• Delivery:  April 2 - April 7, 2026
• Production Date: March 2025
• Quantity: 20 wheels, each weighting about 9,000g.
• Producer: Vardalachakis Family, Krousonas - Herakleion Crete

Easter 26 Edition – “The Liontides Cheese”

12-Month Aged Graviera

In Minoan Crete, the lion was never just an animal. It was a guardian. A sacred companion of Rhea, mother of the gods, protecting fertility, renewal, and the promise of life. Centuries later, in the village of Krousonas, the “Lions” — the Vardalakhaki family — keep a different promise: to guard the craft of cheese.

Their story, like the story of the village itself, shows the way. Krousonas lies amphitheatrically on the foothills of eastern Psiloritis, at about 460 meters above sea level. The area has been inhabited continuously since the Early Bronze Age. Around the village rise the hills of Koupas, Plagia, and Leivadiotis — places where Minoan and Mycenaean settlements, shrines, and tombs have been discovered. A landscape where history never truly left. The elders of the village still remember the old communal dairy in operation. It stood in the area known as Livadi, a plateau above Krousonas on the slopes of eastern Psiloritis, at 1000–1100 meters altitude. But it was never simply a place of production. It was a place of cooperation, harmony, and solidarity. Long before the word “cooperative” entered the vocabulary, this dairy brought the shepherds of the village together. Here they would make their cheese and store it for aging. Shared tools. Shared spaces. Shared effort. From milking the animals and caring for the flocks, to making the cheese and tending to it as it matured — everyone helped one another. It was a way of life. These are the values the “Liontides” — the Vardalakhaki family — grew up with.

Hard work. Dedication. Love for the craft.

Respect for nature, for the animals, for the cheese — and above all, for family. The small stone chapel of Saint Anna in Livadi tells part of that story. It was built by the children in memory of their mother — an act of gratitude and love that became a symbol of their identity. Around these mountains the sheep graze in summer. In winter they move south, to the Asterousia mountains near Kali Limenes and Agiofarago. Always free-grazing. Living from what the Cretan land offers each season.

“The Liontides Cheese” matures slowly for twelve months, holding within it the passing of time — the winter, and the quiet anticipation of spring. A deep golden Graviera that carries the taste of the Cretan land. Full-bodied and rich, built on the buttery character and gentle sweetness of pure sheep’s milk. A cheese that is more than food. It is a guardian of tradition, memory, and family values.

“The Liontides Cheese” speaks not only of the present. It speaks of the lion that once protected the goddess. Of a time when a dairy and a single cheese could bring a whole community together. Of a family standing proudly against the passing of time. A taste that is both memory and present moment. The FOULI Easter Edition and “The Liontides Cheese” carry a promise passed from one generation to the next: To protect the craft. To honor the values behind it.

It was made for you — and for the people you share your table with.

Share it.