A bottle from Crete, already at home on Scripps Highlands Drive

A bottle from Crete, already at home on Scripps Highlands Drive

Yanni and Denise Pihas have spent more than 20 years greeting people at the door of their restaurant on Scripps Highlands Drive. Last week, in the hills of Crete, someone did it to them.

The couple, who have run Yanni’s Bar & Grill since 2003, drove to Fragospito, a small organic winery near Heraklion run by the Gavalas family, to taste a red that has been on Yanni’s list. They arrived at 1 p.m., in the middle of harvest. Nikos Gavalas and his daughter Christina had been picking grapes until 5:30 that morning.

They opened the doors anyway, walked the vineyard, poured the full lineup, and then cooked lunch: an omelette made on the spot, a salad from their garden, watermelon.

“It was a very special day,” Denise wrote in the couple’s travel journal.

The Pihases are still traveling. The wine did not need to make the trip. This month Yanni’s is pouring the Fragospito Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah by the bottle, alongside the special of the week.

Taste the welcome yourself. Call ahead to make a reservation, (858) 527-0011, and view the travel journal at yannisbarandgrill.com

Yanni’s Bar & Grill is located at 12015 Scripps Highland Drive.