Wine & Culinary Tours

This one day wine exploration will start in Antalya and provide you an introduction to wine from local experts as well as a Turkish wine tasting with our guide. Likya/Antalya The Hittites named the city they founded in this region 4,000 years ago as 'Wiyanawanda', that is, 'wine city'. Later, the Lycians called it 'Oenoanda', which derives from the word 'Oeno', which is from the ancient Greek 'oinos' meaning wine. Elmali, the modern town which you will visit is the center of this ancient wine region. This tour is perfect if you are a wine or food aficionado who wants to: Experience a very high-value winery tour. Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Learn about Turkey's viticulture, the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Meet the interesting, fun, and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries, this one day wineries will be perfect to you.

This one day wine exploration will start in Cappadocia get an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide. Cappadocia is among the regions that have an important place in grape growing activities in Turkey. Cappadocia is considered an extremely favorable region for the cultivation of quality grapes due to the characteristic of its territory. For this reason, it is not surprising that delicious and high-quality wines come to mind when called Cappadocia. You can find various different grape varietals in Cappadocia. Cappadocia: In the Urgup region, there are beautiful vineyards in an extremely large area. And this region is home to 16 different grape varieties. The first thing comes to mind of the varities of wines, the one preferred most often by tourists visiting the region is white wine obtained from the Emir grape. Emir grape, which produces wine that is very compatible with fish dishes and fresh cheese, gets its name from the fact that it was the special wine of the rulers in the Roman and Hittite periods. This tour is perfect if you are a wine or food aficionado who wants to: Experience a very high value winery tour. Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Learn about Turkey viticulture the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries, this one day wineries will be perfect to you.

This one day wine exploration will start in Istanbul and explore the Thrace Wine Route (Trakya Bag Rotasi) just west of Istanbul and get an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide. This area has a climate that is driven by the Marmara and Aegean Seas, which border the long Dardenelle Straights and makes a unique climate for red wines.  Thrace:   The crossroads of Asia and Europe, this region west of Istanbul has mild summers and mild winters due to the influence of the Black sea in the north, the Sea of Marmara in the south and the Aegean sea to the West. The regions climate and soil produces excellent wines especially red varieties, which some liken it to the Bordeaux region, but there are dozens of ancient Anatolian varietals with more unique local expressions.  This tour is perfect if you are a wine or food aficionado who wants to: Experience a very high value winery tour. Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Learn about Turkey viticulture the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries, this one day wineries will be perfect to you.

This one day wine exploration will start in Istanbul and explore the Thrace Wine Route (Trakya Bag Rotasi) just west of Istanbul and get an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide. This area has a climate that is driven by the Marmara and Aegean Seas, which border the long Dardenelle Straights and makes a unique climate for red wines.  Thrace:   The crossroads of Asia and Europe, this region west of Istanbul has mild summers and mild winters due to the influence of the Black sea in the north, the Sea of Marmara in the south and the Aegean sea to the West. The regions climate and soil produces excellent wines especially red varieties, which some liken it to the Bordeaux region, but there are dozens of ancient Anatolian varietals with more unique local expressions.  This tour is perfect if you are a wine or food aficionado who wants to: Experience a very high value winery tour. Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Learn about Turkey viticulture the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries, this one day wineries will be perfect to you.

This one day wine exploration will start in Ephesus and get an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide. Ephesus / Aegean: On the southern most edge of the Aegean Once a mix of Greeks and Turks under the Ottoman rulers - it has been the center of viticulture since the Roman's called it "Asia".  This wide region gets lots of sun, wind and has mild winters - and a huge variety of grapes are grown here.   The vineyards here benefit from close proximity to Izmir and it's modern, educated, wine drinking citizens. And some vineyards lay in the foothills of Ephesus. This tour is perfect if you are a wine or food aficionado who wants to: Experience a very high value winery tour. Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Learn about Turkey viticulture the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries, this one day wineries will be perfect to you.

This 1 Day Wine Exploration will start in Urla then, explore the Urla Wine Trail near Izmir and get an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide. Also if you wish to learn about the 3000 year history of wine in Turkey while testing beautiful wines, here is a great chance. Your day will be spent by discovering the unique flavors offered to you by combining the sea, nature and the fragrant fertile lands of Urla and tasting the wines of the region. Urla:   The warm peninsula that is heart of the Urla Wine Trail and 15+ modern wineries. The soil is light and sandy- and the hot summer is cooled by the breezes from the Aegean sea, both North and South of the area.  Both Red and White wine grape varietals grow here - the dry warm summer and hilly, sandy soil make unique terriors for bold wines. Delightful villages such as Alacati and Urla are home to vineyards and stone houses. This tour is perfect if you are a wine or food aficionado who wants to: Experience a very high value winery tour. Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Learn about Turkey viticulture the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries, this one day wineries will be perfect to you.

This 10 Day Wine Exploration will start in Istanbul and explore the Thrace Wine Route (Trakya Bag Rotasi) just west of Istanbul, then continue west through Edirne, Canakkale, Gallipoli, along the Dardanelles straits past Troy to Bozcaada. This is the Thrace/Marmara region portion of the longer 17 day itinerary, for those who prefer a shorter tour focused on Thrace. Learn about the 3000 year history of wine in Turkey, while also visiting the UNESCO historic sites and major attractions.  Our Italian trained Sommelier guide, Murat Yanki, will lead the elite group throughout the trip.  Upon arrival, we’ll explore Istanbul and it’s ancient monuments, from the mosques to the Roman influenced architecture, and get an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide and Sommelier. Next, we'll head to the ancient city of Adrianapolis, now Edirne, which is in Thrace.  This area has a climate that is driven by the Marmara and Aegean Seas, which border the long Dardenelle Straights and makes a unique climate for red wines.  We'll cross the straights to visit one of the numerous islands, the wine island of Bozcaada. We'll visit its wineries, taste dozens of wines in Thrace, and have the chance to visit Troy, as well as some down time for spa services at various top class winery hotels. The final day we will return back to the heart of Thrace, with a final night near the airport before departure. Common international varietals include: Cabarnet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cabarnet Franc, Pinot Noir, Marselan, Malbec, Tempranillo, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Grenache, Mourvedre, Chardonnay, Vioginier, Rousanne, Marsanne, Semillion Common local varietals include: Bogazkere, Okuzgozu, Barburi, Kalecik Karasi, Papazkarasi, Karasakiz, Karalahna, Kuntra, Calkarasi, Bornova Misket, Sultaniye, Emir, Narince This tour is perfect if you: 1. Have been to Turkey before and  Are looking to go deeper into the progressive exploding wine and culinary scene. Join us to combine archaeology with Turkey's ancient but very modern wineries. Want to visit regions outside the normal tourist path including Thrace, the Wine Island of Bozcaada, and the progressive Alacati Wine Peninsula and Ancient Bodrum. Enjoy a mix of wine tastings, excellent meals, laid back country estate hotels, beaches and ancient sites, with time left for excellent spa treatments (Thrace tour) at some of the wineries. Enjoy short distances, excellent hotels, lots of wine tastings with sommeliers, wine related archaeological sites, amazing locations and undiscovered wine varietals. 2. Are a wine or food aficionado who wants to Tour with an Italian qualified Sommelier Rediscover ancient history of wine, lost over the last 100 years in Turkey and now experiencing a reawakening. Learn about Turkey viticulture the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Learn about archaeological connections to wine in this ancient land. Discover the unique grape varietals of Turkey, as well as their expressions of some of the Mediterranean’s beloved varietals.  Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries. Experience a very high value winery tour.  Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey.

This 10 Day Wine Exploration will start in Istanbul and then explore the Urla Wine Trail near Izmir and then continue south through Ephesus to the beautiful harbor of Bodrum. This is the Izmir/Aegean portion of the full 17 day tour for those who prefer a shorter tour focused on Urla, Alacati, Ephesus, and Bodrum, and wish to learn about the 3000 year history of wine in Turkey while also visiting the UNESCO historic sites and major attractions. Our Italian trained Sommelier guide, Murat Yanki, will lead the elite group throughout.  Arrival will be to Istanbul and it’s ancient monuments, from the mosques to the Roman influenced architecture and an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide and Sommelier. Next, we’ll fly to Izmir and immediately after landing we'll visit an outstanding winery for lunch and tasting near the airport on the ancient road from Smyrna to Ephesus. We'll visit another winery this day that features the much acclaimed Bornova Misket, an explosive, flavorful white wine said to be the same as drunk by Homer in Smyrna 3000+ years ago.  While staying at a luxurious seaside resort on the Aegean, the next few days will explore the Urla Wine Route and the 15 wineries spread out in this mountainous unique peninsula in the Aegean, where wine has grown for thousands of years.  After these days near Urla, and after a short stay in small boutique winery hotel in the hills, the trip will continue south through Ephesus heading to the fantastic ancient city (now sea resort and marina) of Bodrum  with stops at Priene, Miletus and Didim and the amazing Bodrum castle museum focusing on ancient shipwrecks. A short 1 hour flight back to Istanbul on day 9 ends the tour in Istanbul. Common international varietals include: Cabarnet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cabarnet Franc, Pinot Noir, Marselan, Malbec, Tempranillo, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Grenache, Mourvedre, Chardonnay, Vioginier, Rousanne, Marsanne, Semillion Common local varietals include: Bogazkere, Okuzgozu, Barburi, Kalecik Karasi, Papazkarasi, Karasakiz, Karalahna, Kuntra, Calkarasi, Bornova Misket, Sultaniye, Emir, Narince This tour is perfect if you: 1. Have been to Turkey before and  Are looking to go deeper into the progressive exploding wine and culinary scene. Join us to combine archaeology with Turkey's ancient but very modern wineries. Want to visit regions outside the normal tourist path including Thrace, the Wine Island of Bozcaada, and the progressive Alacati Wine Peninsula and Ancient Bodrum. Enjoy a mix of wine tastings, excellent meals, laid back country estate hotels, beaches and ancient sites, with time enough for excellent spa treatments (Thrace tour) at the wineries. Enjoy short distances, excellent hotels, lots of wine tastings with sommeliers, wine related archaeological sites, amazing locations and undiscovered wine varietals. 2. Or are a wine and food aficionado who wants to Tour and taste with an Italian qualified Sommelier Rediscover ancient history of wine, obscured over the last 100 years in Turkey and now experiencing a reawakening. Learn about Turkey viticulture the world's fourth largest producer of grapes. Learn about hidden archaeological connections to wine. Discover the unique grape varietals of Turkey, as well as their expressions of some of the Mediterranean’s beloved varietals.  Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries. Experience a very high value winery tour.  Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Delight in luxury hotels.

This 17 Day Wine Exploration will dive deeply into the two most prolific wine regions of Turkey: Thrace around the Marmara Sea, and the Urla peninsula jutting into the Aegean Sea west of Izmir.  Combing two new, magnificent wine routes, the Urla Vineyard Road and the Thrace Vineyard Route (Urla Bag Yolu and Trakya Bag Rotasi) this is the longest most in depth tour for those who wish to learn about the 3000 year history of wine in Turkey, while also visiting the UNESCO historic sites and major attractions of Turkey in a longer tour with minimal road travel.  Our Italian trained Sommelier guide, Murat Yanki, will lead the elite group through the best history and wines of Turkey. Common international varietals include: Cabarnet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cabarnet Franc, Pinot Noir, Marselan, Malbec, Tempranillo, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Grenache, Mourvedre, Chardonnay, Vioginier, Rousanne, Marsanne, Semillion Common local varietals include: Bogazkere, Okuzgozu, Barburi, Kalecik Karasi, Papazkarasi, Karasakiz, Karalahna, Kuntra, Calkarasi, Bornova Misket, Sultaniye, Emir, Narince This tour is perfect if you: 1. Have been to Turkey before and  Are looking to go deeper into the progressive exploding wine and culinary scene. Join us to combine archaeology with Turkey's ancient but very modern wineries. Want to visit regions outside the normal tourist path including Thrace, the Wine Island of Bozcaada, and the progressive Alacati Wine Peninsula and Ancient Bodrum. Enjoy a mix of wine tastings, excellent meals, laid back country estate hotels, beaches and ancient sites, with time left for excellent spa treatments (Thrace tour) at some of the wineries. Enjoy short distances, excellent hotels, lots of wine tastings with sommeliers, wine related archaeological sites, amazing locations and undiscovered wine varietals. 2. Are a wine and food aficionado who wants to Tour with an Italian qualified Sommelier Rediscover ancient history of wine, lost over the last 100 years in Turkey and now experiencing a reawakening. Learn about Turkey viticulture the fourth largest producer of grapes, while not yet in the top 50 for wine production. Learn about archaeological connections to wine in this ancient land. Discover the unique grape varietals of Turkey, as well as their expressions of some of the Mediterranean’s beloved varietals.  Meet the interesting, fun and diverse owners and winemakers of Turkey’s blossoming wine market in their vineyards and wineries. Experience a very high value winery tour.  Enjoy the agricultural and culinary abundance of Turkey. Upon arrival, we’ll explore Istanbul and it’s ancient monuments, from the mosques to the Roman influenced architecture, and get an introduction to wine from local experts as well as your first Turkish wine tastings with our guide and Sommelier. Next, we’ll fly to Izmir and immediately after landing we'll visit an outstanding winery for lunch and tasting on the ancient road from Smyrna to Ephesus. We'll visit another winery this day that features the much acclaimed Bornova Misket, an explosive, flavorful white wine said to be the same as drunk by Homer in Smyrna 3000+ years ago.  While staying at a luxurious seaside resort on the Aegean, the next few days we will explore the Urla Wine Route and the 15 wineries throughout this unique mountainous peninsula in the Aegean, where wine has grown for thousands of years. After these days near Urla, and after a short stay in small boutique winery hotel in the hills, the trip will continue south through Ephesus heading to the fantastic ancient city (now sea resort and marina) of Bodrum and the amazing castle museum focusing on ancient shipwrecks. A short one hour flight back to Istanbul on day 9 ends the tour for those only touring the Urla region.  For those continuing on the full 16 day tour, after a night in Istanbul, we'll head to the ancient city of Adrianapolis, now Edirne, which is in Thrace.  This area has a climate that is driven by the Marmara and Aegean Seas, which border the long Dardenelle Straights and makes a unique climate for red wines.  We'll cross the straights to visit one of the numerous islands, the wine island of Bozcaada. We'll visit its wineries, taste dozens of wines in Thrace, and have the chance to visit Troy, as well as some down time for spa services at various top class winery hotels. The final day we will return back to the heart of Thrace, with a final night near the airport before departure.