WINERY / WINE TASTING & GOURMET TOURS

TOUR AROUND WINERIES OF TURKEY
9 NIGHTS 10 DAYS

GRAPES IN TURKEY

The Vitis Vinifera grape family covers all varieties of grapes used in wine production. Research shows that more than 1,500 different grapes are grown in Turkey. But, taking into consideration that some of these grapes are in fact the same even though their names are different, this figure can be accepted as around 1,100. 22 kinds of wine grape are of domestic origin whereas 12 of them are of foreign origin; that is, there are 34 kinds of wine grapes in the country. These grapes are mainly grown in 7 different regions which are suitable for viticulture; that is, Marmara-Thrace, the Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, and Southeastern Anatolia.

WHY CAN NOT WINE BE PRODUCED FROM EVERY GRAPE?

Four peculiarities of grapes are important for making white wine

Adequate sugar Proper acidity Enough aroma Grape-must output

Alcohol is extracted from sugar. Since wines must have at least 11 degrees alcohol, naturally the grapes used must contain enough sugar to make this much alcohol. A total of 17 grams of sugar makes one degree alcohol. That is, there must be at least (11o x 17 = )187 grams of sugar in a kilogram of grapes.

Six peculiarities of grapes are important for making red wine:

Adequate sugar Adequate acidity Good-quality aroma Good color Good quality tannin Grape-must output

TOUR AROUND WINERIES OF TURKEY

Click map to see the path of the tour

Day 1 ……/ ANKARA

Arrive in Ankara. Transfer from the airport to the Hotel Dinner and overnight at your hotel. (D)

Day 2 ANKARA

Visit the Kavaklidere Winery near the Ankara International airport famous for the most popular Turkish wine Kalecik Karasi. Get detailed information about the wines made at Kavaklidere. Lunch and visit the worldwide famous Anatolian Civilization Museum. Dinner and overnight at your hotel. (B,L,D)

Day 3 ANKARA / HATTUSAS /TOKAT

Early in the morning drive to Hattusas, the former capital of Hittite (BC 1400). Visit Alacahoyuk and Yazilikaya (Written Rock) Lunch and continue to Tokat. Dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)

Day 4 TOKAT / CAPPADOCIA

After breakfast visit the Diren Winery and vineyards. Taste different local wines. After lunch, drive to Cappadocia through Yozgat. Dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)

Day 5 CAPPADOCIA

Full-day Cappadocia tour. Visit the Goreme open-air museum, Cavusin, Avcilar Valley (Hunters Valley), Uc Hisar and Guvercinlik Valley (Pigeon Valley).Lunch at a local restaurant. Drive to Avanos: get information about handmade pottery traditions of the Avanos region. Dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)

Day 6 CAPPADOCIA

In the morning visit the Kaymakli underground city and Ihlara Valley. Lunch at Ihlara Valley. Visit the Turasan Winery, one of the most interesting wineries in the world (wine produced and stored in an underground facility). Get information about the local traditions of wine making. Taste different varieties of Turasan wines. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel. (B,L,D)

Day 7 CAPPADOCIA / ANKARA / ISTANBUL

Return to Ankara in the morning. Transfer to the Ankara airport for a return flight to Istanbul. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul. (B, L, D)

Day 8 ISTANBUL

After breakfast, drive to Murefte (2.5 hours from Istanbul) .Visit the Doluca Winery. Taste different brands of wines produced at Doluca and have your lunch in the town. Return to the hotel late in the afternoon. Overnight (B,L,D)

Day 9 ISTANBUL

Depart from the hotel in the morning to visit St. Sophia that was built by Constantine the Great. It is also known as the church of the Divine Wisdom designed to impress the strength and wealth of the Roman Emperors. Next stop is Hippodrome that is the arena with the scenes of chariot races and also cultural focus of the Byzantine (Roman) Empire. The square, with its surrounding, is like an open- air museum. After that, visit Blue Mosque and Underground Cistern, which was built in the 4. century. This is one of the underground cistern that riddle the foundation of the city. Lunch and visit Topkapi Palace Museum, which is the symbol of the Ottoman Empire. The palace is collecting buildings arrange around a series of courtyards and incredible collections of jewels, china, prices of Ottoman and Islamic artwork. Overnight.
(B, L)

Day 10 ISTANBUL / ……

Transfer to the airport for your flight back home. (B)

Kavaklidere Wines

If you ever have visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilization in Ankara, you will have the opportunity to see that already over 4,000 years ago people of Central Anatolia knew how to cultivate grape wine which to them was as important as wheat. The Kavaklidere Winery was established in 1929 by Cenap And. The winery is located near Ankara International airport. Today it makes 20 tons of wine per hour and has the capacity to store in its facilities over 10 million liters of wine. Over 32 different varieties of grape are grown in Kavaklidere vineyards, and one of them is the famous Kalecik Karasi grown only by very few vineyards in Turkey.

Diren Wines

The Diren Winery was founded in Tokat in 1958 by M. Vasfi Diren. Today the Winery has a production capacity of 5,000 tons of wine per year and storage capacity of over 1,100 tons. The high-quality Diren wines have received several domestic and international industry awards and are exported to many countries.

Turasan Wines

A visit to the Turasan Winery in Cappadocia is an unforgettable experience. The facility is located under ground, carved in the natural rock. This natural cellar also provides perfect storage conditions for wine. The Turasan Winery was established by H. Turasan in 1943 as the very first modern winery in Cappadocia. As a family-operated business, the Turasan winery has undergone a deep transformation throughout generations. The fine selection of grapevine cultivated in the Turasan vineyards and the newest wine making technology implemented at the Winery enable production of many excellent wine varieties. At the Turasan Winery, you will feel like in the early times of Cappadocia which is the region of one of the earliest wine cultures in the world.

Doluca Wines

Why not raise these noble varieties of grapes here, in the motherland of the grapevine? was the question we asked ourselves. So in the early nineties, we began to import cuttings of "Chardonnay" called "Blanc des Blancs" by the French, "Cabernet Sauvignon" - the noble red of Bordeaux, and a few others which we planted along the shores of the Aegean, in the Gallipoli Peninsula, where some of the best grapes of the world have been grown for thousands of years. A lot of research took place in selecting and preparing the land where the latest technology from California was used in setting up the vineyards. It was a task that required a lot of patience, faith and hard work, but the excitement of producing the first "estate bottled variety wines" in Turkey from these noble grapes kept us going. We still need a few more years to achieve a wide scale of production, but we now have, after nearly a decade, the first few products of these efforts - a limited quantity of wines which we are proud to offer for the tasting of the wine lovers.