Turkey | Georgia | Armenia – 10 Day Tour from US$ 2785
Our “Birthplace of Wine” triangle visits Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia (Azerbaijan can also be added) and we spend time exploring the wine, food, and traditions in the countries where our favorite liquid first appeared. Plus we get involved in some fantastic non-wine related adventures too.
Remember: Our wine tours are tailor-made to your tastes, budget, and timescales. If you have more or less time we design the tour to suit. Want to spend more time in one location? No problem.
Birthplace of Wine Tour Highlights:
- Historic Istanbul – Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Grand Bazar
- Two days visiting the wineries and vineyards of ancient Thrace
- Overnight at a winery hotel, tour, tasting and dinner
- Introductory wine tasting in Tbilisi and tour of the Georgian capital
- Two days enjoying wineries and Qvevri traditions in Kakheti
- Overnight in the beautiful hilltop town of Signagi
- Travel to Yerevan, Armenia – city tour, tasting, and Brandy factory
- Visits to wineries with tastings in both the Areni and Ararat regions
- Areni-1 cave the oldest winery ever found – 6,100 years old.
Day 1 – Arrival in Istanbul – Sightseeing
You can start your Birthplace of Wine tour by flying into Istanbul. But remember you can start in Tbilisi or Yerevan if you wish. There are however many more international flights to the Turkish capital than to the other two capitals on this triangle. Upon arrival in Istanbul, you will be met and transferred to your hotel in the Taksim Square area.
You will decide during the planning stage if you would like a day or two sightseeing before being introduced to Turkish wine. We can arrange for you to be taken to all the major sites such as the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar plus a trip along the Bosphorus.
Days 2 & 3 – Thrace Wine Region
Overnight at Vino Dessera Winery
Then we will take you out into the countryside of the ancient Thrace region to visit wineries and vineyards, and meet winemakers and owners. We will choose a number of wineries plus you will stay overnight at the lovely Vino Dessera winery hotel near the Bulgarian border.
Our first birthplace of wine tasting stop will be around 90 minutes after departure at either Arcadia or Chamlija vineyards. We will have our first taste of local wine varieties such as Okuzgozu and Papaskarasi here, plus some international varieties that have adapted very well to Turkish terroirs such as Syrah and Merlot. We will enjoy a tour of the winery with an extensive tasting accompanied by some local cheese and meats.
We will now head further inland towards Bulgaria to the relatively isolated Vino Dessera winery where the owner and winemaker Dogan Donmez will give us a warm welcome. Dogan is a real character and shows off his wares with great pride as you will see below.
Chateauneuf du Pape winemaker Xavier Vignon offers his consultancy at a few lucky wineries in this region and Vino Dessera is one of these. During your time here you will try some other local varieties that may be new to you such as Bogazkere and Narince.
We will get you checked into the lovely vineyard hotel and then lunch will be served. You will pair some wines with local ingredients enjoying views over the vines while doing so. We will then be shown around the vineyard and winery and be given lots of local production information and also try some “work in progress” from the tanks. Feel free to pick the brain of this very personable winemaker.
Click here for our Facebook album Wine Tours Turkey
After our tour, we will give you time to freshen up before we take you to visit some other vineyards on a hill-top site that belongs to the winery. Here you will have a panoramic view of the Kirklareli countryside out towards Bulgaria, sipping another glass of your favorite tipple. Back at the hotel you can recline and enjoy the view, dinner is an option if you can find room for it.
The next morning, after breakfast on the hotel terrace overlooking the vineyard, we will head off to visit three more wineries. It is most likely we visit Melen first as this vineyard also boasts a monastery. Ancient monasteries in this region were producing wine for export to Egypt and Russia hundreds of years ago. Amphorae have been found and dated proving the long history of wine in the Ganohora area.
After trying the delicious results of high-density / low yield methods at Melen, plus a tour of the vineyards we will drive for a while and when we arrive at the Barbare winery we will have lunch.
After spending a very relaxing early afternoon at Barbare we will head back towards Istanbul and fit in one more excellent winery. Chateau Nuzun is a very recent project with the first vintage being 2008. This Turkish family lived in California for many years and not surprisingly have Zinfandel in their portfolio. They advocate low impact, organic production, and benefit from vineyards on fairly steep slopes and the micro-terroir that this provides.
Note: Our birthplace of wine tour can include wineries near Izmir and Cappadocia if you wish, it is an important wine-producing region but also has lots of non-wine related visits to add; spectacular landscape, balloon flights and ancient traditions such as the Whirling Dervishes you see below.
Day 4 – Fly to Georgia – Birthplace of Wine
You will be picked up today and driven to one of Istanbul´s airports for the two-hour flight to Tbilisi. Upon arrival in the Georgian capital, you will be let and taken to your hotel in the historic city center. Depending on arrival time we may be able to squeeze in a city tour and in any case, in the evening you will enjoy an introduction to Georgian wine in a local wine bar.
- Visit wineries and vineyards that employ traditional and modern methods.
- See and taste Qvevri wine and learn all about it
- Taste many wines that will be new to you, ancient grapes – low impact production
- Whites, Amber wines and intense reds – Georgia has 525 original grape varieties
- Georgian cuisine is superb – Enjoy traditional dancing and music over dinner
- Visits to historic and beautiful churches and monuments
- Stay on vineyards or in scenic towns such as hill-top Signagi
- One or two nights away in Kakheti – more if you just want to chill for a day
- Also, you can enjoy numerous wine tastings at cellars in Tbilisi old town
- Combine this Georgian wine tour with Turkey, Armenia or Russia
If you are not a fan of a lot of oak on your wine, Georgian wine is great for you. The Qvevri method does not impart any extra flavors and you have a true expression of ancient grapes.
Days 5 & 6 – Kakheti Wine Region
Overnight in Siganagi
Our Kakheti wine tours start after breakfast with you being picked up and heading out of Tbilisi for an hour or until so we reach our first winery and launch into tasting Georgian wine. We will visit either Lapati, or Batono at this first stop and this will depend on which wineries we consider best on your day. Here we will try a range of wines that will fully stimulate your taste buds and brain matter.
Facebook album of our trip to Kakheti
You spend a lot of time looking down holes on a wine tour in Georgia
We then head deeper into the lovely countryside on our birthplace of wine tour and next visit the Pheasant´s Tears winery whose owner hails from the USA but has spent decades developing his traditional Qvevri Georgian wine. After a look around the winery installations and vines, we will drive up to the very picturesque town of Signagi, a real gem of a place.
The Pheasant´s Tears has a lovely tasting room and restaurant in this quaint hill-top town, and we will have lunch here and try some of their wines. The Qvevri winemaking method allows you to taste terroir and the real, unaltered essence of the grape, the wines are more raw, honest, and full of character and they are often unfiltered. We get the chance to try several with a premium tasting here in very comfortable surroundings.
You will be staying overnight at a hotel in this delightful town. If you wanted a free day of just relaxing and wandering we can book you two nights of course. Enjoy your evening wandering the narrow streets, soak in the atmosphere, and views.
Click here for a great article on Georgian wine
After breakfast today we will pick you up and take you down the very steep hill into the lush valley below. We will spend our day among vineyards, wineries, and historical sites in the Telavi area which is home to dozens of winemakers. We will take you to the lesser-visited places such as Chelti and Shalauri where you will taste modern and Qvevri wine along with some local cheese and bread.
We will have lunch with a pairing at one of our wineries today and how much you visit will depend on how long we spend at each place, this is a private wine tour so if you are having a great time at one place we can stay longer. The staff at many of these wineries are not polished and slick as they are in the developed world and we think this is part of the charm.
You will also have the chance to taste Chacha at several times, the locally distilled spirit, which is produced from leftover grape pomace and often called “grape vodka”. This potent liquid ranges between 40% and 65% proof, so take it easy when it is offered to you! There is also Georgian Brandy which you will be able to compare with Armenian Brandy in the next point of the wine triangle.
At the end of the day, we will head back to Tbilisi and you will probably doze off in the vehicle as we wind our way back. You will have one last night to enjoy Tbilisi and then get some rest before we pick you up tomorrow to continue to Armenia.
Birthplace of Wine Triangle – Armenia
Day 7 – Fly to Yerevan, Armenia
The flight from Tbilisi is only 30 minutes and upon arrival in Yerevan, you will be net and driven the short distance to your hotel in the center of the city. Our afternoon will be all about Armenian Brandy.
With such a short flight let us assume you will arrive by midday. You will enjoy a short walking tour to see some of the sights of this impressive city including a tour and tasting at the Ararat Brandy company. In the evening you will be welcomed to a lovely Yerevan wine bar close to your hotel where you will enjoy an introductory tasting of several Armenian wines. This, along with broader tastings tomorrow, will give you a grounding in local wine brands and varieties.
Days 8 & 9 – Areni Wine Region
One of the main reasons for coming to the Areni wine region is to see the oldest winery ever found, but it certainly should not be the only reason. A visit to this cave feels like a pilgrimage for wine lovers, to a place where the whole process (probably) started.
Armenia has traditionally buried its karas or amphora 
A rich culture and history awaits you in Armenia
We will pick you up after breakfast and drive down to Areni stopping at one of the Ararat region wineries en-route, such as Vedi Alco. There are a number of producers in the valley fed by the historic peak and we will enjoy a look around the winery and a tasting to kick our wine day off.
After leaving the main highway we will head over the pass enjoying views of many vineyards and fields of fruit trees. We will arrive at the Arpa Parnas tasting room at around midday for an extensive tasting of Armenian wines with some cheese and crackers to keep you going. You will now be getting used to hearing about and tasting some indigenous varieties such as Voskehat, Khndoghni, and Areni (both a grape and a region) so you can start to recognize some characteristics of the region. There will be some blends of international grapes with the local ones which are interesting combinations. There are also the fruit wines to try here, Pomegranate wine for example – will you like it?
Either before or after the tasting we will visit the Areni 1 cave winery, this is the highlight of the trip for many, the historic winemaking significance is considerable. The winemaking equipment and residue found in this cave have been carbon-dated to 6,100 years old and as you stand there, imagining what it would have been like for winemakers thousands of years ago the atmosphere is palpable.
We then move on to Trinity Canyon winery where we will have lunch on the winery grounds. We will meet the winemaker and enjoy one of his creations with our local food. We will have a tour of the production area at Trinity viewing several Karas both above and below ground. The winemaker will accompany us and give you plenty of info and answer any questions you might have on the ancient or modern methods being used.
For the last part of the day, we either drop you at your hotel to rest up or we can squeeze in another quick tasting room, or visit a historical site in the area. Much will depend on the time we leave Trinity and your preferences of course. As you can imagine people are often so relaxed after a lovely lunch and wine that time literally disappears, very pleasantly of course!
After breakfast on your second day in Areni we will take you up into the hills to the spectacular Noravank Monastery, you can wander for an hour or so and take some great photos. The site was founded in 1205 and is set in an area of outstanding natural beauty, make sure you have plenty of camera card space.
After time at the Monastery, we head back down into the valley for a quick tasting at one of the wineries in the village, which one will depend on the opinion of our local guide for that day. With our palate primed we now head off the short distance to the Old Bridge winery and are met by the owner and winemaker.
Armen is a bit of a character and he will show you around his boutique winery with enthusiasm and explain his methods and objectives. After a tour and tasting, we will enjoy lunch at Old Bridge, quaffing a bottle of your favorite offering from this place and relaxing in the sunshine.
Unfortunately at some point today we must leave Areni and head back to Yerevan, but on the way, we will visit one more winery in the Ararat region. The Tushpa winery is a real family enterprise with all the members involved in winemaking, marketing, or hospitality. Hospitality is a watchword in Armenia and people are very welcoming and proud to show you what they do, this theme runs through this whole region of ancient winemaking.
Day 10 – The End of an Epic Wine Tour
Sadly your birthplace of wine tour comes to an end it is time to go home. We will pick you up and transfer you to Yerevan airport to fly back home (which could be via Istanbul or another hub). Remember we can also add another birthplace of wine destination, Azerbaijan.
As usual, we will deal with all your arrangements and you just relax with the satisfaction of having added these lovely and interesting wine regions to your wine experiences.
