Wine & HistoryNew

“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it” (Anonymous)

 

ROUTES OF WINE  AND HISTORY – TURKEY / EDUCATIONAL TOUR

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Istanbul, Ankara, Capital of Hittite Kingdom Hattusas, Cappadocia are among the main sites that  we will be visiting with this custom designed specialty tour .

The purpose of this tour is to combine the culinary culture, wine and history in Turkey.

In Istanbul we enjoy Byzantine and Ottoman days with culinary specialties of these two great civilizations. We follow wine tastings and courses of Turkish Wines both in Istanbul and in Cappadocia while sampling Turkish music both classical and folkloric. Together with all these activities we do not miss historical places and we follow a very detailed schedule in terms of cultural visits of not to be missed.

In all our restaurants menus are prepared according to gourmet & local recipes.

All wines are chosen among the local ones with the local wine grapes cultivated on these lands for thousands of years. In Istanbul we taste wines made with grapes since Byzantine times as well as those described by Homer in Iliad.

More than 35 different specially selected wines will be tasted during this tour.

 

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DAY 1 : ARRIVAL AND TRANSFER TO YOUR HOTEL

 

You will be welcomed at airport and privately transfer your hotel and check-in.

Leisurely time on own and evening meeting with our Wine Expert for a short introduction and talk about details over the dinner.

 

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DAY 2 :  BYZANTINE DAY IN ISTANBUL

 

Our day starts with the discovery of Byzantine monuments of Istanbul. The Church of

Pammacharistos ( Fethiye Camii), The Acquaducts of Valens, Saint Sophia and

TheUnderground Cistern are among the Byzantine sites that we discover. The lunch will

take place in a local restaurant located in the historical district of Istanbul.          

                   

The menu will be based on Byzantine recipes like; Tarhana (Traganos) soup, lamb cooked with spices as main and Tavuk Gögsü (breast of chicken as dessert).

 

Wines at lunch will be those made with the grapes also known in Byzantine era.                                                                         

Kavaklıdere Muscat (Dry white wine with moskhatos/misket grape)

Buyulubag Adakarası (Dry red wine with Adakarası grape)

 

In the afternoon our Byzantine exploration of the city will continue with the Church of Saint

Saviour in Chora which is also considered as one of the jewells of Byzantine art and

architecture of the late period. We will then proceed to fortification walls of Constantinople built in 5th century by Theodosius 2nd.          

Dinner will take place in an old Byzantine cistern  and will be composed of Byzantine specialties.    

 

Wines at dinner are those produced with the Byzantine grapes still cultivated today like Moskhatos (misket) and Papazkarası.

Kavaklıdere Sauvignon Blanc- Sultaniye (Dry white wine with blend of French and Turkish grapes)

Cankara Misket-Sultaniye (Dry white wine with Misket and Sultaniye grapes)

Melen Papazkarası (Dry red wine with papazkarası grape)      

Overnight in our Istanbul hotel.

 

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DAY  3  : OTTOMAN DAY          

 

Full day reserved to Ottoman monuments of Istanbul. We will discover the buildings of the

classical period, not only the mosques but also bazaars. We will start with the Blue Mosque

and The Topkapı Palace where Ottoman sultans resided almost 400 years. After visiting the

Mosque of Suleymaniye we will take lunch in a local restaurant with typically Ottoman menu.   

 

Wines at lunch:

Çankara Misket (Dry white wine)

Karasalkım Papazkarası ( Dry red wine with Papaskarası grape)

Doluca Moskado (Semi dry white wine with Misket grape)

In the afternoon we will stroll in Eminonu area. We will see the Rustempaşa Mosque, taste

Turkish Coffee in a typical shop located at the position of the first coffee-shop established in

Istanbul. We will go to taste Pastirma at Namli, we will visit the Egyptian Bazaar and walk in

the streets of Tahtakale, the center of the business activity both in old and present times.           

 

Dinner will be served in a restaurant known for the traditional dishes.During the dinner we

will listen to Turkish classical music which takes it’s roots from Byzantine times and continued to be the court music during Ottoman Empire.

 

At dinner we will taste wines which come from Tenedos Island on North Aegean mentioned

also by Homeros in Illiad on Troy. 

 

Wines at dinner:

Corvus Tenea (Dry white wine produced with Vasilaki grape)

Corvus Aegea (Dry red wine produced with Kuntra grape )

Corvus Vinium (Dry red wine produced with Karalahna grape)

 

Overnight in our Istanbul hotel.

 

 

DAY 4  :  ISTANBUL – ANKARA – CORUM

 

We fly to Ankara early in the morning.

Upon arrival at Esenboga Airport we go to the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara

where we can make the best introduction to the history of wine in Turkey- a history which

goes back to Early Bronze age 5000 years ago. We then drive to Kalecik town home of the local famous grape called Kalecik Karası.

 

Wines at lunch: 

Kavaklidere Ancyra (Dry red wine produced with Kalecik Karası local grape)

Kavaklidere Kalecik Karası (Dry red wine produced with Kalecik Karası local grape)

Chateau Kalecik Kalecik Karası (Dry red wine produced with Kalecik Karası local grape)

 

We pass Kalecik town and proceed to Corum following the bed of Kızılırmak (Red River).

 

Wines at dinner:

Kavaklidere Narince (Dry white wine produced with the local grape called Narince)

Doluca Kav Narince  (Dry white wine produced with the local grape called Narince)

Diren Karmen (Dry red wine with Okuzgozu-Bogazkere grapes)

 

Overnight in our Corum or Sungurlu hotel.

 

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DAY 5 : HATTUSAS  – CAPPADOCIA

 

In the morning we depart to visit to Hattusas, the capital of Hittite Kingdom which ruled in Anatolia between 1650 and 1200 B.C. The fortification walls, the gates, the temples… We then continue to Yazılıkaya, the oldest open air temple of the world where we see the relief’s of Hittite gods.We have lunch near the ruins of Hattusas.

We then depart in the direction of Cappadocia through Yozgat and Bogazlıyan. Upon arrival we make our first wine tasting in Cappadocia  on a terrace on a vineyard in Uchisar area with the local whites and roses.

 

Overnight in our Deluxe Cappadocia Cave Hotel.

                   

                                                                                                                                                            

DAY 6  :  WINE ROUTES OF CAPPADOCIA

 

In the morning we start with a pleasant walking in Pancarlık Valley where we discover the natural color show of Cappadocia. We visit little known the beautiful church of Pancarlık.

In Urgup we will visit the cellar of  Turasan winery and taste wines of Turasan which is the leading wine company in Cappadocia established in 1943. We then proceed to Göreme Valley to visit the most beautiful rock carved churches in the region a Unesco World Heritage site today. The lunch on the vineyard or in a local  restaurant.

Wines at lunch:

Turasan Cappadocia (dry white wine)
Turasan Emir (dry white wine)     

Turasan Okuzgozu (dry red wine)                                                                                                                            

 

Then we drive to the underground city of Derinkuyu, the largest underground city in Cappadocia carved until 12 levels at a depth of 75 meters.

In the afternoon  we will visit the village of Sinasos which presents us a poetry on the stones with beautifully decorated façades of its 19th century houses. We visit beautiful churches of Sinasos like Church of Constantine and Helena and Church of st Basil.

We will also stroll in the streets of the village which has the most beautiful examples of stone carving on the houses.

 

Our day will end with tasting of sparkling wines of Cappadocia produced with Emir grape.

 

Wines to taste at Cappadocian Sunset:

Kavaklıdere  Lal (Rose wine produced with Çalkarası grape)

Wines at dinner:

Turasan Emir-Narince (Dry white wine produced with the blend of two grape varieties)

Turasan  Bogazkere (Dry red wine produced with Bogazkere grape of Eastern Turkey)

Turasan Seneler (Dry red wine produced by blending Okuzgozu and Bogazkere grape varieties of eastern Turkey)

Overnight in our Deluxe Cappadocia Cave Hotel.

           

                                                                                                                                              

DAY  7  : WINE ROUTES OF CAPPADOCIA

 

We depart in the morning to go to discover ‘ Kızılçukur’  (red valley) which is a beautiful valley with its win yards and rock churches, especially  ‘the church with grapes’. Kızılçukur is  a nearly 6km long valley which extends from Ortahisar area to Çavuşin abaondoned village.

It  takes its name from the  color of its rocks. On our way to Çavuşin we walk through the small vineyards of Cappadocia where local grapes like Dimrit, Kara üzüm, Razakı are grown. Almost in the middle of the valley we can also visit one of the most beautiful but little known rock churches of Cappadocia; “ The church with columns” Our walk ends at Çavuşin village where we deserve a short stop. Lunch is on a winyard or in a local restaurant depending on the weather conditions.

 

The menu is a  typical of Cappadocian cuisine, based on aubergines cooked in claypot and cracked wheat. The wines to be tasted  at lunch are red and white table wines of Cappadocia.

 

Wines at lunch:

Kocabağ Emir  (Dry white wine produced with Emir grape)

Kocabağ Kapadokya (Dry red wine produced with local grapes)

 

We then continue to the North-west along the valley of Kızılırmak (red river) which is the longest river in Turkey, to the region of Gülşehir where we visit the old rock monastery of Açıksaray and the beautiful rock church of St. John the Baptist.

We extend towards the villages like Yeşilyurt, Yüksekli and Karaburna to visit vineyards and wine production centers.

We then finish our day in  Uçhisar with the last tasting session of the day with top quality wines produced by Kocabağ and Kavaklıdere companies. The farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

 

Wines at last tasting:

Kavaklıdere Emir-Sultaniye (Dry white wine produced with two mentioned grape varieties)

Kavaklıdere  Altın Kopuk  (sparkling wine produced with emir grape)

 

Wines at dinner:

Kocabag Okuzgozu   (Dry red wine produced with Okuzgozu grape)

Kocabag Bogazkere (Dry red wine produced with Bogazkere grape)

Kavaklıdere Selection (Dry red wine produced by blending Okuzgozu and Bogazkere grapes)

 

Cappadocia being known as the oldest center in Turkey for the carpet making and pottery,

a lecture on carpet weaving for ½ hrs and demonstration of pottery making for 20 min. will be part of our activities and shopping on request.

Overnight in our Deluxe Cappadocia Cave Hotel.

 

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DAY  8  : Private transfer to the airport to catch appropriate flight connecting you back home.

 

*Maximum number of participants are 12 persons and participants must be over 18 years old

*Up to one third of wines can be replaced by similar samples in case of unavailability of            programmed ones.

*Cultural and oenological guiding service will be provided our expert English speaking Guide who   is also a wine history researcher & writer.
 

“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance”
                                                                                                              Benjamin Franklin

 

**While above is a sample itinerary, our Wine themed tours are varied form one day to fourteen with similar aspects but with different locations and other places of interest. Hotel’s can be organized to suit your group needs from 4 stars to Deluxe or Top Luxury where available.

 

Besides Wine & Culture tours we also create truly Gastoronomical Highlights of Turkey from top renown famous delight icons to typical local restaurants of masters and village homes to savour the heritage of Turkish Cuisine. Occasionally guests can also experience hands on cooking classes.