Wijntour van een hele dag vanuit Istanbul

The highlight of our trip to Istanbul was Full-Day Wine Tour lead by vibrant knowledgeable Ozzie. The 3 hour journey west along the Sea of Marmara, trips to 2 wineries and lunch with panoramic views across vast wine fields was terrific as was the unlimited wine lunch. Ozzie provided a WiFi hotspot which made the day out even more special especially as my husband and I were the only guests hence a fantastic private tour. Ozzie, thanks so much. This tour is HIGHLY recommended for not only learning more about Turkish wines but also the people, land and foods outside of Istanbul.

This was a long but really enjoyable day. Be warned that the countryside of Thrace does not look particularly inviting on a cold and overcast February day what countryside does?. But we visited 3 excellent and very welcoming wineries and enjoyed generous tasting measures of wines that were always interesting and sometimes excellent. The winemakers were clearly very proud of what they do and this came over in their welcome. The lunch was excellent, as were the generous supplies of cheese and nuts which got us through a lot of tasting. In between our guide Ahmed shared lots of interesting information about what it's like to live in Turkey and we had some enjoyable conversations. If like us, you were only visiting Istanbul on your trip and want to get out of the big city for a day, this is a good choice.

While our guide was very nice and took great care of us I would not recommend this tour for people who are visiting the country for the first time. If you are spending extended time in Turkey however or are returning it is definitely worth doing. As an American it was delightful to taste varietals that are not often exported if ever to the USA.