Explore Türkiye’s Historic Wine Route

Editor's note: On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Türkiye and northwestern Syria, claiming over 50,000 lives as of this writing. Numerous organizations are on-site providing assistance in the aftermath and are accepting donations. Here’s some information on traveling to Türkiye and how you can contribute. According to our sources in Türkiye, most areas of the country were unaffected by the earthquake, and tourism continues to play a vital role in the national economy. Dinogo has resumed sharing stories that celebrate the beauty of Türkiye.

For me, travel and wine are a match made in heaven. Together, they satisfy my taste buds and my wanderlust. After a dream trip through France’s Loire Valley and Burgundy in 2021 sparked my passion for exploring the world’s terroirs, I resolved to embark on an annual wine trip as a new tradition. Almost a year later, I found myself in a region I never imagined I’d explore for wine: Türkiye.

Istanbul, with its bustling bazaars filled with saffron and cumin, beautifully adorned mosques from the 16th century, and famous hammams, had long been on my travel bucket list. However, I knew little about Turkish wine. That changed dramatically after a week-long journey along the Thrace Vineyard Route, the oldest wine route in Türkiye’s European region, nestled against Greece and Bulgaria in the northwest. This route features boutique wineries across four main areas: Kırklareli, Tekirdağ, Şarköy, and Gelibolu.

With a viticulture tradition spanning over 7,000 years, the fertile lands of Thrace have produced wines that even Homer mentioned in the Iliad. While many vineyards here feature international varieties like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and syrah, my focus was on discovering the Indigenous grapes cultivated in Thrace, including red varieties such as çalkarası, kalecik karası, and white types like emir, narince, sultaniye, and bornova misketi. Here’s what I uncovered during my journey.

After a whirlwind 24 hours in Istanbul—where I checked into the city center Pera Palace Hotel, toured the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, and enjoyed a sensory journey through the Grand and Spice Bazaars—I drove about four hours west to Hoşköy in Tekirdağ. This quaint village emerges amid rolling hills adorned with twisting grapevines and ancient olive trees. Nestled here is the Chateau Kalpak winery, positioned between the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, specializing in red Bordeaux blends aged up to 36 months in Hungarian barrels. My favorite bottle, a dark ruby-hued wine named BBK, blended cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, and petit verdot, all sourced from a single vineyard with gravel and limestone. On the palate, it evoked the flavors of warm berry pie, with hints of oaky vanilla wafting from the glass.

My first encounter with Indigenous grapes occurred during a visit to the family-owned Suvla, about an hour’s drive south of Chateau Kalpak. Founded in 2012 by Turkish couple Pınar and Selim Ellialtı, this winery is nestled in the small village of Eceabat. It boasts a spacious bistro for delightful food and wine pairings, alongside a store stocked with house-made olive oil, wines, and other goodies. Suvla’s organically produced wines showcase varietals like narince (pronounced nar-een-jah)—the most widely cultivated white grape in Türkiye. Their medium-bodied version is vibrant, featuring notes of honeysuckle and mango, making it an excellent match for roasted chicken or grilled white fish. Another standout is Sir, a blend of syrah, cinsault, and karasakiz—a native Thracian grape known for producing fruity, spicy wines with low tannins.

Where to Experience Wine

That evening, I checked into Hotel Caeli, surrounded by an art-filled landscape and picturesque vineyards. Opened in 2016, this luxury boutique hotel offers 21 rooms and hosts daily tastings of its red blends. Guests gather on a spacious veranda outside the restaurant to sip wine while gazing at the starry sky above the grapevines.

Later in my journey, I visited Chamlija, a boutique winery highly recommended by a sommelier friend. I struck lucky as they opened their doors for me, allowing a few bottles to take home despite being closed for the day. Located in Kırklareli—about 2.5 hours from Porta Caeli and near the Bulgarian border—Chamlija is renowned for the art on each bottle, featuring everything from a penguin in sunglasses to a psychedelic silhouette of a woman's face. The wines are celebrated for their quality, thanks to founder Mustafa Camlica and his team, who cultivate grapes in a Thracian region close to the Black Sea, rich in gravel and limestone. My favorite was the Thracian 2013, a peppery blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc, perfect for pairing with a juicy rib-eye steak or lamb.

The final tasting of the day was just an hour away at Dessera Vineyard House, also situated in Kırklareli on 300 acres. I checked into the on-site boutique hotel with 33 rooms before diving into a tasting session featuring around 20 different varietals, including merlot, sangiovese, shiraz, and kalecik karasi. This family-owned winery has been cultivating grapes at the foot of the Istranca Mountains in Kırklareli since 2004.

Just an hour’s drive from Dessera lies Arda, a family-operated winery nestled near Erdine at the northwestern edge of Türkiye. The loamy soil here features gravel and clay layers, making it ideal for grape varieties like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, sauvignon blanc, semillon, gamay, narince, and the indigenous papazkarasi, which is highlighted in several of their bottles. This native grape boasts a history of about 1,500 years, yielding fruit-forward blanc de noirs, rosés, and medium-bodied red blends. The roze papazkarasi gamay presented waves of thyme and pomegranate on my palate, offering a refreshing departure from the strawberry-centric and zesty rosés I typically enjoy from Provence.

The trip culminated in a tasting at Arcadia Vineyards, celebrated for its low-intervention terroir wines. I met Zeynep Arca Şallie, who co-founded the winery with her father, Ozcan Arca. Her passion for Turkish wines during my tasting would inspire even the most seasoned vineyard visitors to stop at Arcadia and delve into the region's rich history. Here, grapes are meticulously sorted by hand and fermented individually in stainless steel tanks, allowing the unique qualities of each varietal—from sangiovese to narince—to shine through in every sip. The region's continental climate produces wines with excellent acidity, and Arcadia is notable for being the first winery in Turkey to cultivate the rare sauvignon gris—one of the oldest grape varieties.

I settled into Arcadia’s 18-room Bakucha Vineyard Hotel, situated among the vines and orchards just outside our evening tasting venue. Despite a week spent surrounded by vineyards and wine, it felt like I had merely scratched the surface of Türkiye’s terroir, providing the perfect motivation to plan a return visit one day.

Getting There

Turkish Airlines provides nonstop flights from major airports, including Los Angeles’s LAX and New York City’s JFK. A delightful bonus is that many Turkish wines, such as Suvla, are available on board, setting the stage for a wine-centric adventure.