During the wineries tour, you will pass by the famous Istiklal street which is the main avenue in the city, known for active nightlife, restaurants and shopping centers.
While walking from winery to winery we will pass by Galata tower, one of the iconic historical places in the Galata neighborhood. The tower now functions as a museum and is a great spot for a panoramic pictures.
A busy and contemporary neighborhood home to local restaurants, galleries, boutique fashion shops, and wine restaurants. Here you will visit one of the most famous wine bars with an extensive wine collection and beloved by locals for generations.
Galata district was established by Genois and Venetians. The atmosphere of the district reminiscence the old days and reflects in the architecture of the buildings and small alleys. Here you will visit an atmospheric local winery for your final wine-tasting stop!
Beautiful passage from the 19th century is a charming restaurant with a special aura
You will pass by charming churches on Istiklal avenue, rich with history and charming aura
The famous vax figure museum is also located in Istanbul! We will pass this charming place on our way!
Admire old Christian churches during a pleasent walk between the churches!
Galatasaray high school is one of the oldest in town, located in the heart of the city, it is a beautiful and monumental building.
Iconic museum with a great selection of masterpieces from different centuries and an impressive art collection.
Galata Mevlevi museum is a historical school for the famous spiritual dances of dervishes. A beautiful place to visit during your stay in Istanbul
Great experience! Andrea Lemieux is incredibly knowledge on both the history of wines in Turkey and the creation process. I learned so much and would recommend this to anyone traveling in Istanbul looking to learn more about the fascinating history of wine making in Turkey!
Andrea is a woman from the US who has lived in Turkey for over a decade, and has a passion for Turkish wine. She wrote a fabulous book about Turkish wine and gave a remarkable tour. The wines and explanations were educational and outstanding.
Who better to give this tour than the person who wrote the book on Turkish Wine. Andrea Lemieux was our tour guide and she really knows everything about wine. She went into detail on the different regions, grapes and altitude of the wineries and how this gives Turkish wine it’s distinctive taste. Each winery we visited has a different and unique ambience that enhance our wine tasting experience. I highly recommend this tour and especially Andrea.
Do it… was the best part of our trip. Andrea knew more about wine than we could have hoped for.. food and wine were amazing!!!!
My friends and I are interested in wine but didn't expect to find such a great wine tour in Istanbul! We visited 3 different wine bars and learned about the grapes and growing techniques of Turkey. I wish we had had more time and could have taken a day-trip to visit some of the wineries themselves! The tour was fun, informative, and of course delicious! :-)
My husband and I are visiting from Vancouver Island, British Island, Canada and had the pleasure of doing a tour with Andrea. Her knowledge of and passion for wine was on full display alongside her published book, 'The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine', which was an excellent visual reference. We visited three wine bars — Qirix Sanat, Adana Ocakbaşi and Solera — each was unique and offered a beautiful range of wines. Andrea is fantastic — engaging and fun — and we came away from this tour with a much deeper appreciation for Turkish wine. I highly recommend Vines and Pearls and Andrea! Leah & Bruce, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Andrea was a very knowledgeable, professional, and friendly guide on our wine tour. She also provided tips on places to visit and things to do. We learned a lot about Turkish wine history and enjoyed a few glasses along the way. We highly recommend booking through this company!
We did two wine tours with Vines and Pearls, one in Istanbul and one in Urla. They were both excellent! Andrea was our guide in Istanbul and WOW she is a true expert. We learned so much and also had a ton of fun. Andrea shared a number of interesting stories about her experiences as an expat living in Istanbul as well. It was the perfect introduction to Turkish wine and culture at the beginning of our trip. Sinan was our guide in Urla. So friendly and funny. Since he is originally from the area, he had a unique perspective on the culture and it was a great way to wrap up our 9 night trip with a broader understanding of Türkiye and its people. I would wholeheartedly recommend Vines and Pearls if you’re looking for unique, authentic and well-curated tours. Everyone was professional and passionate and they all helped make our trip particularly memorable.
Great tour that will introduce to Turkish wines. During the tour we visited three centrally located wine bars and tasted a wide array of Turkish wines…red, white, rose and even orange wine. Andrea, our host, was very knowledgeable about Turkish wines and should great enthusiasm about wine culture in Turkey. Highly recommend!
Turkish wine was an unknown for us and we valued our experts guidance and we tried wines made from some unique grapes. While Turkish wines aren’t limited to local varietals we decided to focus on those during our tasting. Fortunately, the wines we tried were very good and made by artisans, often women.
Such an amazing wine tasting tour! Andrea was super knowledgable on Turkish wines (she literally wrote the book on Turkish wines!) and helped us pick out wines according to our taste. I try to do a wine tasting in each country I visit, and it was so cool being able to sample native grape varieties with someone with such a deep understanding of the wine making culture of Turkey. The tasting spots were super charming as well. Definitely a highlight of our Istanbul trip!!
My sister and I recently participated in a private wine tasting tour in Istanbul, led by Andrea, who was indeed a delightful guide. Unfortunately, the charm of our guide could not compensate for the overall dismal quality of the tour, which cost us €458. The tour took us to three wine bars, all of which were hidden in dreary back alleys that one could hardly associate with a premium experience. The establishments were not only lackluster but shockingly subpar, especially when considering the hefty fee. The supposed highlight, a “rooftop bar,” was merely a cramped balcony overlooking grimy buildings, far from the enchanting city vistas one might expect. Reflecting on what we received versus the cost, the disparity is stark. With such an amount, we could have indulged in several bottles of fine champagne or enjoyed a variety of premium experiences elsewhere. Instead, we spent our limited and valuable time navigating through the most uninviting parts of Istanbul, tasting wines that did not live up to any standard of quality. While I understand that the Turkish wine scene is still evolving, the level of quality offered was unacceptable for the price charged. This experience was not just disappointing—it was a stark reminder that high costs do not always equate to high quality. I hope this feedback prompts a reevaluation of the pricing and choice of venues to better reflect the true value and potential of Istanbul’s wine tasting tours.
We had the pleasure to be guided by Andrea on the streets of Istanbul and into the world of Turkish wines. Andrea is very passionate, knowledgeable and friendly. We enjoyed visiting three wine bars and tasting wine types still unknown to us at that time. This experience is absolutely worth the price!
A wonderful, detailed introduction to Turkish wines with the top English speaking expert in the country. Selections were chosen based on our interests (we are natural wine lovers), pre and post tour communication was top, great suggestions for restaurants and showed us an area of the city we fell in love with. Highly recommended, it was a special day for something unique in Istanbul!
Made new friends with group, gained more knowledge about the wine industry. Goda was the perfect host and guide. Her in depth knowledge of the wineries and products was helpful to understand the wines by the regions. Made us feel comfortable with her professional attitude to all our questions
An experience that surprised me and I can whole hearted recommend! I never thought of Turkey as a wine country but I was surprised to learn the rich history of wine in the country and the diversity of grapes that are produced here. Our sommelier Andrea is very knowledgeable. She explained Turkey's rich wine culture and along with her talks we tasted some amazing Turkish wines, both native grapes and international known ones. The three wine bars we visited on our walk had all different vibes what we loved. One was a beautiful historical place, one a small popular bar with a lot of locals and the last one was hidden away in a beautiful wine cellar. My special thanks to Andrea. She was an absolute delight to listen to and we shared some good laughs. Highly recommend this experience!
This was a fantastic introduction into Turkish wines. Andrea was incredibly knowledgeable, passionate and easy to talk to. She offered great recommendations on wines as well as some to travel tips for Istanbul (for the best food, wine and views). The venues visited were great with a good selection of snacks offered throughout the tour. While it may seem a bit expensive compared to other similar tours, the quality is next to none and will not easily be beaten. It was a great way to get the lay of the man’s and ease into Istanbul. Would highly recommend!
the unique side of the tour was to experience the city where I lived for years in a different and exciting way. I would 100 % recommend it to all wine lovers and also friends who want to taste local and notable spots in Istanbul and all over Turkey.
If you want to be off the beaten path when in Istanbul, you must book this tour! It offered an amazing experience and we enjoyed it so much! The wines were delicious and the guide very knowledgeable. I will recommend it to all my friends!
It was such a delight to learn from Goda! While I enjoy wine, I am still learning, so to come in blind with Turkish wines I felt in good hands! Goda's love for Istanbul comes through in her tour and you leave with a bit of it to cherish (and now I know which wines to look out for on my next visit!). Do not miss the chance to explore Istanbul with Goda and co! Every bit of it is memorable, and the chance to see the city with an insider's perspective makes it all the more enchanting. Make this treat an absolute must on your visit!!!
I am a true wine lover and this tour really blew me away! Andrea really knows what she is talking about and the locations were stunning. Before the tour started I did not know anything about Turkish wines, well, that changed! I was surprised by the history and the current wine production in Turkey. The whole experience was one really not to miss
Would 100% recommend! I had high expectations and our guide went above and beyond. I didn't know how much Turkish wine had to offer! I will tell all my friends to go to Istanbul and try this experience, worth every penny!
My absolute fav part of this experience was by far its host, Andrea. She is a charming, knowledgable and entertaining wine specialist and she even wrote a book about Turkish wines in English!!! I loved how she specifically selected the wines for each of our tastings (that btw where in gorgeous locations I would have not been able to discover otherwise 😍) and introduced us to the Turkish wine culture by letting us savour products from different regions. I really gained a deeper appreciation of the local culture while enjoying a one-of-a-kind experience and at the same time connected with a brilliant human! We will stay in touch for sure and I will cherish those memories of Instanbul forever! Grazie mille Andrea ✨❤️
Wine tastings at local Istanbul bars were so much fun The Vines and Pearls wine tastings at local Istanbul bars were so much fun, the locations were wonderfully chosen! Always enough time to enjoy the various stops – you never feel rushed. I love wine but knew nothing at all about Turkish wine and it was great to learn about the wide variety of Turkish wines. Of course, the best part was the wine itself and the great host Andrea! You could tell the host really loves wine and has amazing knowledge to share. Definitely one of the best things to do in Istanbul if you are a wine lover, absolutely recommended. 10/10
Thanks Andrea! You made our trip more local and special. ♥️ we really enjoyed this wine tour, visiting different wine establishments all walking distance from each other. So tasting local wine and exploring Istanbul! We started at wine restaurant then moved to a local wine bar and then this beautiful wine cellar (sorry I don't remember the names). In each place we had a wine tasting which was elegantly and nicely done. Best of all - our host Andrea is a wine professional (and super cool and funny personality), well versed in modern and ancient Turkish grape varieties. Yes, all wines were local! pleasantly surprised with Turkish wine quality tbh... so with Andreas help we bought couple bottles back home with us. As souvenirs but I'm not sure if we are going to give them away 😆 This was definitely a nicely spent afternoon in Istanbul, one of our highlights of the city, well recommended experience!
Who knew Turkey had such a rich wine history? I didn't, but after this experience, I can confidently say that I am now educated about it. Sommelier Andrea was amazing and very knowledgeable. She took us to three wine restaurants and explained everything in detail, from the winemaking traditions of Turkey and wine properties to families of winemakers. I highly recommend this experience to wine lovers and wine curious. P.s the bites were very much appreciated as well!
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