Wine history started in Turkey about 7,000 years ago, not as long ago as in Georgia and Armenia, but still something to be proud of. Well-known Turkish wineries including Doluca, Sevilen, Kavaklidere, Pamukkale, Kocabag, Kayra, and Turasa are appreciated on the international market. Istanbul still offers a number of less known yet likewise delightful local wines worth your attention. Some local bars offer up to 300 wine varieties.
Refined Anatolian wines are brought to Istanbul from the Vinkara winery, moreover, one might find here delicious thyme-scented wines produced in Avra in one of the Princes' Islands—Buyulubag. It is hardly possible to taste all the varieties of whites, reds, and rosés available in Istanbul within a single holiday unless you come here for a month or so. But you always can buy a few bottles and indulge yourself in Turkish wines at home. The high season when one may try grape varieties along with wine itself is best in September.
