Wine Tour to Greece 2023
26th-30th April 2023 – tour completed
4th-8th May 2023 – tour completed
13th-17th September – fully booked *
15th-19th October – places available *
5 days/4 nights based in Nafplio £1,249pp, £100 single supplement
Places available on October tour (Sunday 15th- Thursday19th)
Price excludes flights/Early booking discount available
- Explore the Peloponnese wine regions of Mantinia, Nemea and Achaia – some of the best in Greece.
- Meet family members who tend the vines and make the wine.
- At least six visits over three days.
- Based in Nafplio, a seaside town on the Gulf of Argolis.
- Comprehensive tastings at every visit and four fabulous tasting lunches or dinners.
Tour Dates
Wednesday 26th-Sunday 30th April 2023 – tour completed – read the blog
Thursday 4th May-Monday 8th May 2023 – tour completed
Wednesday 13th-Sunday 17th September 2023 – fully booked *
Sunday 15th-Thursday 19th October 2023– Places available *
* If you wish to book a place, or be wait listed on a tour that is fully booked, or enquire about future tours to Greece, please contact me.
Outline Itinerary
Day 1
Our tour commences at our Meeting Point at Athens Airport (see Flight Transfers below). I will meet the afternoon flight arriving from Heathrow and our coach will take us to Nafplio, where we will settle in to our hotel. In the evening I will host a first night dinner at a local restaurant, at which we will commence our exploration of the wine and cuisine of this beautiful place.
Day 2
Nemea is Greece’s largest appellation, and probably the most important red wine producing area. The village of Nemea, not far from Mycenae, home of one of Greece’s original wine civilisations, is surrounded by mountains and valleys, on whose slopes the red Agiorgitiko grape is grown. We will visit producers in Koutsi, and ‘Ancient Nemea’ on the hilly zone between the mountain and the village. Agiorgitiko, which is rarely found in other parts of Greece, can be made in a variety of styles, from fresh, forward wines for drinking young, to oak aged wines capable of years of development, and even sweet wines. Producers are increasingly experimenting with other varieties, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon, which blends well with Agiorgitiko. A tasting lunch with Nemean wines will round off our day, and the evening is free for people to enjoy Nafplio at leisure.
Day 3
On Friday we venture further afield and visit the Achaia region, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese peninsula. Here, dry white wines are made from the local variety Roditis, grown on the hills to the south, while closer to the coast sweet wines are made from Muscat and the local (red) Mavrodaphne grape. Grand Reserve Mavrodaphne of Patras wines are aged for up to 7 years in oak and bottle. We will fortify ourselves with a comprehensive tasting lunch before our journey back to Nafplio. Free evening.
Day 4
We venture via the Artemisio Tunnel to Kapsas, north of the city of Tripoli, in Mantinia, one of the coolest wine growing regions in Greece. Thanks to the cooling influence of the high altitude, the Moschofilero white grape produces delicious floral, aromatic wines of great character. International varieties such as Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer and Cabernet Sauvignon are also grown in the area, and we can expect some fascinating tastings – rounded off with a superb final meal either at a winery or at a restaurant in Nafplio.
Day 5
Following a morning at leisure in Nafplio, we will depart for Athens Airport (see Flight Transfers below).
Note: the Itinerary may be changed at Tim Syrad Wine Tours discretion so as to facilitate the smooth running of the tour and to accommodate great opportunities for visits or tastings that may become available.
Key Tour Information
* The Key Tour Information specifies what you should expect from the tour, no matter how far ahead you book.
As additional information is published on the website, it will be advised to clients who have reserved a place. The daily itinerary will be finalised in the weeks leading up to the Start Date.
Pricing
- £1,249 per person based on 2 people sharing a double/twin room.
- £100 supplement for single occupancy of a double room.
- £100 discount per person if booked before 1st January 2023 and paid for 10 weeks prior to departure.
Price includes
- Transport from the Meeting Point at Athens Airport to the hotel on Day 1, and to the Departure Point at Athens Airport on Day 5.
- 5 days (including arrival and departure days)/4 nights bed and breakfast in good quality hotel in Nafplio.
- Coach for all activities in the itinerary.
- Three full days of visits and tastings.
- Six visits/tastings, including wineries in key wine producing areas such as Achaia, Nemea and Mantinia.
- Four lunches/dinners with local wines.
- All local taxes and service charges.
- The services of Tim Syrad as your Wine Tour manager and Wine Guide.
It is a condition of my accepting a booking that you will take out appropriate travel insurance – please see our Terms and Conditions Section 8.
Terms and Conditions are available here or on request.
Please note flights are not included in the price. Many of my clients prefer to extend their holiday before or after my tours, so I let people make their own flight arrangements.
* End of Key Tour Information
Flight Transfers
Our meeting Point is Athens Airport. I will arrange transfers from/to Athens airport to coincide with the following flights.
Tour 1
Outbound (26th April 2023)
British Airways from London Heathrow to Athens. Flight BA0636 departs LHR 1040 arrives ATH 1625.
Return (30th April 2023)
British Airways from Athens to London Heathrow. Flight BA0641 departs ATH 1520 arrives LHR 1715.
Tour 2
Outbound (4th May 2023)
British Airways from London Heathrow to Athens. Flight BA0638 departs LHR 0720 arrives ATH 1315
Return (8th May 2023)
British Airways from Athens to London Heathrow. Flight BA0639 departs ATH 1410 arrives LHR 1605.
Tour 3
Outbound (13th September 2023)
British Airways from London Heathrow to Athens. Flight BA0638 departs LHR 0720 arrives ATH 1315.
Return (17th September 2023)
British Airways from Athens to London Heathrow. Flight BA0641 departs ATH 1520 arrives LHR 1715.
Tour 4
Outbound (15th October 2023)
British Airways from London Heathrow to Athens. Flight BA0640 departs LHR 0835 arrives ATH 1425
Return (19th October 2023)
British Airways from Athens to London Heathrow. Flight BA0639 departs ATH 1410 arrives LHR 1605
Please contact me if you would like to discuss travel options, for example flying from a different airport/with a different carrier, or making the journey by rail or driving. I cannot arrange travel for you, but I can advise on what might work best.
How to Book this Tour
Please contact me by phone or email, or use the enquiry form on the Contact page on the website to check availability. When I confirm a place is available, please complete the online booking form to reserve your place.
Once I have confirmed a tour is proceeding I advise clients to arrange flights and confirm travel arrangements to me. Please do not arrange flights before I have confirmed your place and that the tour is proceeding.
Full payment must be paid 10 weeks before the tour starts, invoices will be sent 12 weeks before the tour starts. At this point you will need to provide your insurance details (name of insurer, policy number, 24 hour emergency telephone numbers), outbound/inbound travel arrangements and any dietary requirements.
More about my Wine Tour to Greece
Our 2022 tours to Greece were a revelation, and I am really looking forward to introducing more wine lovers to the history and heritage of the Peloponnese region, and the sheer vibrancy and energy of its new generation of winemakers. As with every tour I run my focus is on getting to know the region through its people as well as its wine, and we will visit a variety of wine producers of different sizes, meeting the people who tend the vines and make the wine.
Probably the first ‘Greek Myth’ we will dispel is that a place so far south in Europe can only make wines that are a bit too alcoholic, lacking in acidity and freshness. While such wines can be found, they will not be on these tours. We will meet winemakers who are growing their grapes at higher altitudes, where the temperature drops dramatically overnight, allowing the vines to recover their balance and the grapes to achieve perfect levels of acidity to complement the ripeness achieved from wonderful sunshine. Acidity is vital in traditional sweet wines such as Mavrodaphne of Patras, made from sun dried grapes, and we will taste examples that rival the best sweet wines of the south of France. And another ‘Greek Myth’ that will be exploded is that there is no such thing as quality Retsina – we will taste some beautiful delicately flavoured examples that show why this is a wine style to be taken seriously.
On each of our three days of visits we will enjoy comprehensive tastings at at least two wineries, and complete our daily exploration with an authentic local meal, to help us better understand how the culture of wine is inextricably linked with the culture of food.
More about Tim Syrad Wine Tours
Since 1997 I have escorted over 110 groups of people on wine tours, visiting more than 30 wine regions in Europe and the New World. My clients keep coming back year after year because in addition to tastings and visits we really do meet the people who make the wine and tend the vines.
I pride myself in offering tours that are informative, imaginative and enjoyable. I keep group sizes manageable so that we spend our time appreciating our visits, not getting on and off the bus or queuing for the loos! I personally escort all of my tours, and I ensure as much as possible of the money my clients pay is spent on great food and wine, and good hotels. I believe you can combine appreciating fabulous wine with relaxation and laughter, which is why so many of my clients come on tour with me every year. More than 70 people have come on at least 10 of my tours.
There is a friendly and welcoming atmosphere on every tour from the start, and I am proud that so many friendships have been made between the people who come on tour with me.
For more information about me, my next tours, and previous tours I have run, and to find out what my clients say (some of whom have been coming on tour with me since 2001) please explore the website.
For more information about this tour, or to book a place, please contact me
By phone (020 7060 4529)
Or email (tim@timsyradwinetours.com)
Or use the online enquiry form on the Contact page
