Olives, Wine and Ionian Cities on the Urla Vineyard Route

Urla is a town thirty-five kilometres west of İzmir at the entrance to the peninsula, and over the past twenty years it has become one of Turkey's most talked-about wine regions. Small wineries brought back forgotten local grapes; Urla Karası, Bornova Misketi, Foça Karası. The tasting rooms are open to visitors. You can do this trip in a day, but to really enjoy it, have someone in the group who is not driving.

The wineries are scattered among the villages south of Urla; Kuşçular, Bademler, Zeytineli. Public transport does not reach them. The practical answer is a car from İzmir or one of the day tours built around the wine road. A bus from İzmir to Urla centre takes an hour; from there you can move between wineries by taxi, if you agree terms with the driver in the morning.

Start with olives before wine. At Klazomenai near Urla İskele, an olive-oil workshop from the sixth century BC has been reconstructed; its stone press and separation basins show that this was olive land long before it was vineyard land. Then breakfast by the sea at İskele, without hurrying.

Tastings usually start after 11 a.m. and most wineries ask for an appointment; weekends are busier. A tasting takes forty-five minutes to an hour, with three or four wines and cheese and olive oil alongside. Two, at most three, wineries a day is realistic; by the fourth the flavours blur, and do not ask how we know. Some wineries have their own restaurants; lunch among the vines with seasonal vegetables and local meat is the best moment of the route. The roads around Zeytineli are especially scenic, with the sea showing behind the vines.

In the afternoon come down to Urla centre. Art Street is a stroll through workshops, small galleries and cafes in restored old houses. On Saturdays Urla's big market is held; local cheese, greens and artichokes in season.

End the day at the fish restaurants of Urla İskele. First a sunset walk on the causeway to Karantina Island, then Aegean herb meze and the catch of the day. Book at lunchtime.

If you are tasting wine, do not drive; go as a group or take a tour. The harvest is in September, the liveliest period on the route; some wineries hold harvest events. It is open in winter too, but the vines are bare. Tasting fees vary; if you buy a bottle most places deduct the fee, so buy one.