Thracian Valley wine tasting - private day tour from Plovdiv
Description
Tempting wine journey to explore one of the most modern wineries in Bulgaria situated at the foothill of the Rhodope Mountains. The local wine experts combine millennia of experience with the latest wine making technologies to create top notch wines. Some 5000 years ago the ancient Thracians inhabiting the territory of the present-day Bulgarian lands began to grow vines and make wine. Nowadays Bulgaria produces some of the finest wines in the world and is a reviving country on the global wine market. Local Bulgarian sorts of wines as Mavrud, Melnik, Gamza, Dimiat, Rubin and more are famous around the world and have won many international awards.
Tour Options
Itinerary
This guided wine tour will take you to one of the most ancient wine regions of the world named the Thracian Valley. This is the largest and most important wine region of Bulgaria as well. The winery you’ll visit is situated at the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, some 40 min away from Plovdiv. The wine experts at that boutique winery combine the millennia experience with the latest wine producing technologies. This is one of the best and most modern wineries in Bulgaria which is fully equipped with first class cellar technology of newest generation. The top wine which is a blend of the native red varieties Mavrud and Rubin wines wins regularly many prestigious international awards. The wine tour includes a visit to the fermentation room, the storage room where the wine ages in oak barrels, the enoteca and the wine tasting room where you’ll try 5 local wines with appetizers included in the tour price. At the end if weather permits you’ll explore the vineyards as well.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Travelers are collected from any hotel (accommodation) or location within Plovdiv city. Travelers must provide their pick up location upon booking or closer to their tour date.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(5)
Lovely trip to Villa Yustina. Just one tasting, but it was plentiful! We contemplated just driving ourselves (as we had rental car), but going with a guide gave us a nice tour of the area and explanation of the geography in relation to both history and agriculture. And, we probably would have gotten lost as rural signs are sparse and only Bulgarian language. But, that’s why we got a guide! At the vineyard, we got a tour of the grounds, FYI - while a beautiful property, their actual grapes are not nearby. So, while this remind me of Napa a bit, you wont be getting shots of yourself sipping wine next to the vines. That said, we tasted 5 wines with a lovely meat and cheese spread. All of it was Amazing! Really, not a single wine that I wouldn’t buy. Very affordable wines as well. My only disappointment was that I couldn’t ship the wines home to the States, so I was limited to just a couple bottles to pack in my suitcase. Oh well! Plovdiv is a great ciry to visit, but if you feel like you want to get out of the city and see the surroundings, this is a great idea and comes with some delicious wine!
Thanks a lot for the lovely review!
We had a wonderful wine tasting experience with Kamen this morning who took us to Villa Yustina. It was relaxing being picked up from our accommodation, learning about the land and history as we drove to the winery and then having a fantastic tasting experience. The wines are of a fantastic quality and we walked away with quite a few bottles, with plans to return. Kamen and the winery were very accommodating and welcoming and we had a fantastic experience. I would highly recommend this tour!
Thanks Erin! I'm glad you liked the tour! Cheers!
The trip to the winery was fantastic - there is a guided tour of the winery itself followed by a wine tasting that includes 5 wines of your own choice (reds, whites, rosés). There are also some small snacks included. Kamen was very knowledgeable about the area surrounding Plovdiv and the winery itself, and I learned a lot on the drive out! It’s located in a very picturesque village, and the winery is dog friendly! I would highly recommend the winery trip to anyone who is interested in wine. It’s a great half day out.
Thanks a lot!
Two of us arranged for a private trip to Starosel to visit the Thracian temple and to spend time at the local spa and winery. Kamen was instrumental in organizing the trip to meet our needs. He was very responsive and communicative. We traveled with Stoyan the day of our trip. He was available before our scheduled pick up time and made sure we made our appointments. Excellent service, excellent driving, and an all around pleasure. I highly recommend Plovdiv Travel.
Guide and driver Stoyan set up a visit to the Villa Yustina Winery, about which we had read excellent reviews. At Villa Yustina, Guide Maria Spasova provided us with a brief tour of the facilities and then a detailed, delightfully insightful, and personalized wine tasting. There was a 2021 Rosé called "Spring" made from the Rubin grape, hands down one of the best rosés I've had anywhere. Also a knock out was the 2016 Monogram, a blend of Mavrud and Rubin grape varieties aged in Bulgarian oak, elegant and deeply flavored. We also immensely enjoyed the Sparkling Wine Extra Brut made from the Semillon grape variety, and ended up buying a mixed case of those three to bring back to the US. We enjoyed a number of other wines, all made at or above international standards. This was a tour and tasting the equivalent of any Napa Valley tour, and at 1980s prices! Afterwards, Maria drove us out to the vineyards, to a hilltop site where Villa Yustina hosts outdoor wedding receptions and special events. Stoyan deserves credit not only for driving us out there, but also for relating the history of the region and outlining the economic and political challenges facing Bulgaria as it integrates into the European Union.
