Kavala wine tasting means a visit to the family and estate wineries on the slopes of Mount Pangaion and in the Drama plain behind Kavala, in Eastern Macedonia, on your own or on a tour with pickup from the city. Tours across the rest of the country are listed on Greece Tours.
The sections below cover the wine area, the estates, the grapes, the winery visit, the region’s story, the tours you can book, the Philippi and Aggitis add-ons, length and inclusions, getting there and the best season, with links into the Kavala pages. The tours shown are checked on GetYourGuide and Viator.
What is Kavala wine tasting?
In the vineyards north and west of the port, Kavala wine tasting brings guests into cellars on Mount Pangaion and in the Drama valley to try wines poured by the people who make them, booked direct with the estate or through a tour.
Kavala wine tasting draws on deep roots. Burnt grape seeds and skins 6,500 years old have been found at Dikili Tash, the prehistoric settlement near Philippi, and the area’s grapes, wine and tsipouro still rank among its best-known products. Bottles span every style of the local PGI wines: white, rosé, dry red, medium-dry red, medium-sweet and sweet.
Visitors reach Kavala wine tasting in one of two ways: an appointment made straight with an estate, or a guided outing from the city with transport arranged. Wine fills one day of a stay; the aqueduct, the castle and the Tobacco Museum fill others, all covered on our page of things to do in Kavala.
Where do Kavala wine tasting tours go?
Kavala wine tasting tours drive 37 km north to Drama, a forty-minute trip, or about 40 km west to the Pangaion range, which rises between the Aegean coast and the plains of Philippi and Kavala and carries Biblia Chora on its slopes.
On the Drama side, Kavala wine tasting enters a valley closed in by Falakro to the north, Lekani to the east, Pangaion to the south and Menikio to the west. Drama town, at 110 metres, makes a central base, and the prefecture’s wineries stand chiefly between 200 and 400 metres, with hot, dry summers.
Westward, Kavala wine tasting heads up the Pangaion range, whose highest peak, Koutra, reaches 1,956 metres with the Aegean to the south. Oriental plane and chestnut trees cover its slopes, and in antiquity the range was famous for gold and silver mines and for an oracle of Dionysus, the god of wine.
Which wineries host Kavala wine tasting?
Kavala wine tasting is hosted by Biblia Chora on Mount Pangaion and by the Drama estates of Domaine Costa Lazaridi, Chateau Nico Lazaridi, Ktima Pavlidis and Wine Art Estate, while the municipal tourism site names seven cellars open to visitors in the Kavala regional unit.
On the slopes of Pangaion, Kavala wine tasting leads to Biblia Chora at Kokkinohori. Oenologists Vassilis Tsaktsarlis and Vangelis Gerovassiliou founded it as a model organic vineyard of 50 hectares at 400 metres, with a 6,600 square metre winery among the vines.
In Drama, Kavala wine tasting reaches the estates behind the valley’s modern reputation. Domaine Costa Lazaridi, also called Chateau Julia, dates from 1992 at Adriani; Chateau Nico Lazaridi at Agora began as a company in 1987 and built its winery in 1997; and Christoforos Pavlidis founded Ktima Pavlidis in 1998, with vineyards at Perihora and Kokinogia.
Wine Art Estate at Mikrohori grew from a small family vineyard that Yiannis Papadopoulos planted in 1993; his son Akis, an oenologist who studied in Bordeaux, has made its wines since 2009. For Kavala wine tasting inside the regional unit, the municipality also lists Kelari Dialekto, Makedon Winery, Estate Chatzigeorgiou, Ampeloeis, Protopapas Estate and Tsikrikonis Winery as open to visitors.
Which grape varieties does Kavala wine tasting pour?
The glass at a Kavala wine tasting fills with Assyrtiko and Sauvignon Blanc, the pair behind Drama’s signature white blend, and with Malagousia, Agiorgitiko, Syrah and Bordeaux reds, while Limnio, Roditis and Muscat of Alexandria sit among the grapes the local PGI rules allow.
Assyrtiko, native to Santorini and known for keeping its acidity as it ripens, marked a turning point for Drama. At a Kavala wine tasting the valley’s Assyrtiko shows fruitier and more aromatic than the island original, and its blend with Sauvignon Blanc, born in Drama, is now closely tied to the area.
Malagousia grows mainly in Macedonia and gives perfumed wines with medium-plus acidity; Vangelis Gerovassiliou of Biblia Chora is the oenologist who received the rescued vine from his professor in the 1970s. Reds at a Kavala wine tasting run from Merlot and Syrah to Agiorgitiko, the St George’s grape, and Limnio, a Lemnos native with a note of bay leaves.
- Assyrtiko with Sauvignon Blanc: Amethystos Blanc, THEMA white and Fegites white
- Sauvignon Blanc, Assyrtiko and Malagousia: the Chateau Nico Lazaridi blend
- Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc: Magic Mountain
- Agiorgitiko: EMPHASIS Agiorgitiko at Ktima Pavlidis
- Xinomavro: Idisma Drios Xi at Wine Art Estate
What happens at a winery during Kavala wine tasting?
During Kavala wine tasting, the estate team first explains the vineyard and the winemaking, then pours a flight of its own labels; at Domaine Costa Lazaridi the tour lasts 20 minutes and the tasting 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the wines chosen.
Biblia Chora builds its Kavala wine tasting around the land. A guide leads the group through the organic vines and the winery and links the altitude, soils and microclimate of Pangaion to the character of the wines before the estate’s range is poured. The session lasts one hour, takes up to 50 guests and runs in Greek, English or German.
Drama’s estates set their own terms for Kavala wine tasting. Domaine Costa Lazaridi and Ktima Pavlidis take visitors by advance booking, while Chateau Nico Lazaridi needs no booking and houses works of art and the Magic Mountain gallery. Costa Lazaridi also runs a distillery at Adriani for tsipouro and ouzo. Readers comparing regions can set these visits beside an Olympia wine tasting.
How did the wine region behind Kavala wine tasting grow?
A revival that began in the 1970s, after a long lull, built the region behind Kavala wine tasting, with the Lazaridis family laying the foundations; the Wine Roads of Northern Greece mapped its cellars from 1997, and PGI zones now name each district.
A temple of Dionysus dated to 400 BC was found inside today’s Drama wine zone, yet vines there fell quiet until the 1970s, and before the 1980s Drama added little to Greek wine. Costa Lazaridis planted his first vineyard outside Drama in 1979 as a hobby, with Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Assyrtiko; other businessmen and oenologists followed, and their estates now host Kavala wine tasting.
The Wine Roads of Northern Greece began as a network of 13 winemakers, whose association outlined the first routes in 1997; its 8 routes link 32 notable wineries across Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace. The Wine Route of Dionysus runs east from Serres through Drama and Kavala. With no PDO zone in Drama, given its short modern history, the bottles at a Kavala wine tasting carry PGI names:
- PGI Drama, for wines made in Drama
- PGI Agora and PGI Adriani, two smaller zones inside Drama
- PGI Macedonia, used when the grapes, in part or in full, are grown in a neighbouring prefecture such as Kavala
- PGI Kavala and PGI Pangaion, on the Kavala side
Which Kavala wine tasting tours can you book?
GetYourGuide lists five Kavala wine tasting tours: a private five-hour VinoTour, a two-winery day with premium transfers, a four-hour winery visit with a bakery stop, and days pairing a winery with Philippi or a river cave, plus Viator and local versions.
The two-winery Kavala wine tasting is pitched as a luxury outing with premium transfers and pickup, pouring at Nico Lazaridi Winery and Wine Art Estate with a guided tour at each. The four-hour format, with pickup available and a meal included, adds a traditional bakery and stories from Greek mythology to the food pairings.
Viator lists a Kavala wine tasting with food pairings, and its product link names the Kavala and Drama vineyards. Kavala Wine Tours, a company working across the Kavala and Drama region, sells its own four-hour winery tour direct. Xplora runs a VinoTour with a guide and a van, calling at Ktima Biblia Chora and Ampeloeis.
Which Kavala wine tasting tours add Philippi or the Aggitis cave?
Two private Kavala wine tasting tours add a sight: a six-hour day pairs ancient Philippi and the baptism site of Lydia with a winery, and a five-hour day crosses the Aggitis river cave, which sits a short distance from the Aggitis gorge.
The Philippi day runs as a guided private tour with skip the line entry, and its Kavala wine tasting takes place at a local winery. Ancient Philippi, the subject of our Philippi tours page, stands about 13 km north-west of Kavala. Near the village of Lydia, by tradition, Paul baptised Lydia, a purple-cloth merchant from Thyatira, in the river Zygaktis.
On the cave route, a guided crossing of the Aggitis river cave and a Kavala wine tasting at a local winery share one scenic drive. The Aggitis, also spelt Angitis, rises in the Falakro mountains near Prosotsani in the Drama regional unit and runs 75 km before joining the Strymonas. Its cave stretches 21 km, and the nearby gorge runs 15 km and drops to 100 m.
How long does a Kavala wine tasting tour take and what does it include?
Across the five GetYourGuide listings, a Kavala wine tasting tour lasts 3.5 to 6 hours and covers tastings and guided visits, with pickup on two tours and a meal on one, while operator versions add a bakery breakfast, a charcuterie board and bottled water.
- Two-winery day with premium transfers: 3.5 to 5 hours
- Winery visit with a bakery stop and food pairings: 4 hours
- VinoTour, on GetYourGuide and at Xplora: 5 hours
- Aggitis river cave crossing and a winery: 5 hours
- Philippi, the Lydia baptism site and a winery: 6 hours
Xplora lists what its VinoTour covers: a private day trip by van with a driver, bottled water, a sharebox of small bites, refreshing towels, entrance fees and the Kavala wine tasting itself. At the first estate, the tasting runs to three labels, and the second stop follows a drive along the coast.
Kavala Wine Tours builds its Kavala wine tasting around transport, a bakery breakfast and one vineyard, where five local labels meet a charcuterie board matched to them, and a second winery joins on request. The city’s bakeries and market stalls get a walk of their own, set out on the Kavala food tour page.
How do you reach the wineries for Kavala wine tasting?
Kavala wine tasting tours bring you to the wineries by van or car, with pickup on two GetYourGuide listings and a return to the ship on the Philippi day, while self-drivers reach Drama, 37 km north of Kavala, in a forty-minute drive.
Kavala Wine Tours collects guests at a central point in Kavala, with pickup at your own location when availability allows, and moves its groups in shared private cars or minivans. Xplora starts its Kavala wine tasting day with coffee and a briefing at its CitySpot base in the city, then boards a mini bus for the countryside villages.
For a self-drive Kavala wine tasting, a hired car gives the freest way round the cellar routes, with regional roads winding through the Pangaio foothills to the vine-growing villages of Myrtofyto, Mesoropi and Kokkinochori, and the Drama estates set in Doxato, Adriani and Mikrochori. Thessaloniki lies 160 km west on the A2 motorway, and Kavala International Airport 27 km from the city.
When is the best season for Kavala wine tasting?
Late summer and early autumn suit Kavala wine tasting best, since the Northern Hemisphere harvest runs from August to October before Drama’s chilly, wet winters, yet the five GetYourGuide calendars stay open for bookings all year, so a tasting fits any season.
The main picking in the Northern Hemisphere falls from late August to early October, with late-harvest grapes brought in through the autumn. Kavala and Drama share a Mediterranean climate with hot summers, and a warm-season Kavala wine tasting pairs well with slow drives past meadows and vine-lined roads.
Winter brings skiing on Mount Falakro, the mountain at whose foot Drama stands, and from July to September the Festival of Philippi stages plays and concerts, while Drama screens a short film festival in September. A Kavala wine tasting fits beside either, and a Kavala walking tour covers the old town on a free morning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can children join a Kavala wine tasting tour?
Children can join the four-hour Kavala wine tasting with a bakery stop and food pairings, the one GetYourGuide listing with a child ticket for ages 17 and younger next to an adult ticket for ages 18 to 99. The other four listings use one ticket type for guests aged 99 and younger, without a separate child rate.
How large are Kavala wine tasting tour groups?
Kavala Wine Tours keeps each Kavala wine tasting group to a maximum of 15 people and discusses a private option on request. On GetYourGuide, the VinoTour is sold per private group of up to six, the Philippi and Aggitis cave days are private-group tours, and the two-winery day carries a small-group label.
Can you cancel a Kavala wine tasting tour for free?
Yes. Free cancellation appears on every one of the five GetYourGuide tours for Kavala wine tasting, and each needs a booking made 10 or more hours ahead. The Viator winery tour shows free cancellation too, and Xplora ties a free cancellation window of 24 hours to VinoTour bookings made at least 48 hours in advance.
Is tsipouro poured on a Kavala wine tasting tour?
Yes: the Kavala wine tasting run by Kavala Wine Tours starts at a traditional bakery, where a Greek breakfast comes with tsipouro, the distilled drink, before the drive to the vineyard. Grapes, wine and tsipouro rank among the best-known local products of the Kavala area.