Day-by-day estate-visit plans for Naoussa: weekend, first-timer and deep-cellar editions.

Day-by-day plans

One day through the Naoussa PDO core ★ 4.2

First visit, day trip, own car neededP1D

A single day looping through Episkopi and Paliokalias, the two villages closest to town, ending at the one shop in Naoussa built entirely around the local grape.

  1. Day 1: Episkopi, Paliokalias and the town centre

    Morning
    Start at the VAENI Naoussa Tasting Room in Episkopi, weekdays 9:00 to 14:00 by appointment, for the forty five minute cooperative tour ending in a paid flight of three Naoussa PDO wines.
    Afternoon
    Drive to Dalamaras Winery Tasting Room on the Naoussa to Kato Vermiou road for the cellar-door route through the vineyard garden and ageing vault, with tsipouro and olives offered in the garden.
    Evening
    Close the day at House of Xinomavro on Chatzigrigoriadi street, a shop stocked entirely with Xinomavro from producers across the PDO, to pick up bottles from cellars not open that day.

Two days: Naoussa cellars and the royal tombs of Vergina ★ 4.6

First visit, appointments booked aheadP2D

Day one stays inside the appellation with a museum stop and two cellar visits; day two drives out to Vergina and Veria before returning for a Kir-Yianni evening pour.

  1. Day 1: The Wine and Vine Museum and the family cellars

    Morning
    Begin at the Wine and Vine Museum on Hatzimalousi Street, a neoclassical 1908 building with fermentation vats, barrels and demijohns, plus a self-guided map of the town's producer trail.
    Afternoon
    Domaine Foundi Tasting Room at Nea Strantza welcomes drop-in visitors as a Wine Roads of Northern Greece member, followed by Argatia Tasting Room in the hillside village of Rodochori for its wider varietal range.
    Evening
    Check in to Palea Poli Boutique Hotel in the old town, a six-minute walk from the museum.

  2. Day 2: Vergina and Veria

    Morning
    Drive 27 kilometres to Vergina for the Museum of the Royal Tombs, built over the 1977 excavation that found the tomb of Philip II, and the restored Palace of Aigai, reopened in 2024.
    Afternoon
    Walk Veria's Barbouta district for its 1850 synagogue and the town's Byzantine churches before driving back to Naoussa.
    Evening
    Return to Ktima Kir-Yianni in Yiannakohori for the one-hour Xinomavro Experience, a guided flight of six bottlings poured side by side.

The Wine Odyssey day trip from Thessaloniki ★ 4.3

Based in Thessaloniki, no car neededP1D

For visitors staying in Thessaloniki rather than Naoussa, this follows the Wine Odyssey operator's own eight-hour itinerary rather than a self-drive plan.

  1. Day 1: Vergina then Naoussa

    Morning
    Pickup in Thessaloniki around 9am for the drive to Vergina, stopping at the Archaeological Museum of Vergina and the Aigai palace site.
    Afternoon
    Tasting at Dalamaras Winery followed by a tour and pairing lunch at Ktima Kir-Yianni, both inside the Naoussa PDO.
    Evening
    Return drive to Thessaloniki, arriving by about 6pm.

A single-estate day at Kir-Yianni ★ 4.4

Wants depth at one producer rather than several cellarsP1D

Kir-Yianni in Yiannakohori is the only Naoussa producer with several distinct, separately bookable visitor formats, so this itinerary stays at one address all day.

  1. Day 1: Yiannakohori, morning to evening

    Morning
    Vineyards on Two Wheels, a one-hour e-bike ride through the estate's vineyard blocks on Vermio's eastern slopes.
    Afternoon
    The Xinomavro Experience, a guided flight of six bottlings poured side by side to show how the one PDO grape changes across sites and vintages.
    Evening
    The Naoussa and Santorini Comparison Tasting, a four-wine flight setting the estate's Xinomavro reds against its Santorini Assyrtiko.

Family cellars off the main road ★ 4.1

Repeat visitor looking past the best-known housesP1D

A day built around three cellars that stay off most tour itineraries: a fifth-generation cooper's estate, a boutique one-man winery, and a hillside cellar with the region's widest varietal range.

  1. Day 1: Gastra, Dalamari and Rodochori

    Morning
    Ktima Melitzani on Gastra hill, founded by cooper Dimitris Melitzani in 1918 and now farmed organically by the fourth generation on about 2.2 hectares.
    Afternoon
    Kokkinos Winery in the Dalamari area, a one-man boutique operation first bottled in 2009, working two Xinomavro parcels a generation apart in an underground cellar of French oak barrels.
    Evening
    Argatia in the hillside village of Rodochori, twelve kilometres out at 540 metres, for its wider range: Xinomavro alongside Malagousia, Assyrtiko, Negoska and Mavrodaphne.

Naoussa cellars and the Edessa waterfalls ★ 4.3

Wants nature alongside the wineP1D

Naoussa in the morning, then 35 kilometres north to Edessa, where the falls drop at the edge of the town centre itself.

  1. Day 1: VAENI in the morning, Edessa in the afternoon

    Morning
    VAENI Naoussa Tasting Room in Episkopi for the cooperative's guided route and a three-wine flight, weekdays 9:00 to 14:00 by appointment.
    Afternoon
    Walk to Edessa's waterfalls, a short walk from the car parks above town, no hike required, plus the Byzantine churches and the old hemp factory nearby.
    Evening
    Drive back to Naoussa for the evening.

Naoussa to Pella, birthplace of Alexander ★ 4.2

History-focused, comfortable with a longer driveP1D

A quieter museum morning in Naoussa followed by the roughly 50 kilometre drive out to ancient Pella, the longest of the day trips from this base.

  1. Day 1: The Wine and Vine Museum, then Pella

    Morning
    The Wine and Vine Museum on Hatzimalousi Street for a self-guided walk through fermentation vats, barrels and harvest tools.
    Afternoon
    Ancient Pella, capital of Macedon and birthplace of Philip II and Alexander the Great, for the pebble mosaics and the Archaeological Museum of Pella.
    Evening
    Drive back to Naoussa in the early evening.

Organic and low-intervention Naoussa ★ 4.0

Dietary-focused visitor tracking organic and natural bottlingsP1D

A day that follows the dietary thread through Naoussa: two organically farmed estates and the single cuvee in the appellation made with indigenous yeast and no added sulfites.

  1. Day 1: Paliokalias and Gastra

    Morning
    Dalamaras Winery Tasting Room at Paliokalias, the estate's Xinomavro certified organic, with a cellar-door route ending in a tasting hall built around the family's antique wine tools.
    Afternoon
    Ktima Melitzani on Gastra hill, organically farmed by the fourth generation on about 2.2 hectares since Dimitris Melitzani founded the estate in 1918.
    Evening
    Ask for Thymiopoulos Vineyards' Xinomavro Nature by the glass in town, the region's one bottling fermented with indigenous yeast and no added sulfites, rather than a cellar-door stop since the producer publishes no visitor programme.

A carnival-season weekend in Naoussa ★ 3.9

Visiting during the winter Carnival datesP2D

Naoussa's Carnival-season custom, Genitsaroi kai Boules, draws crowds to the streets, so this two-day plan pairs the procession with cellar visits timed around it rather than during it.

  1. Day 1: Arrival and a winter cellar visit

    Morning
    Arrive in Naoussa and settle in before the town's Carnival-weekend crowds build.
    Afternoon
    Dalamaras Winery Tasting Room at Paliokalias, on Vermio's milder eastern foothills where winters run less harsh than on the higher slopes, booked ahead since winter is a slow season at the smaller cellars.
    Evening
    Watch the Genitsaroi kai Boules procession from the town centre, masked figures dancing to zurna and davul through the streets on Carnival Sunday.

  2. Day 2: A second cellar, away from the crowds

    Morning
    VAENI Naoussa Tasting Room in Episkopi, a short drive from the town centre and away from the Carnival procession route.
    Afternoon
    House of Xinomavro on Chatzigrigoriadi street to pick up bottles from cellars not visited this trip.
    Evening
    A quiet evening back at the hotel after two days that combined the custom with the cellars.

Itineraries in Naoussa, FAQ

When is the best time to visit Naoussa for wine?

Peak wine-travel season in Naoussa is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.

Do I need an appointment to taste at Naoussa estates?

classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.

What hours do Naoussa cellars and tasting rooms keep?

most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.

How does tipping work at Naoussa tastings?

tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.

What is the one wine to try in Naoussa?

Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Naoussa rewards trust.

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