The Sahara Wine Road

A German-Egyptian businessman who lives in Tuscany planted 450 acres of vines near Luxor where summer temperatures hit 50°C. Workers harvest at dawn before the heat becomes impossible. This trail follows the most improbable wine story on Earth — from ancient pharaonic vineyards painted on tomb walls to indigenous Bannati grapes on the Red Sea, from the Greek-Egyptian entrepreneur who revived winemaking in 1882 to the mad visionary growing Cabernet in the Sahara. Egypt had 24 wine regions in antiquity. The Arab conquest killed the tradition. These people are bringing it back.

4 experiences Egypt moderate 4-5 days

Map

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Stops

  1. 1
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    Gianaclis Nile Delta Winery

    Visit Egypt oldest modern winery, founded in 1882 by Greek-Egyptian entrepreneur Nestor Gianaclis. He revived Egyptian viticulture that had been dormant since the Arab conquest. See vineyards irrigated by the Nile. Taste wines that continue a tradition that Cleopatra would recognize. The original estate is south of Alexandria, connected to the Mediterranean wine world by history.

    tour $$
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    Pharaonic Wine Archaeology Tour

    Visit the site of a 2,000-year-old Roman winery discovered in 2020 in the Nile Delta. Archaeologists found wine storage jars, production facilities, and evidence of large-scale ancient winemaking. Then see pharaonic tomb paintings showing grape harvests. Ancient Egyptians had 24 wine regions. The tradition died with the Arab conquest but the evidence remains painted on walls.

    tour $$
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    Sahara Vineyards Tour

    Visit the most improbable vineyard on Earth. A German-Egyptian businessman who lives in Tuscany planted 450 acres of vines near Luxor where summer temperatures hit 50 degrees Celsius. Palm trees shade the vines. Refrigerated trucks rush grapes to the winery. Workers harvest at dawn before the heat becomes impossible. Ask him: why fight the Sahara? The answer involves pharaohs, obsession, and pure stubbornness.

    tour $$$
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    Kouroum of the Nile & Indigenous Grapes

    Taste wines made from Bannati - an indigenous Egyptian grape variety that may have grown here for millennia. Kouroum of the Nile won a silver medal at the International Wine Contest Brussels 2016 with their Beausoleil white. This is what Egyptian wine might have tasted like before international varieties arrived. The winery is in El Gouna resort town on the Red Sea.

    tasting $$