Zeynep Arca Şallıel is the co-founder and director of Arcadia Vineyards, a family-owned winery in Turkish Thrace established to revitalize the region’s winemaking traditions and produce high-quality wines with a distinctive sense of terroir.

Together with her father, Özcan Arca, she has developed Arcadia into a project that brings together winemaking, sustainable agriculture, gastronomy and wine tourism. The project also includes Bakucha Vineyard Hotel.

Zeynep is a passionate advocate for the sustainable development of wine regions and the preservation of their cultural and natural identity.

Terroir Without Borders: The Other Side of Thrace
Master class

Thrace is a wine-growing land with a history stretching back thousands of years. Modern borders may divide it, but they cannot erase its shared identity. What is happening on the other side of the Strandzha Mountains? Which grape varieties are grown there? What does contemporary winemaking look like, and what character do the wines acquire in this region, still relatively unfamiliar to Bulgarian wine lovers?

Zeynep Arca Şallıel will take us on a journey through Turkish Thrace, exploring the wines of Arcadia Vineyards, one of the region’s most intriguing wineries, near Kırklareli. We will discover both indigenous grape varieties and the many facets of international ones, while discussing terroir, climate, and winemaking philosophy.

A guided tasting masterclass that reminds us just how close an unfamiliar world of wine can be.

Wines to be tasted:
Mahiada Blanc de Noir, 2021 Papaskarası, Methode champenoise Sparkling
Odrysia sauvignon Gris 2025, Sauvignon Gris, Dry White Wine
Odrysia Narince 2024, Narince, Dry White Wine
Arcadia Papaskarası Öküzgözü 2025 Wild fermentation
Arcadia A Cabernet Franc 2022
Arcadia Aquila Blend 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc