Turkish wine

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Wine-producing regions in Turkey.
Map of Turkey showing the wine production regions, and the sum of temperature above the zero growth of the vine (10 °C) from April to September.

Turkish wine is

transcontinental Eurasian country Turkey. The Caucasus region, where Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran are located, played a pivotal role in the early history of wine and is likely to have been one of the earliest wine-producing regions of the world.[1]

world's fourth-leading producer of grapes for wine production.[citation needed
]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey's first president, established the country's first commercial winery in 1925. According to the OIV, the total wine production in 2005 was 28,700,000 litres.[2] In the first half of 2009, wine consumption in Turkey reached 20,906,762 litres. [citation needed]

Climate and wine regions

See also: Geography of Turkey and List of Turkish wine regions

The size and geography of Turkey accounts for the wide climatic variation of Turkey's wine regions. The wine regions of

Central Anatolia regions. The region of Central Anatolia is the most climatically difficult region to produce wine, with most vineyards being located at altitudes near 1,250 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level. Winter frost is a serious viticultural hazard, with winter temperatures often dropping to −25 °C (−13 °F). In the summer, grapes of this region can receive up to 12 hours of sunshine a day.[3] The vineyards of Eastern Anatolia around Elazığ, Malatya and Diyarbakır are located in the Euphrates valley, which is one of the world's oldest wine regions and the anecdotal location of Noah's vineyards from the 9th chapter of Genesis.[1]

Grapes and wine

Warpalawas, King of Tuwana and Tarhunza, worshipping Tarḫunna the weather god of the Hittites, who holds ears of wheat in one hand and bunches of grapes in the other

With between 600 and 1200 indigenous

Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.[3]

Grape varieties of Turkey [4]
Region White grapes Red grapes
Marmara (Thracian) Region
Alvarinho, Narince
Cinsault, Malbec, Petit Verdot
Aegean Region
Bornova Misketi
Trebbiano
Shiraz
Kalecik Karası
Pinot noir
Sangiovese
Montepulciano
Grenache
Tannat
Petit Verdot
Cabernet Franc
Black Sea Region
 Narince Öküzgözü
Boğazkere
Central Anatolia Region
 Emir
Hasandede 		Kalecik Karası
Papazkarası
Dimrit
Mediterranean Region Kabarcık
Dökülgen 		Sergi Karası
Burdur Dimriti
Eastern Anatolia Region
 Narince
Kabarcık 		Öküzgözü
Boğazkere
Southeastern Anatolia Region
 Dökülgen
Kabarcık
Rumi 		Horoz Karası
Öküzgözü
Boğazkere
Sergi Karası

Wineries

As of 2008, the largest winery of Turkey was operated by Tekel, which started as a state-owned monopoly. TTA/TEKEL alcoholic beverages section privatized by a block sale of 100% of shares for US$292 million to Nurol-Özaltın-Limak-Tütsab Consortium and the Share Purchase Agreement signed on February 27, 2004. Other notable wineries include Sarafin on the Gallipoli peninsula in Thrace, which was Turkey's first privately owned "boutique winery", Doluca of Thrace, Kavaklıdere of Ankara.[3] Also Pamukkale Winery make wines.[5] Korubaşı Vineyards, is the smallest licensed boutique winery in Turkey. Situated 6 km from the ancient site of Assos, it was established in 2003 following a detailed soil analysis carried out at Ege University and U.C.Davis labs. Their first Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines were planted in the spring of 2004, followed by Montepulciano and Sauvignon Blanc through the next six years, all on R110 or R140 rootstocks as suggested by the soil analysis. Presently wine production is limited to just under 10000 bottles annually. Korubaşı vineyards has medaled three times for their Doseluna wines at the prestigious International Wine Challenge in London.[6][7]

Buzbağ is a full flavored red wine made from Boğazkere grapes grown in the Anatolia region of Turkey. The wine is a red wine with high tannic levels. It is sometimes produced in an ice wine fashion with the grapes allowed to hang on the vine till the first frost and then crushed while the grapes are still frozen. Historically, the area where Buzbağ is produced is considered a possible birthplace of wine.[8] The biblical accounts of Noah after the flood has him planting a vineyard near the area where the ark landed. This area is presumed to be Mount Ararat where Buzbağ is still being produced today by the state run vineyards of Tekel near the town of Elazığ by the Euphrates river.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-84000-332-4
  2. ^ "Situation du Secteur Vitivinicole Mondial en 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-19-860990-6
  4. ^ "Şaraplık Üzümler - Şarap Yapımı - hayyam.com". Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2019-07-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "International Wine Challenge – the most influential wine competition in the World".
  7. ^ "DOSELUNA – family owned and operated boutique winery". Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
  8. ^ "Turkey wining and dining". February 11, 2006 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Financial Times". Archived from the original on 2012-11-05.