Updated Feb 2021
Wine tasting in Cappadocia, Turkey
Why visit Cappadocia? Well first off, it’s gorgeous to visit year-round. In the warmer months, there are large crowds visiting to stay in the cave hotels and take a scenic hot air balloon experience. Those visiting in the winter will be rewarded by its beauty without crowds, but should be ready to face cold temperatures and snowfall.
A lesser known gem of Cappadocia is the local wine. Wine tasting in Cappadocia Turkey is difficult, but we went recently and are sharing all the secrets.
History of Cappadocia
Turkey is part of the Caucasus region, considered to be the birthplace of wine, with signs of production and grape domestication as far back as 8000 BC to 4000 BC. There are some award winning wines here, and we definitely encourage anyone interested in wine to enjoy learning and tasting local selections.
We found that getting to know the varietals and wine tasting in Cappadocia is not as easy as many other places in Europe. The wineries tend to let you taste a variety of their wines for free (which is great!) but rush you through and lacked the technical English to describe the grape varietals or wine making methods.
We turned to the internet for more information… and came to find that “Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government imposed a raft of new alcohol laws, including strict rules on the promotion of drink” and thus many wine producers have had to take down promotional (and thus informational) content from their websites. Through our tastings, research and chats with the locals.. we hope this guide is helpful in navigating the region for your visit.
Helpful tip: If you are searching google maps.. look up “Sarap Evi” meaning wine shop or “Sarapcilik” meaning winery.
What wines will you taste in Cappadocia
There are 5 main varietals of Turkey (all found in the Cappadocian wines), though the local wineries use varietals non-native varietals as well.
Boğazkere “bow-ahz-keh-reh”
Grown in various areas across the country. It prefers to grow in a hot, dry climate, at higher altitude. The name quite literally means “throat burner” – perhaps due to its bold tannins and medium acidity. The Boğazkere grape is used as a blending grape, as well as a single varietal wine. When expressed on its own, it gives notes of pepper, dark fruit, cacao chocolate, tobacco, licorice, and clove – and is most commonly compared to Tannat.
Emir “eh-meer”
Native to and grown exclusively in the Cappadocia region, this grape thrives in high altitude, volcanic soil, with temperature variation (hot during the day and cool at night). This smooth and crisp white grape’s name stems from royalty (emir translates to “lord/ruler”) as this was once the drink of choice for the lords of Cappadocia. Common notes include includes kiwi, sun ripened- melon, tart apple, pear, pineapple, blood orange, and a faint hint of pine- and is most often compared to Albarino and Pinot Grigio.
Öküzgözü “ur-kuz-gur-zuh”
This grape is native to Eastern Turkey. Similar to Emir, it likes hot, dry summers, and cold winters. Öküzgözü translates to “ox eye,” in line with its round and fleshy black appearance. It’s light in color with medium body, with a fresh dose of high acidity and floral aromas. It’s flavor profile leans towards jammier fruits – raspberry, plum, pomegranate, holiday spices, and earthy flavors. It’s well regarded for its high acidity and is often blended with Boğazkere for added structure. When expressed on it’s own, it makes for memorable fruit-forward wine.
Narince “Nah-rin-djeh”
Mainly grown in Tokat and along Yesilirmak, thriving in soils of riverbed and alluvial fan (post-glacial). Narince translates to “delicately”, and has high acidity levels that develop into complex bouquets as they age. You’ll find Narince as single varietals, as well as blended with other indigenous grapes of Turkey. For single varietals, oak is commonly used and is most commonly compared to Chardonnay.
Kalecik Karasi “Kah-le-djic-car-ah-ser”
Mainly grows in the Kızılırmak river valley where summers are dry and hot, with winters full of snow. However the river creates a notable microclimate that relieves some of the harshness of the winter months. Typical notes included candied and red fruit, and is most likened to pinot noir.
Where to taste wine in Cappadocia:
Wine tasting in Cappadocia can be a difficult task, but we’re here to help. First off, Cappadocia is a region, with many small towns within that are 10-15 minutes drive from each other: Urgup, Uchisar, Avanos, Goreme, to name a few.
If you only have one day… don’t fret! Most restaurants with a wine list serve Kocabag and Turasan. We recommend (after a morning hot air balloon) to spend the day in Urgup. You’ll be able to visit Turasan winery and still do an extensive tasting for Kocabag at a local wine bar Efendi.
URGUP:
Turasan Winery One of the two main wineries in Cappadocia. They have all of the Turkish varietals listed above, as well as Chardonnay, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and more. Tastings are free at the main counter (this place gets crowded so feels a bit rushed and impersonal) so we paid 5 EUR to go on a private tour of the wine making facilities and caves. We were also were pleasantly surprised to see the French Oak Barrels used in their high end label “Seneller” were Francois Freres (one of the best tonnelleries in France).
Efendi Wine shop: A local wine shop down the street from Turasan that had an extensive tasting list of 8 Kocabag wines, all from the comfort of a cozy cafe.
Mahzen Wine shop: This place is only a bottle shop in the winter (tastings are offered during warm months) so we were not able to try their wines.
TIK TIK Kadın Emeğit Restaurant – Our best meal in Cappadocia! We wandered in around 2 PM to what looks like someone’s home, to find a group of women sitting on the floor around a low table making homemade pastas. They handed us a menu but pointed out that only about half of the options were fresh and available for that day. The manti and pastas were delicious. We felt as if they were cooking for their closest family and friends.
UCHISAR:
We chose most of our hotels to be in this area due to the amazing cave hotels and views of the hot air balloons in the mornings. And this town is the home to the other major winery of Cappadocia – Kocabag.
Kocabag Winery – is a family owned operation located in Uchisar, producing up to ~70,000 cases per year. The operation began in 1972, with a manmade cave carved out of tuff (the light, porous rock formed by pressed volcanic ash) which is the most common building material in Cappadocia. Tuff is also used for some of their fermentation tanks, while the remaining tanks are made of steel. Fermentation in such tuff is reminiscent of cement used elsewhere in the world. They have chosen not to use French Oak in their lower end labels as their intention is to show the true color of the 5 native Turkish grapes referenced above, as well as the native terroir of Turkey. The higher end labels aren’t available for tasting but you can still try a bottle for ~40 EUR for the most expensive current vintages which we found to be very tasty!
Seki Restaurant – this hotel restaurant has an extensive wine list and a sommelier on site. They do afternoon tastings ranging from 40 EUR to 80 EUR per person but make sure to reserve before 1 PM each day so that they have time to set up. We chose instead to purchase a bottle at lunch – a Corvus Kalecik Karasi 2016 as we were in the search of a Turkish wine for pinot lovers. We were pleasantly surprised by the red fruit, light skinned nature of the KK (though a little shocked it’s alcohol was at 14.6% which is high for this varietal). The views and food are great here, no matter the wine option you choose.
AVANOS:
This little town is famous for their ceramics, and a little off the beaten path – but held the most unexpected wine tastings of our trip.
We originally decided to visit to go to the Yöresel Şarap Evi wine boutique. The wine shop owner gives free tastings and we were excited to see that he had some older vintages open (3-6 years old versus the current vintage wines available at Kocabag and Turasan tasting rooms. However being the winter season I don’t think there is much foot traffic and some of the bottles had been open a bit too long. Those visiting in summer might have better luck!
We then tried to visit Chateau Gestin Sarap Farbikasi but were informed by locals that this was closed. Same with Vanessa Wine house (apparently the old owner was a “swlinder” and they had to close around July 2019).
A bit deflated we walked into a nearby bar hoping for a by the glass menu. We chatted with the bartender about wine, and they mentioned that their neighbor makes wine for friends and family and that we could visit and try the wines. We of course said yes!
We walked around the corner to a cave, with the bartender in tow to translate, and tasted his white (Dimrit), two reds, and a cherry fruit wine. His Kalecik Karasi was on par with local Kocabag in our opinion.
He explained how difficult it is to make wine in Turkey due to govt regulations. Kocabag and Turasan have been allowed to operate for tourism and as they are “historical institutions”, but for many new wineries it’s near impossible to build a sustainable business.
We were very gracious to hear the locals insight into winemaking – and for the fresh bottle that he made for us to take home!