Turkey’s Aegean Coast Has a 4,000-year-old Winemaking Historical past — The right way to Expertise It

The Minoans made wine right here within the twentieth century B.C.,” stated Ergin Ince, the information that one in every of my accommodations, Six Senses Kaplankaya, had secured for me for a tour of the traditional cities of Priene, Melitus, and Didyma. “However they combined it with honey and water as a result of it was bitter.” 

I had arrived on the resort after a number of days of exploring Turkey’s Aegean coast, the place I had seen many vase-shaped clay vessels utilized by the Minoans to hold wine on show at archaeological museums. I can attest that loads of wine continues to be made within the space — greater than half of the nation’s wine, in actual fact — and it’s much better than it should have been 4,000 years in the past. 

I had deliberate to discover the area across the port metropolis of Izmir, then head two hours south to the websites round Bodrum. I had heard that drives round Izmir have been lengthy and never all the time scenic. Fortunately, there have been wineries alongside the way in which that supplied elegant respites from automobile time. For a multiday loop to websites like Hierapolis and Ephesus, I booked stops at tasting rooms, the place I might sip the fruit of the vines rising round me, typically alongside a terrific meal.

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Day 1

My first cease was Isabey Winery. From 1925 till 2004, Tekel, a state-owned firm, dominated Turkish wine manufacturing. Among the many few wineries capable of compete was Sevilen, based in 1942 by Bulgarian immigrant Isa Guner. Isabey, its Sauvignon Blanc property, is situated close to the Aegean Sea, the place the salty breeze helps the grapes develop a lip-smacking acidity. The winery’s restaurant was closed on a Monday, however I used to be content material with sampling just a few of the greater than 30 wines, together with an unoaked crimson known as Nativus. Filled with black-cherry taste and with coffee-like tannins, it’s constituted of Kalecik Karası grapes. Turkish wine isn’t usually exported to the U.S., so vineyards and wineries like Sevilen provide American vacationers like me the distinctive alternative to style indigenous varietals.

An hour inland from Isabey, I finished for lunch on the hilltop Nif Vineyard, the place out of doors tables have views of the mountains, together with Bozdağ, a peak related to Greek mythology. Having fun with a chocolaty, figgy Shiraz and an entrecôte, I felt like a modern-day Dionysus.

Subsequent, I headed to Kula-Salihli, which is thought for its “fairy chimneys” — bulbous towers of exhausting basalt that rise greater than 400 ft excessive. Not removed from them lies the Burnt Nation, a desolate panorama fashioned by a (now dormant) volcano, pockmarked and sharp, the place I hiked within the warmth for 2 hours. 

Tuckered out from all of the strolling, I checked in to Villa Estet by Anemon, the place my room had a contemporary four-poster mattress and a terrace that missed a vineyard, Yanik Ülke. I ended my day with roast salmon, a refreshing watermelon salad, and a glass of Gewurtztraminer on the vineyard’s restaurant patio. It might sound shocking that this cold-climate grape would thrive on this area, however the winery is sort of 2,800 ft up a volcanic slope, the place chilly nights assist it slowly develop advanced aromatics.

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Day 2

The next morning, I drove two hours south to Hierapolis, a wellness vacation spot for the reason that second century B.C. The springs that bubble up onto the travertine cliffside nonetheless appeal to Turks in bathing trunks, although the thermal spa the place conquering Romans as soon as lounged is now an archaeological website. An hour north of the traditional spa city, I spied a big Roman amphora at Küp Şarapçılık, a vineyard named for the vessels as soon as used to retailer and transport wine. Third-generation proprietor Hasan Altıntaş plans to construct a museum of wine making there. He’s additionally a person imbued with neighborhood spirit. One in every of his labels, Beş’i Bir Yerde, or “5 in One,” helps girls’s schooling and efforts towards home violence. The white mix is lemony, minty, and consists of three native grapes — Sultaniye, Narince, and Emir — combined with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Throughout my temporary keep within the metropolis of Denizli, I grabbed dinner on the restaurant Garson Şükrü (entrées $19–$33). Hummus topped with fried pastrami, a pile of contemporary greens for swiping up numerous dips, and sliced veal tongue in a tangy lemon-caper sauce went winningly with an area Thia Sauvignon Blanc.

Day 3

The following morning I made my approach again west towards the coast, arriving in Şirince in time for lunch. Turks go to this hillside city, which has cobblestoned streets lined with trinket and bottle retailers, for weekend wine tastings. Sitting on the tiny balcony on the wine bar Hera Sarapevi, with a view of minarets and previous houses, I savored charcuterie and cheeses with glasses of distinctive Turkish wines. They included Kastro Tireli Elaia, a rosé with layers of raspberry, salinity, and smoke; Midin Baluto, from Karkuş grapes grown on 150-year-old vines; and Mor Salkım Passito, the uncommon candy wine constituted of sun-dried Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. 

Şirince is close to Ephesus, an vital metropolis in historical Greece, Rome, and Byzantium and, at the moment, an antiquities-filled vacationer mecca. It was price negotiating mobs of cruise-ship day-trippers to have the ability to gawk on the multistory stays of the third-largest library within the historical world. Then I retired to the vineyard and lodge Yedi Bilgeler for dinner at Maya’dan restaurant, which could serve probably the most attractive roasted eggplant in Turkey. 

The wines have been equally spectacular: Vindemia Defne, constituted of native Emir grapes; Vindemia Güz, from Bornova Misketi, an historical number of Muscat presumably introduced to those shores by Phoenicians; and Thales Miletos, a mix of Boğazkere and the pomegranate-like Öküzgözü.

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Day 4

Beginning a vineyard takes cash, and a few house owners have deep pockets. The next morning, I finished at Lucien Arkas Vineyards, which was established within the early 2000s and named after its founder, a transport magnate. With 289 acres, it’s Turkey’s greatest natural producer. A Mini Cooper was parked inside its sprawling tasting room and historical Roman statues dotted its terrace. I lunched on wonderful Weiner schnitzel, of all issues, savoring a crisp, peachy Sauvignon Blanc–Trebbiano mix known as Smyrna, adopted by the sommelier’s favourite wine, the swarthy, weighty Mon Rêve Marselan, made with grapes from the Arkas household’s area of origin, the south of France.

My favourite vineyard, which ended up being my final cease, was situated again north, in Urla, which is simply exterior Izmir. Usca produces simply 45,000 bottles a 12 months, lower than 3 % of the output of Lucien Arkas. Most are offered in its tasting room. On the patio, teams of buddies have been having heated conversations over meze and wine whereas canines romped on the grass in entrance of the vines. Lingering over a glass of Usca Sonnet 76, a structured Cabernet-Merlot mix with notes of blackberry and darkish chocolate, I felt like I could possibly be in California. However this was Turkey, with its wealthy layers of historical past, and there have been colosseums and temples to Apollo and Artemis to go to — and extra wines to drink — within the week to come. 

A model of this story first appeared within the October 2024 situation of Journey + Leisure beneath the headline “Historical Flavors.”