If you enjoy a glass of wine, then Cappadocia is a place to to partake of the fruit of the vine. You will find four local wineries who each make a variety of types: Turasan, Kocabağ, Kapadokya, and Şenol.
The most popular red wines are Öküzgözü (grown in Elaziğ), Boğazkere (grown in Diyarbakir), and a mix of the two. The biggest selling white wine is made from the locally grown Emir grape. Two of the companies (Kapadokya and Şenol) only make these four types of wine while Turasan and Kocabağ make these four plus a host of other types including Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (grown in Izmir).
TURASAN
Turasan is the biggest and oldest winery based in Cappadocia with over 25 types of wine. Their factory is in Urgup, and they offer factory tours (for a fee) and tasting. Started in 1943 you can find their wine in most stores (that sell alcohol) and restaurants in Cappadocia as well as throughout Turkey.
KOCABAĞ
Kocabağ Winery has been opened since 1972 and has tasting rooms in Cappadocia in both Urgup and Uchisar. They make about 17 different wines. Their higher quality wines are branded with the Kocabağ name. These are wines that use grapes grown in Kocabağ vineyards at different places in Turkey. If they make wine using grapes bought from local vineyards, generally a lower grade grape, they brand them under a different name and put the Kocabağ name in a much smaller font on the bottle.
Turasan and Kocabağ are 2 of the larger wineries in Turkey. The remaining two Cappadocia wineries are on the smaller side and are a bit harder to find.
KAPADOKYA
Kapadokya Winery was opened in Mustafapasa in 1956 and is a family run winery. They only make 4 wines (Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, a mix of the two, all red wines; and Emir, a white wine made from grapes grown in Cappadocia). They do not own their own vineyards but buy their grapes from local vineyard owners. They make their wine in a unique way by not separating the juice from the pulp during the fermenting process. It makes the wine much more aromatic almost smelling like grape juice. It makes for a unique flavor that will probably not be as popular to wine connoisseurs. They sell most of their wines through hotels and restaurants around the country (especially Antalya) making it difficult to find outside of the wine shops in Mustafapasa.
ŞENOL
Şenol Winery, like Kapadokya mentioned above, only makes four types of wine. Opened in 1959 in Mustafapasa they have been run by the same family. They are a small winery only producing 300,000 liters annually. They sell most of their wine in hotels and restaurants. If you want to try them, take a trip to Mustafapasa and enjoy a tasting in one of the many local wine shops.
These are the four wineries producing in Cappadocia. Take some time while you are here to taste the different brands and let us know which is your favorite.
