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Tomurcukbağ: A New Lease on Life

 

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Disclaimer: Tomurcukbağ flew me to Ankara for the experience but all opinions are my own.

The wineries in Kalecik have not traditionally encouraged visiting. When Tafli opened a few years ago, they were really the first to do so. It’s a shame, on several levels, that wine tourism isn’t more encouraged in Kalecik. It’s literally the home turf of one of the country’s greatest grapes. There are multiple wineries all relatively close to one another. It’s also easily accessible and a short-ish drive from Ankara.

While there’s no full-blown wine route here yet, Kalecik does seem to be opening up a little. First was Tafali, and now the iconic Tomurcukbağ has opened its doors to visitors. 

Tomurcukbağ 

Prof. Dr. Sabit Ağaoğlu and his wife Gülcihan settled in the town of Kalecik, outside the Turkish capital Ankara. Kalecik, being the home of this grape (Kalecik Karası means “black from Kalecik”) they could think of no other place to begin a winery focused on Kalecik Karası. The vineyard, named Tomurcukbağ for their daughter Tomurcuk, began with a small one hectare vineyard that grew to four over the years.

A small winery, Tomurcukbağ has the capacity to produce about 26,000 bottles annually. However, actual production is usually less. Each bottle of its Trajan wine – named for the Roman king who passed through Kalecik during his Mesopotamian campaigns – is hand filled, corked, and labeled; a labor and time-intensive process that also limits annual production.

Where Food and Wine Intersect

While the winery has produced wine since its 2009 vintage, it has only recently started accepting visitors. After a huge revamp, in the summer of 2025, Tomurcukbağ added a restaurant and is open to visitors. The menu was created in consultation with Tuba Şatana, one of Turkey’s leading culinary experts and follows the “what grows together goes together” concept. As much as possible, they source ingredients from local producers to both reflect the rich agricultural products and cultural heritage of Anatolia, as well as to create sustainable gastronomy.

Flavors from dishes like the artichoke spread, red wine butter, Professor Sabit’s own ‘Russian salad’ recipe, ‘drunken’ sucuk, grilled asparagus, tirit, and macerated strawberries with rosemary and kaymak pair beautifully with Tomurcukbağ’s wines.  My favorite pairing was the artichoke with Narince but I loved the drunken sucuk, the tirit went beautifully with the Rezerv Trajan 24, and the strawberry dessert even held up with the new rosé!

One of the coolest parts about the winery’s new kitchen offerings-the chef. She doesn’t come with a fancy Michelin recommendation, but a housewife from Kalecik with years of experience cooking local dishes with local ingredients. 

Kalecik Karası

Sitting at an elevation of 725 m (2,379 ft), the rolling hills display streaks of deep rust-red soil. This land owes its fertility and color not to iron, but to ancient sea deposits and the nearby Kızılırmak River. The elevation, soil, wind, diurnal temperature shift, and angle of the sun all contribute to what makes Kalecik Karası grown in its homeland so special.

While Kalecik is the grape’s home, is has migrated widely to other parts of Central Anatolia as well as the Aegean and Thrace. New vineyards plantings are, in fact, often done in consultation with Professor Sabit.

Kalecik Karası produces a light to medium bodied red wine known for its distinctive cotton candy aroma. However, when made well, the grape is capable of producing wines with elegance and complexity and an aroma profile that includes: red berries, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, cotton candy, pyrazine, game, and stable.

Tomurcukbağ Trajan Kalecik Karası

Tomurcukbağ is committed to making minimal intervention wines to allow the purest expression possible of Kalecik Karası. They add no yeasts – fermenting spontaneously with indigenous yeast – enzymes, or additives. Nor is any of the wine aged in oak. The winery’s philosophy means that there is no standardization of flavor. Each vintage is truly different, presenting you with the flavors of that specific year.

Trajan Rezerv Kalecik Karası, 2020

This was the palest of the five Kalecik Karasıs we drank. It was clean and clear – pale enough to read a newspaper through!

Bright right and cooked fruits like cornelian cherry and cherry, decorated with herbal notes, swirled around an earthy core. Very low tannin, silky, with a bright streak of acidity, and surprisingly high alcohol at a whopping 14.5%. The alcohol helped add some weight but was otherwise well-balanced with the fruit. 

This was the most mature and the earthiest of the wines – my personal favorite. Maybe I ate too much dirt as a kid? Whatever it is, I love a wine that tastes of earth!

Trajan Rezerv Kalecik Karası, 2023