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A Look into Gürbüz and a Roadtrip from Hell

 

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My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. We spent two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda before venturing onto Gürbüz Winery.

A visit to Gürbüz Winery is never short! Akın’s enthusiasm and energy hold you captive as wine after wine (especially when you’re with an importer) get opened and tanks and barrels are tapped to try new vintages. 

Gürbüz Winery

Akın Gürbüz grew up among grape vines. His family owned five hectares of vineyards planted to Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Yapıncak, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They did not make wine but sold the grapes to large area wineries. It wouldn’t be until years later that Akın would trade in the life of a computer scientist for one as a winemaker.

Akın received his wine education at California’s lauded UC Davis and worked in both California and New Zealand for several years before returning to Turkey. He quickly built a reputation as a sought-after winemaking consultant, but that wasn’t enough. In 2015, he realized his dream of having his own place and opened Gürbüz Winery.

Committed to quality and sustainability, Akın is both careful and thoughtful in his winery. Everything in both his vineyards and his winery is done by hand, including the minimum four times daily punch down. Wines are open top fermented, filtered but not fined, and the reds see an average of 19 months ageing in French, American, and Hungarian oak.

The Vineyards

Akın has expanded those original five hectares to 25. The majority of his vineyards sit in the Ganos Mountains above the village Gazıköy. The Ganos Mountain range is largely composed of sandstone and shale with loamy top soils. His vines sit at about 60 meters in a small valley with the higher peaks protecting the vines from cold winds coming from north, while breezes from the Sea of Marmara below funnel through the valley. Akın plants cover crops between vine rows to increase vineyard biodiversity.

After tasting with him at his winery, Rob from Fine Turkish Wine, Akın, and I drove to Gazıköy to meet up with his vineyard manager and see the vineyards. The plan was to leave the rental car in a little cafe parking lot along the sea and take the vineyard manager’s sturdier truck up the rugged path to the vines. In the end, we ended leaving me with the car! I get car sick very easily. The stretch of coastal road on the south face of the mountain range, that stretches from Tekirdağ to Gazıköy with its twists, turns, and switchbacks, is the worst stretch of road in the whole country (in my opinion). I have had the displeasure to travers this road, both as driver and passenger, maybe four times in the last eight years and I truly hope to never had to do it again.

According to Rob, the vineyards were amazing – his pictures of them certainly indicated that to be so. But, he also said that the road up was rough and it was a good thing I stayed below to contemplate the sea while they bumped along the rugged path. 

Mood White, 2024

We started our tasting with the fresh and fruity Mood White, 2024. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Misket, and Chardonnay, the wine is full of green apple and peach. A great wine for Sauvignon Blanc and aromatic wine lovers. 

Mood White, 2025

Generous as always with his tastings, Akın shared also a tank sample of the new 2025 vintage. More overtly aromatic than the ‘24 with peach jolly rancher, green apple, white flowers. Bright acidity and good finish. 

‘Entry level’ is considered by some to be something of a dirty word. But entry level doesn’t always mean cheap or low-quality, as proved by the Gürbüz Mood series.

Sauvignon Blanc, 2024

Akın’s Sauvignon Blanc game has always been strong. One assumes he paid close attention while working in New Zealand! Despite that, I found this wine to be less New Zealand in profile than his previous vintages, and a little more Sancerre. Big citrus jump out of the glass with richer notes of apricot, stitched together with a flinty mineral thread. Linear, strong acidic backbone, long finish. 

Sauvignon Blanc, 2025

EFSANE!

Like the Mood, this was a tank sample. I don’t know when he’s planning to bottle this, but run to buy it when you see it. This is a legendary vintage for Gürbüz Sauvignon Blanc. Rob and I were both blown away. It was one of the few wines we talked about continuously during his visit. 

Tropical with pineapple, aromatic citrus like Buddha hand, more citrus on the finish, vivacious acidity, long finish. Everything Sauvignon Blanc aspires to be but rarely achieves.

Fumé Blanc, 2024

It wasn’t always that Gürbüz Winery turned out Fumé Blanc. During the first few years, Akın produced several Sauvignon Blancs of single vineyard expression. In the background, he was quietly experimenting with small batch Fumé Blanc aged in various oak barrels. This wine has been in the market for a few years now, raised for an average eight months in a combination of American, French, and Hungarian oak barrels.

Tropical and citrus with grilled pineapple and orange oil followed by a splash of vanilla cream. Great acidity, very long finish. Beautifully done.

Natural Orange, 2025

Gürbüz’s “Natural” orange wine also started out as a small batch experiment. Released at the height of the amber wine craze here, the first couple hundred bottles he released got snapped up pretty quickly. The first couple vintages were 100% Sauvignon Blanc, the following two (I think two) had a splash of Misket. The 2025 vintage, which we tasted from the tank, also includes a wee dash of Chardonnay.

Pale orange (I forgot to ask about skin contact length), the nose as that initially funky “natural” wine odor giving way to apple peel, peach, and popcorn. Great acidity and finish. Really nice.

Winemaker’s Selection Cabernet Franc

Similar to the Fumé Blanc, Gürbüz’s Cabernet Franc ages in a combination of origin oak. On my last visit to the winery, Akın talked to us about the different flavor profiles that result from using American, French, and Hungarian oak. Then he gave us barrel samples and quizzed us on which was which. That was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done on a winery visit! 

When thinking about blending wine, most people’s minds go only to blends involving different grapes. Yet, single varietal wines are oftentimes also blends. They could be blends of different vineyards, different oaks (origin and/or toast level), tank and oak-or the combination of any several vessels, or so many other things. Blending is a true art and talent. 

I have enjoyed Gürbüz’s Cabernet Franc since his very first vintage and this was no exception.

Rich and dark with plum compote and cola, decorated with purple flowers, and a kiss of jalapeño. Big tannins and mouth-filling flavor cushioning a strong acidic core.

Blend #1

Akın has made the Blend #1, a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, since the beginning. This is one of his most popular wines. Easy to see why as soon as your nose gets into the glass. It’s a big, bold wine that really showcases his UC Davis training. 

Notes of black plum and black cherry, warm spices, and a thread of vanilla wrapped in a cloak of smoke. A generous palate with nice structure, acidity, and high alcohol. Excellent balance and length. If you’re looking for a wine for this colder weather we’re in, this is definitely one to invest in. 

Arcanum

Prior to this visit, I’d also received a bottle of this as a sample. In addition to the wines that Fine Turkish Wine imports and that are available in Texas, Akın imports some of his own wines as well to the New York area, including this Arcanum. This is a Shiraz-led blend with Cinsault and Grenache that sees about 13 months oak-ageing. 

Tasting notes: smokey-sweet, wood smoke, red fruits. I still think it’s kind of hollow. 

A smoky-sweet wine with restrained aromas of red fruits, tobacco, and spice. Perfume from red poppies a floral layer to the wine, while smooth chocolate adds to its depth. 

Despite the terrible drive to Gazıköy during which I had to fight to keep the wines down, this was an amazing visit. Don’t forget to check out my previous reviews of Gürbüz’s wines. And, if you want to explore Turkish wine more deeply, you can always get a copy of the second edition of my book: The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine!