Turkish Wine Routes Part One: Urla
Turkey, the land of Süleyman the Magnificent, Atatürk, the Bosphorus, the battle at Gallipoli, fezes, fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, ayran, kebab, Turkish coffee, and wine. Wine is not the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Turkey, but with thousands of years of winemaking history, more than 100 wineries, and some 1200 native grape varieties, all that is changing.
The evolution of Turkish wine and wine routes
Previously a low-key industry dominated by a small handful of mega production wineries, Turkish wine really began to take off in the late 1990s with the advent of boutique producers. While the word “boutique” is now both over and misused for the cache it represents, early small-production wineries like Umurbey and Gülor paved the way for the scores of new, small, quality wineries that have sprung up across the country.
Turkish winemakers today are increasingly interested in making terroir-driven wines with native and international varieties and celebrating both the commonalities and diversity in their respective regions. One of the ways they are doing this is by banding together in regional organizations and wine routes. Turkey currently boasts four official wine routes with several others in the making. In this four-part series, we’ll look at the various routs, the producers behind them, and what they offer.
While this is a huge and positive step forward, wine tourism is still a largely unexplored aspect of tourism for many reasons. Advertising alcohol is illegal. Which means advertising wine tastings in tourism brochures is also a no no. Wineries get around that by advertising “vineyard tours” but campaigns are still small and cautious. Two of the four routes, the Trakya Bağ Rotası and the İç Ege Bağ Rotası (particularly the former) cover a huge area.
In order to accommodate wine lovers, clever Turkish winery owners have built restaurants attached to their wineries where they can serve and sell wine (usually alongside small plates and main dishes to match!). Few of Turkey’s wineries are within easy reach of large cities, particularly after a few glasses! They have solved this too with many wineries on the wine routes also in possession of small hotels or guest houses.
Urla Bağ Yolu
In part one of this series, we’ll look at the Urla Bağ Yolu (Urla Wine Route). Not the oldest of the Turkish wine routes, but the easiest route to visit, especially for foreigners.
About an hour south from the city of Izmir lies the city of Urla. What makes this such an easy route to follow is that the vineyards are all within a 15-minute or less drive from one another and there are signs along the route to not only mark the vineyards but to point you in the correct direction. In addition to the five wineries officially on the route are nearby Ayda Vineyards (which includes a restaurant and guesthouse) and the Urla Bağ Evi restaurant and guesthouse.
About a 40 minute drive from Izmir and maybe 20 from the beautiful beach town Çeşme, Urla offers more than wineries. Urla town offers museums, shopping, and restaurants and beaches dot the coast from Izmir to Çeşme. In addition, on Sundays, Zafer Caddesi turns into the Urla Sanat Sokağı; an open-air market where stalls sell design objects, antiques, and handmade goods.
Urla Şarapçılık
Established by Can Ortabaş some 15 years ago, Urla Şarapçılık (winery) sits smack in the middle of the Urla Bağ Yolu of which he also serves as president. As with many wineries in Turkey, Urla Şarapçılık cultivates a wide variety of traditionally French grapes including: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Grenache, Mourvedre, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. But then they step outside the box with Italian grapes Nero d’Avola and Sangiovese. Then come the native grapes! Urla has Narince, Viognier, Bornova Misketi, Boğazkere, and Urla Karası.
The winery is home to not only a beautiful, modern tasting room but also the aptly named Two Rooms Hotel. The hotel has two large rooms divided by a beautifully appointed space filled with comfortable seating and even a large boardroom table for meetings.
Urlice Vineyards
Urlice Vineyards is one of Turkey’s special boutique wineries. The husband/wife team Reha and Bilge Benisü Öğünlü oversee everything from vineyards to cellar on their own. Bilge and Reha lived in the US for over 15 years. While there they developed a love for wine and gastronomy. Her parents had a small vineyard where they learned the ropes a bit during visits. Between those visits and their wine tours in the US their love of wine grew; prompting them to start their own vineyard when they returned to Turkey.
Both proponents of the slow food movement, Bilge and Reha rely don’t rush their wines but rely on clean winemaking and good cellaring practices. Their wines, made from Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, are powerful expressions of what passion can achieve. Visitors here can enjoy both their wines and foods to pair in the winery’s onsite restaurant.
USCA Şarapçılık 
n 2003 Can and Serpil Şener and Eda Aylın Genç abandoned city life and careers in favor of wine. They chose the Urla district of Izmir for their project. With its long history of wine production and favorable climate, they knew they would find favorable conditions here for their vines.
Set in the village of Kuşçular, USCA Şarapçılık‘s vineyards feel both the west and north winds of the Aegean’s surrounding gulfs. Part of a growing trend in Turkey, USCA farms all its grapes organically in an effort to begin as they mean to end; with quality. Grapes both domestic and international grow here including Bornova Misketi and Foça Karası, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Grenache, Chardonnay, and Viognier.
Mozaik Şarapçılık 
What Ali and Melis Emin intended as a future retirement project turned into full-blown careers. Located on the same grounds as the Emin’s vast horse breeding farm, Mozaik Şarapçılık turns out some 60-70,000 bottles annually. Greatly influenced by a love of Italian wine, Mozaik offers some of the most unusual grape varieties in Turkey. In addition to Syrah and Petit Verdot, wines – under the winery’s Mahrem label – are made from Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Tannat, Marselan, Rebo, and Ekigaïna.
MMG Şarapçılık
MMG Şarapçılık clings to the side of a mountain above the Urla coastal. This boutique winery boasts an onsite restaurant, the ŞatoInn, with a panoramic view of the valley. ŞatoInn’s deck overlooks the estate’s seven hectares of terraced vineyards where the Güner Atalay family cultivates: Bornova Misketi, Kara Misketi, Mourvedre, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. With an annual production of about 25,000 bottles, MMG Winery has room to grow and plans to do it. Güner Atalay patriarch Meltem Hoca has planted Viognier and Pinotage and is looking to also experiment with Carmenere, Zinfandel, and Malbec in his vineyards.