Turquazz Article: Wind and Wines: Bozcaada
On Bozcaada, Turkey’s third largest island, winds are so strong that only a limited variety of vegetation can withstand them. Olive trees look gnarled and bent and appear to be forever hunched over in an attempt to protect themselves from the battering winds. Poppies, one of the island’s biggest crops, survive only due to their proximity to the ground. And yet it is from this inhospitable and windswept environment that Turkish island wines are born.
Perhaps you know Bozcaada by its old name, Tenedos. Under this moniker, the island (and its wines!) rated mentions in both the Iliad and the Aeneid. It is, after all, just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Troy. Outside of classical Greek literature, the island holds a strategic military importance located as it is at the entrance of the Dardanelles. Because of this, it has been fought over and held by a number of administrations and powers throughout history. From the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the empire of Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Greece, then finally, the Republic of Turkey.
Known more for its beaches than its wines, the island is nonetheless historically famous for wine production. Tenedos was linked with the cult of Dionysus and its wine was once known as being the best in the Eastern Mediterranean. Vineyards have existed on the island since antiquity and today occupy the bulk of its agricultural land.
Click to Read More of my piece on Turquazz!