Lycian settlements meaning "Land of Light"

Lycia; Today, it is the region that includes Fethiye and Kaunos (Dalyan) in the west, Elmalı vicinity (Antalya-Burdur border) in the north and Phaselis (Tekirova) in the east. The fact that this region, known as the Teke Peninsula, was chosen as a settlement, undoubtedly played a leading role in its mountainousness. In ancient times mountainous areas were hard to reach and safest from the threat of war cook. Lycians are a people of Indo-European origin who came to Anatolia in the second half of 3000 BC and lived in Southern Anatolia for two thousand years. Ancient Egyptian records describe the Lycians as allies of the Hittites. The name of Lycia in Hittite language is Lukka. After the collapse of the Hittite empire in 1250 BC, Lycia emerged as an independent "New Hittite" kingdom.

When we talk about Lycia and Hittites, let's not forget that the most common point is wine. The first time grapes were grown in BC. It was domesticated somewhere between the Northwest Zagros Mountains and the Caucasus in 5000-6000 BC and the first winemaking started and spread in any of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Southern Anatolia and Iran, but considering the transportation possibilities of the period, vineyards and wine production could not go out of these regions for centuries, In short, it is understood that other parts of the world and especially the Western world continue their lives unaware of this fermented product. The Hittites called the wine "wiyana" and called Anatolia "Wiyanawanda", which means the land of the vine (wine).

We know that Anatolia is a very important wine region and even one of the places where wine was born. Currently, there are approximately 1450 grape species (mostly table and dried grapes) known to exist in Anatolia, and the number of grapes used in domestic wines is over 35. We can list our local grapes along with some of the ones we forgot.

·      Bornova Misketi, Narince, Urla karası, Foça karası, Gaydura (Ege),

·      Emir (Kapadokya),

·      Sultaniye, Çal karası (Denizli),

·      Merzifon karası, Acıkara*, Fersun*, Tilki kuyruğu, Çalıbağ (Antalya),

·      Aküzüm*, Göküzüm*, Patkara* (Mersin),  

·      Kalecik karası, Hasandede (Ankara),

·      Boğazkere (D.Bakır),

·      Karasakız/Kuntra, Vasilaki (Bozcaada/Çanakkale),

·      Barburi (Hatay),

·      Dökülgen, Horoz karası, Sergi karası (Gaziantep),

·      Rumi (Kilis),

·      Karaoğlan (Arapgir/Malatya)

·      Beylerce (Bilecik),

·      Dimrit (İsparta/Burdur),

·      Öküzgözü ve Kösetevek (Elazığ),

·      Kerküş (Mardin),

·      Karalahna, Papazkarası, Yapıncak, (Trakya),

·      Kabarcık (K.Maraş) ,

·      Ada karası (Avşa/Marmara),

·      Knidos* karası (Datça) 

The wines marked with (*) are the subject of our article..

 Yes, we gradually appreciate the value of endemic grapes in Anatolia, in fact, the way to promote Turkish winemaking in the world is not to make wine from French grapes such as Cabernet, Merlot or Syrah, but from our own endemic grapes. Otherwise, it would not be possible to avoid devoting only one page to Turkish winemaking while three pages were devoted to Greek winemaking under the Black Sea region title in The World Atlas of Wine (H.Jhonson; J.Robinson), which is known as one of the most important wine atlases in the world. In short, we should be ourselves in winemaking as in every other subject.

Increasing number of vineyard owners are taking care of these endemic species. For example, the leader wine of this tasting, Likya Acıkara, emerged in 2003 when the owner of the Lycian vineyard, Burak Özkan, found the Acıkara grape, which he had heard from an old shepherd, on the top of a mountain. Again, the other wines included in the tasting (with the exception of White Zinfandel) are all endemic species and wines brought to the wine world by the vineyard owners. The sad thing here is the absence of relevant Ministries and institutions and the lack of support for these endemic species, which these people have found with great devotion and determined with great expense and DNA analysis.

Let us emphasize once again that these endemic species, which are very valuable in terms of Turkish winemaking, are of such value that can resonate all over the world; These endemic grapes are the future of Turkish winemaking, especially if they receive government support.

TASTE NOTES

SELEFKİA vineyard; Vineyards established by Alaaddin Çerçi at an altitude of 1000 meters on the skirts of the Taurus Mountains in Silifke, Goble-style viticulture is carried out, and grapes are grown in very old vineyards.

1- Selefkia Aküzüm 2021: Light lemon yellow, herbaceous on the nose, evoking notes of golden apple and quince, a light-medium bodied and low acidity wine. It leaves light oily traces on the palate, making its density felt. It has a medium length finish. 12.2% abv.

2- Selefkia Patkara 2020: A medium-dark ruby colored, light-medium bodied wine with lively acidity. A pronounced aroma intensity does not attract attention, 12.5% abv.

Tasheli Vineyard; It was established in 2005 in Çömelek village of Mersin. They grow viticulture at 900-1400 meters at the foot of the Taurus Mountains. They grow our endemic grapes such as Aküzüm, Göküzüm and Patkara.

1- Göküzüm Kehribar: In a light amber color, ripe apricot, linden and floral notes are felt on the nose. Medium tannin, medium acidity and medium finish. A slightly tart orange wine, retention time with bark is 15 days (*). 12.5% abv.

 (*) What's ORANGE WINE? (Skin contacted wine): As you know, in the production of white wine, after harvesting the stems are separated and the grapes are squeezed immediately, and the production continues only with must, separated from the skins. Unlike other white wines, "Orange wine" is fermented with the skin and seeds (just like in red wine production) and even after fermentation, the grapes can be kept together with the skin and seeds for a while, so "skin contacted wine" Also referred to as '. It is mostly made using pinot gris grapes in the world.

2- Patkara 2021; A very aromatic wine with a dark ruby color. Along with notes such as damson plum and blackberry, spicy notes draw attention. Medium bodied, lively acidity, very successful wine with soft tannins. 14.5% abv.

Karnas Vineyard; It was founded in 2005 by the Ismen family in the Karaova valley of Bodrum. Karnas Vineyards, which has a 20.5 ha vineyard, is located 10 minutes from Milas-Bodrum Airport. They grow Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Vermentino and Zinfandel (*) grapes.

1- White Zinfandel: Pinkish salmon-colored, raspberry and red forest fruit notes are in the foreground on the nose, and its intense aroma makes you say I'm here in the first place. It has a pronounced acidity, medium bodied, soft tannins, medium to long finish, well-balanced, successful rosé wine.

(*) Zinfandel Grape: Its homeland is the Adriatic coast of Croatia, the island of TRIBIDAG, the Croatian name of the grape is Crljenak Kastelanski, from here it passes to Italy, its name in Italy is Primitivo. Towards the end of the 1820s, it reaches America, rods brought from the Austrian imperial vine collection are planted in Long Island and New York, its name in America is Zinfandel. (The origin of this name is the Austrian Empire, Tzinifandli).

Zinfandel grapes are a grape that grows very irregularly, some grains are large and some are small, viticulturalists say hens and chicks in Sonoma are in this situation.

KNIDOS bağ evi; It was founded by Giray Erkan in Reşadiye, at the entrance of Datça. With a total of 571 ha (5,710 decares) of vineyard area, Knidos produces in three different regions. Datça, Kuşadası and Gülşehir/Cappadocia are the production areas.

1- Knidos Karası 2021: The local grape of the Datça peninsula has a dark ruby color and an intense aroma, especially sour notes such as pomegranate and berries are in the foreground, a medium bodied, lively acidity, fruity, well-balanced and very successful wine with soft tannins.13.8% abv.

Likya Vineyard; These 40 ha vineyards, which were established in 2000 by the brothers Burak and Doruk Özkan in Antalya Elmalı, are located at an altitude of 1,100 m. C. Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and S. Blanc grapes as well as Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü and Boğazkere grapes, which are well known in our country, are grown in the Lycian vineyards located between the cedar trees on one side and the Taurus Mountains on the other. In recent years, it has started to highlight endemic grapes in particular. It should come as no surprise that endemic grapes such as Acıkara, Fersun and Merzifon black, as well as Foxtail and Çalıbağ, produced under the Arkeo series, entered the world literature over the years.

1- Arkeo Fersun 2020: A strong aroma intensity makes itself felt in this light ruby colored wine. Strawberry, cherry and rose notes are in the foreground. A medium bodied, soft tannin, well-balanced and medium-long finish, a wine to be enjoyed with pleasure. 13% abv.

2- Arkeo Acıkara 2020: This dark ruby-colored wine is almost inky dark with its purple highlights, filling the nose with its strong aroma intensity, dark chocolate and caramel notes as well as black fruits are in the foreground. It has a lively acidity, tannins that dry the buccal mucosa slightly, but it is not angular. It cries out that I am a very special wine with fatty cheeses on the side. 13v.

As they say, this tasting, consisting of eight wines, three white and five red, chosen very consciously by Mr. Cenap, remained in our mouths.

Guest Writer: Vedat Eğilmez