It would not be wrong to say that Papaskarasi (also used as Papazkarasi) comes first among the grapes that are the most prestigious of the Thrace lands. This ancient, endemic grape of the region has given wines to the table of Thracians for centuries and got its name from the Christian clergy who made this grape live around monasteries. (Another rumor is that this name originated with the passion of the patriarchate in Istanbul for wine made from this grape during the Byzantine period.)

Papaskarası grape has medium size, blue-black colored grain structure. The bunches of the grapes have medium or large sizes and consist of tight grains. Papaskarası, which is estimated to have emerged by the natural fertilization of two Balkan grapes, is widely grown especially in the northern part of the Thrace peninsula. In Marcel Biron's work 'Vignes et vins de Turquie', written in 1950, "After the wars, the planting areas of Papazkarası decreased. Grape wine is flame red in color. Its flavor is very rich in terms of spices. The tannin structure is quite soft. It resembles Burgundy (Pinot Noir) wines”. Burgonya (Pinot Noir) şaraplarını andırmaktadır” açıklamasıyla yer alır.

We do not know the production history of Papaskarasi wine, as wine production was limited during the Ottoman period and the records of the period are still not fully studied. On the other hand, the examples in the lines of Ottoman literature poets give us an idea about the popularity of Papaskarasi wine.

WAYANA Wine Bar, our wine house in Kadikoy-Istanbul, presents Papaskarası wines produced by many Thracian wineries in its wine menu. Papaskarasi is mostly grown for red wine production but there are also both rosé and white wines, made with the Blanc de Noir technique, from Papaskarasi. Our guests can taste various samples of Papaskarasi wines from Chamlija, Edrine, Gürbüz and Aker Wineries.

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