Bozcaada Island Wines

How to Complete

3 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 🍷 1

   Taste the Island Homer Mentioned in the Iliad

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   3,000 years of wine on an island small enough to walk across in a morning

   In Homer's Iliad, the Greeks hid their fleet near Tenedos (Bozcaada) during the Trojan Horse ruse - this island is IN the epic. Grape clusters appear on the island's own coins from the 5th century BC - the government literally put wine on their currency. In the 1800s, the island exported over 800,000 barrels per year as one of the best wines in the eastern Mediterranean. Today it has 4 native grape varieties (Çavuş, Karasakiz, Vasilaki, Karalahna) found nowhere else. Take the 35-minute ferry from Geyikli port (54km south of Canakkale) to reach this wine island Homer mentioned. At Talay Winery (founded 1948), ask to taste the Çavuş grape - white, unique to the island. At Corvus Winery (founded 2002), ask for the flagship blend and inquire: 'What makes Bozcaada grapes different from mainland Turkey?' The answer involves the island's 'mighty winds of the north' - natural climate control that no mainland winery can replicate.

   🔄 BACKUP: Camlıbağ Winery is the third major producer. The island is small enough to visit all three on the same day by bicycle (rentals available at the ferry port).

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2. 📜 2

   Find the Coin That Proves 2,500 Years of Wine

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   The government of ancient Tenedos put a grape cluster on their money - that tells you everything

   In the 5th century BC, the independent city-state of Tenedos minted coins with grape clusters on the obverse - an official government statement that their identity was wine. This island was placing wine at the centre of its civic identity 2,500 years ago, continuing until the Greek community left in 1923. Now Turkish families make the same wine from the same 4 native grapes. Visit Bozcaada Castle (Veneto-Genoese-Ottoman fortress, central harbour) and ask the museum staff to see any numismatic collection or coin reproductions. The grape cluster coin of Tenedos is one of the most recognizable ancient Greek coins in Aegean collections.

   🔄 BACKUP: The castle itself overlooks the harbour where wine barrels were once loaded for export. From the castle walls, look at the vineyard terraces stretching across the island - the same fields the ancient coin celebrated.

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3. ⛰️ 3

   Walk the Greek Streets That Remember the Wine Exodus

   Optional

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   In 1964, the last Greek families left Bozcaada - the wine nearly went with them

   After the 1923 population exchange, Greek families who had been making wine here for 3,000 years were allowed to remain because of the island's strategic position. In 1964, following political tensions, the remaining Greeks were pressured to leave. Their houses are still standing, their vineyards still producing. Walk the old town streets of Bozcaada behind the main harbour and find a house with Greek architectural details - carved stone, arched windows, blue-painted shutters. Ask a local shopkeeper: 'Do any Greek families still come back here?' The answer is yes - for the wine harvest.

   🔄 BACKUP: The island has a strong cafe and wine bar culture in the old town. Find a wine bar serving island wine and sit outside - you are drinking wine on an island that has been producing it since Homer's time.

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