One of Cappadocia's oldest wineries, producing since 1943. The traditional
methods and cave cellars show continuity with Byzantine winemaking. Their Emir and
Kalecik Karası demonstrate what indigenous Turkish varieties can achieve.
What to do there
3 things to do
Founded 1943 - through the entire modern history of Turkey - Turasan is still making wine
Turasan was founded in 1943 - during World War II, when Cappadocia was a remote agricultural region emerging from Ottoman collapse. They have been making wine through 80 years of Turkish republic history: military coups, economic crises, near-prohibition of wine culture in conservative periods. They survived because Cappadocian wine tradition is older than the Turkish Republic, older than the Ottoman Empire, older than the Byzantine Empire. It goes back to volcanic soil and vines that first grew there millennia ago. Visit Turasan (Ür güp, budget-tier tastings at turasan.com.tr) and ask to taste the Kalecik Karası - Turkey's most food-friendly red, 'succulent, fine voluminous tannins, plummy fruit, fresh.' Ask the staff: 'What year did your oldest vine stock get planted?' The answer connects you to the generation who kept Cappadocian wine alive through difficult decades.
Backup:Turasan also supports Chardonnay, Malbec, Tempranillo alongside indigenous varieties - taste international varieties back-to-back with Kalecik Karası to see why indigenous varieties have won the argument.
The volcanic geology that creates fairy chimneys also creates perfect wine storage - for free
Cappadocian cave cellars maintain a natural temperature of approximately 12-14°C year-round - the same temperature modern refrigerated wine cellars are set to. This is the same geological principle underground city builders used: volcanic tuff is perfect insulation. Byzantine monks stored wine in cave cellars for this reason. The 20,000 people in Derinkuyu stored wine in cave rooms for this reason. Turasan's cave cellar is direct continuation of 1,500-year storage tradition. In the cave cellar (ask to see it during tours), check the temperature and compare it to outside air - in summer, the difference may be 30°C. Ask: 'How long have you been using this specific cave for storage?'
Backup:If no cellar tour is available, ask to see the barrel aging area from the main tasting room. Look for the oldest barrels marked with vintage dates.
Two wineries, same volcanic soil, different philosophies - taste the difference
Kocabağ focuses solely on Turkish indigenous grapes. Turasan makes both indigenous and international varieties. This philosophical difference produces genuinely different wines from the same Cappadocian terroir - both approaches have defenders in the Turkish wine community. At Turasan, ask for the Emir white (indigenous) and the Chardonnay (international) if both are available. Compare them, then recall the Kocabağ Emir you tasted earlier. Three wines from the same volcanic soil tell you everything about what 'terroir' means and what 'variety character' means. This comparison is the best possible wine education in the region.
Backup:Ask any Turasan staff member: 'Do you drink Kocabağ wines?' Turkish winemakers are usually generous about discussing local competition - the honest answers are revealing.
