Urla Peninsula Wineries

Turkey's boutique wine revolution is happening on the Urla Peninsula near Izmir. Small producers are reviving indigenous varieties like Urla Karası and experimenting with international grapes in the Mediterranean climate.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Touch the Ground Where Eclipses Were First Explained History · Free

   Klazomenai archaeological site — birthplace of Anaxagoras and home to the world's oldest olive oil press

   Where: Klazomenai archaeological site, İskele mahallesi, 2121 Sokak No:17, 35430 Urla/İzmir. Free entry. Open 08:30-17:30 (Nov-Mar), 08:30-19:00 (Apr-Oct). GPS: 38.3614, 26.7704.

   What: You are standing in one of the original 12 cities of the Ionian League — the confederation that gave Western civilization its first burst of philosophical inquiry. Specifically: the birthplace of Anaxagoras (c. 500-428 BC), who became Pericles's closest intellectual companion. He was the first person to correctly explain solar and lunar eclipses and proposed the sun was a fiery rock larger than the entire Peloponnese — not a god. For that, he was prosecuted for impiety in Athens, sentenced to death, and only saved by Pericles personally arguing his case in court. The site also contains the world's oldest known olive oil press, dating to around 550 BC — a lever-and-weights machine that precedes the next known press in Greece by 200 years.

   How: Enter through the main gate (look for signs reading 'Klazomenai Örenyeri'). Find the reconstructed olive oil workshop — the star exhibit. Walk to the shoreline and look toward Karantina Island: that's where the citizens fled when Persia invaded during the Ionian Revolt of 499 BC. The 400-meter causeway connecting the island to shore was attributed by Pliny the Elder to Alexander the Great.

   Backup: If the workshop area is closed for excavation, the acropolis ruins and harbor views are always accessible and free.

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2. 2 Navigate Turkey's First Wine Route on Ancient Ionian Soil Adventure · Free

   Urla Bağ Yolu — signposted route linking 10 boutique wineries across the peninsula

   Where: Find the Urla Bağ Yolu (Vineyard Road) starting from Urla town center and following brown directional signs across the peninsula. Full winery map at urlabagyolu.com. All 10 wineries are within 15 minutes of each other. GPS for Urla town start: 38.3218, 26.7640.

   What: In 2016, seven boutique wineries got fed up with the lack of infrastructure on the peninsula — so they formed an association and paved the roads themselves. This became Turkey's first formal wine route. You are driving through the same soil where Ionian Greeks produced wine and olive oil exported to Rome in distinctive 'belt-amphora' jars — examples of which have been found across the entire Aegean basin and the Black Sea. The sandy soil and double Aegean breeze (north and south) create a terroir that is genuinely impossible to replicate anywhere else.

   How: Download the map at urlabagyolu.com or pick one up at any winery. Plan for 3-4 winery stops in a half-day. The full circuit covers all 10 wineries in about 50 minutes without stops. Arrive early on weekends — Urla Şarapçılık gets crowded by noon.

   Backup: If driving solo, the Sojourn Turkey guided day tour from İzmir includes transport and covers 3-4 wineries — useful so you can actually taste everything.

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3. 3 Taste the Grape Herodotus Wrote About in 440 BC Wine · Price: moderate

   Urla Şarapçılık — Turkey's flagship Urla winery and home to rediscovered indigenous Urla Karası

   Where: Urla Şarapçılık, Kuşçular, 8028 Sok. No:12, 35430 Urla/İzmir. Phone: +90 232 759 0111. GPS: 38.2529, 26.7367. Tasting tours run every 30 min until 17:00; ~300 TL per person (approximately €8-9), includes 5 wines with descriptions, bread, and cheese.

   What: Ask specifically for the Bornova Misketi — a white grape documented by Herodotus around 440 BC. That makes it one of the oldest grape varieties with recorded written history, cultivated on this exact peninsula for 2,500 unbroken years. The ancient Ionian Muscat exported in Klazomenian amphorae to Rome is the same grape that Europeans eventually called 'Muscat.' You are drinking the original. Also ask about Urla Karası — an indigenous red that nearly vanished in the 20th century, rediscovered by founder Can Ortabaş in old vines on this property, grown nowhere else on earth.

   How: Summer hours: Mon-Sat 10:00-20:00, Sun 11:00-19:00. Winter: Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-19:00. Book in advance for groups of 8+; walk-ins work outside peak hours. The winery receives 80,000 visitors annually — arrive before noon on weekends.

   Backup: If fully booked, Urlice winery (İçmeler, 1168 Sk. No:7, open 11:00-21:00 daily, tasting by advance reservation) is 15 minutes away and has been doing organic viticulture on this peninsula since 1997.

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4. 4 Find the Only Turkish Winery That Refuses to Irrigate Wine · Price: moderate · Optional

   Mozaik Şarapçılık — zero irrigation, Decanter Gold 2020, on a working horse farm

   Where: Mozaik Şarapçılık, Urla Peninsula (follow Bağ Yolu signs). The winery shares grounds with Emin's working horse breeding farm. GPS: approximately 38.2900, 26.7200 — confirm current location via urlabagyolu.com map.

   What: Mozaik is the only winery in Turkey with zero irrigation installed. The vines survive on rainfall and Aegean breezes alone — dry farming at its extreme. The result: 60-70,000 focused bottles per year, including a Tannat that won Decanter Gold in 2020. Ask about the Ekigaïna and Rebo — rare varieties you will almost never encounter outside specialist producers. You may share the driveway with a thoroughbred.

   How: Check tasting hours before visiting — the tasting room is on site. Focus on the Tannat and Syrah. The no-irrigation philosophy means vintage variation is real here — ask the staff which current vintage shows best.

   Backup: If Mozaik is closed, Urlice (İçmeler, 1168 Sk. No:7) or Urla Şarapçılık both offer serious, winery-led tasting experiences with similar commitment to indigenous varieties.

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5. 5 Eat Urla Artichoke with the Wine Grown 50 Meters Away Adventure · Price: low

   Urla town meze culture, Sunday market, and the Art Street of restored stone workshops

   Where: Urla town center. Art Street (Sanat Sokağı): Hacı İsa, Bülent Baratalı Blv., 35430 Urla/İzmir. GPS: 38.3218, 26.7640. Sunday market on Zafer Caddesi: design objects, antiques, handmade goods. Art Street: 200m pedestrian lane, year-round.

   What: Urla is the artichoke capital of Turkey — the Urla Enginarı (globe artichoke) is celebrated each spring at a 3-day festival with cooking workshops and tastings. The Aegean region grows 75% of all Turkish olives, and the local cuisine is built on olive oil-drenched vegetable dishes (zeytinyağlılar), fresh seafood, and herbs. Ask for 'enginar zeytinyağlı' (artichokes braised in olive oil) and a glass of local Bornova Misketi white — this pairing is specific to this geography and impossible to reproduce at home. The Art Street has artisans working on-site in restored stone houses: ceramics, jewelry, textiles.

   How: Any small restaurant in the town center will have Aegean meze. Budget 200-400 TL (€5-10) for a full spread. Sunday market runs morning until early afternoon. For serious dining: Vino Locale (two Michelin stars, Turkey's first Michelin Sommelier Award 2025, 100% Turkish wine list) requires booking months ahead — reserve at urlavinolocale.com.

   Backup: If the Sunday market isn't running, the Art Street shops and workshops are open daily year-round.

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