Aegean Wineries

Taste indigenous Turkish varieties rarely found outside the country. Bornova Misketi (aromatic white), Çalkarası (light red), and Karalahna are being revived by passionate producers after centuries of neglect.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Decode the Currency of Dionysus at Pergamon History · Free

   Where: Walk the 245-metre-long theatre terrace on Pergamon's acropolis — the Temple of Dionysus ruins sit on the north end, directly adjacent to the ancient theatre. No additional ticket needed beyond the acropolis entrance (cable car from lower Bergama station, approx. ₺200 round trip, 2026 prices — confirm at station).

   What: The Attalid kings of Pergamon — the dynasty who built this city into a rival of Alexandria — had a secret they stamped on every single coin they ever minted. The coin was called a 'cistophorus,' meaning 'basket-bearer.' The image on the front: a wicker basket (cista mystica) with a serpent emerging from it, wrapped in an ivy wreath. That basket was the sacred ritual object of Dionysus. The serpent WAS Dionysus. Every transaction in Pergamon — every amphora of wine bought, every papyrus scroll sold — was conducted with a coin declaring the king's descent from the god of wine himself. When Rome inherited this kingdom in 133 BC (Attalus III left it to them in his will, figuring Rome would take it anyway), they kept minting the same coin. Dionysus's basket funded the Roman Empire in Asia for 60 more years.

   How: Stand at the Temple of Dionysus ruins at the north end of the theatre terrace. The 25-step stairway that once led up to the temple is still partially visible. Look south down the terrace toward the theatre — this view hasn't changed since Eumenes II built it in the 180s BC. If you have a coin photo or drawing of the cistophorus (search 'Pergamon cistophorus coin' before you come), hold it up toward the temple: this is where the god on the coin lived. The cult center was just south of here, near where the ancient wine shops stood.

   Backup: If the acropolis is closed (check Monday closures and seasonal hours), the coin story works just as well from the street below — you can see the theatre terrace profile from central Bergama and trace the outline of the theatre and temple complex from ground level. Acropolis hours generally 8am–7pm peak season.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Climb to the Theatre Where 10,000 Watched Under Dionysus Adventure · Price: low

   Where: Pergamon Acropolis theatre terrace. Enter via cable car (teleféririk) from the lower Bergama station on Cumhuriyet Bulvarı (₺150-200 round trip, 2026 — confirm at station). Walk straight from the upper cable car station toward the theatre. The Temple of Dionysus is on the north side, first major ruin you'll pass.

   What: Before the Parthenon became Athens' symbol, before the Pantheon became Rome's pride, THIS was the architectural statement that shook the ancient world: a theatre on a terrace so steep that the seats drop at an angle modern engineers still call reckless — the steepest ancient theatre the Greeks ever built. The effect was deliberate: every performance, every festival, the city's vineyards spread out below the audience. Drama and wine were not separate things in Pergamon. They were the same thing. The theatre held 10,000 people. The wine god stood watch at the north end of the terrace. 300 years of the Attalid kingdom played out here, in sight of the vines.

   How: After the temple ruins, walk the full length of the 245m terrace. At the south end, look out across the Bakırçay Valley — the agricultural plain that fed and watered Pergamon. Those hills produced the wine the Attalid court drank. Now trace the terrace back north. The cult center of Dionysus was positioned between the wine shops (documented archaeologically on the south acropolis) and the theatre — wine bought, wine consumed, then the show. Ask yourself: who designed this sequence? Someone who understood that wine and story are the same act.

   Backup: If the theatre terrace is cordoned for restoration work, the acropolis upper plateau still offers the full valley view. Check ahead at the Bergama tourist office or at the gate.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Taste the Grape That Grew Near Troy Before Rome Was Founded Wine · Price: high

   Where: Paşaeli Winery, İbn-i Melek OSB, Tire district, Izmir Province. GPS: 38.4643, 27.3537. Drive 1.5 hours south from Bergama (or 45 min from central Izmir). MANDATORY: Book by phone or email before arriving — this is a boutique operation. Phone: +90 232 463 29 52. Website: pasaeli.com. Visits run 3.5-4 hours.

   What: In 2000, brothers Seyit and Gino Karagözoğlu — fine wine importers who had spent years handling the great estates of Bordeaux and Burgundy — made a decision that looked insane: they would rescue the grapes that everyone else had abandoned. Their flagship is the '6N' Karasakız. The grape is native to Kaz Dağları — Mount Ida, the mountain that overlooked Troy. It has been growing on Bozcaada island for at least 500 documented years. Pasaeli makes it as a single-vineyard red from 35-year-old vines at 500 metres elevation, fermented with native wild yeast only, aged 8 months in French oak. The result: fruity, spicy, medium-bodied — the kind of wine that makes you realize 'easy-drinking' doesn't mean simple.

   How: Ask Seyit specifically to explain the grape's connection to the Bergama region and the Aeolian coast. Ask him: 'How many of the 65+ indigenous varieties were being made into wine 25 years ago?' (Answer: only 20.) Ask to compare the 6N with their Çalkarası rosé in the same sitting — you're tasting two different chapters of the same story. The 6N is the ancient north (Mount Ida); the Çalkarası (from Denizli, southwest) is the ancient south. Both rescued from near-oblivion by the same hands.

   Backup: If you can't arrange a winery visit, Pasaeli wines are available at Kuntra Wine Bar in Karşıyaka, Izmir (step 5), where you can taste the 6N by the glass without the drive to Tire.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Sample the Wine Herodotus Described in 450 BC Wine · Price: moderate

   Where: At Paşaeli during your winery visit (or at Kuntra Wine Bar in Karşıyaka — they typically stock it). Request specifically: 'Do you have anything made from Bornova Misketi?'

   What: In 450 BC, Herodotus — the man the Greeks called the Father of History — described the wines of Smyrna (modern Izmir, 15 kilometres from Bornova) as 'scented with roses and honey.' He was talking about this grape. Bornova Misketi takes its name from Bornova, a district just outside Izmir. The variety has been documented continuously from Herodotus's era through the Ottoman period to today — making it one of the oldest continuously documented grape varieties on earth. Most aromatic whites trace back to the Muscat family. THIS is Muscat's oldest known Aegean ancestor, grown in the city where Herodotus said the wine smelled like roses.

   How: When you taste it, smell before you sip. Herodotus wasn't wrong — there IS a rose quality in good Bornova Misketi. Add a floral honey note, bright citrus, green apple. Now think: this exact aromatic profile has been in this landscape for 2,500+ years. The terroir is not a concept here. It's a continuous fact. If both dry and semi-sweet versions are offered in the same sitting, take both: the dry version shows the citrus-green apple side; the semi-sweet shows what Herodotus meant by honey.

   Backup: If Bornova Misketi is unavailable, ask for any Turkish Muscat of Alexandria — grown widely in the Aegean and related to the same ancient viticultural lineage. The Herodotus story still holds.

   Log Memory
5. 5 Drink the King's Grape at the Bar Named After It Wine · Price: low

   Where: Kuntra Wine Bar, 6371 Sk. 106B, Atakent, Karşıyaka, Izmir. GPS approx: 38.4582, 27.1152. Phone: +90 536 351 76 96. Instagram: @kuntrawinebar. Open until 1:30 AM. No reservation needed for walk-ins — call ahead on weekends.

   What: The name 'Kuntra' is not a random word. It's the local Aegean name for Karasakız — the grape native to Mount Ida, grown on Bozcaada for 500 documented years, rescued by Paşaeli and others in the 2000s renaissance. Whoever named this wine bar knew exactly what they were doing: they named it after the grape that was once currency for the kings of Pergamon. The bar stocks roughly 100 wines, with 8-10 available by the glass on a rotating monthly selection, heavy emphasis on Turkish producers. This is where the Izmir wine cognoscenti come when they want something real.

   How: Sit at the bar if there are seats — the staff know their list. Say: 'Karasakız var mı?' (Is there Karasakız?) If they have the Paşaeli 6N by the glass, order it. This is the full-circle moment: you started the day on the acropolis where Dionysus's temple stood, you visited the winery that rescued his grape, and now you're drinking it in a bar literally named after the vine. Order the cheese and cold meat board. Get the octopus if it's on. These zeytinyağlı-style Aegean mezze — olive oil-cooked, cool-served, bright with herbs — are the ancient food tradition that wine like Karasakız was born alongside. The salt, the herbs, the oil: the exact flavor profile that Karasakız's bright acidity was made to cut through. 2,500 years of pairing logic on one table.

   Backup: If Kuntra is unexpectedly closed, Hayyam Şarap & Kitabevi in Alsancak (Izmir's wine-bar-and-bookshop hybrid) stocks Turkish wines by the glass. Any bar on the Kordon promenade in Karşıyaka will have options. Check @kuntrawinebar Instagram before heading out.

   Log Memory