Cave Wine Cellars

Wine aged in volcanic tuff caves maintains perfect temperature year-round. Some cellars have been used for wine storage for millennia. The soft rock is easy to carve and naturally cool — ancient refrigeration.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Read the Tuff That Rome Couldn't Leave Alone History · Free

   Where: Any exposed cliff face or cave entrance in Ürgüp's old quarter — the volcanic tuff rock is everywhere. Start at the base of the town, where the rock-cut dwellings begin on the hillside, and look into one of the visible cave openings.

   What: This pale grey-brown stone changed the entire arc of Roman imperial history. In 17 AD, Emperor Tiberius summoned the last King of Cappadocia — Archelaus, who had faithfully served Rome for 50 years as a client king — to Rome, falsely accused him of treason, imprisoned him, and let him die. Then Tiberius converted the entire kingdom directly into a Roman province, controlled by an emperor-appointed legatus. Not because Archelaus did anything wrong. Because Cappadocia was too valuable to leave as a semi-autonomous kingdom: it was the eastern bulwark against Parthia, and Tiberius wanted direct control of the most critical military frontier in the empire. But here's the thing the Romans inherited: this rock — volcanic tuff from eruptions 9-15 million years ago — had already been carved into wine cellars for 1,800 years before Rome arrived. The Hittites figured out that tuff maintains a constant temperature year-round (around 12-14°C even when outside hits 35°C) because it continuously absorbs and releases humidity. They were carving wine storage caves by 1800 BC. Rome inherited a wine civilization, not an empty province.

   How: Run your hand along the tuff. Notice how it's not quite stone — more like dense pumice. This is what the winemakers carved with hand tools for 3,800 years. Find the nearest cave entrance and look in. The darkness you're staring into has held wine longer than Rome existed as an empire.

   Backup: The entire old quarter of Ürgüp is built from this rock — the geological story is unavoidable. If no open cave is accessible, the hillside above the town center has multiple visible cave dwellings. The Büyükakten Yeraltı Evi underground house (Kılıçarslan Sk. No:22) is the best indoor version — 7 floors, open Tue-Sun 11:00-17:00, entrance ~25 TL (~€0.80).

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2. 2 Descend Into the Holes Where Wine Breathes Through Rock Wine · Price: low

   Where: Han Çırağan, Cumhuriyet Meydanı No:4, Ürgüp town square — the oldest restaurant in Ürgüp, housed in a 250-year-old Ottoman caravanserai. The Kocabağ wine tasting facility is on the upper level; ask for the cave tour at the counter.

   What: In 1972, Mehmet Erdoğan started Kocabağ Winery with one simple act: he carved a cave into the volcanic tuff behind his house. His three sons now run a 700,000-bottle-per-year operation. But the cave is still the heart of it. Underground, they have 12 tanks — each one 250 hectoliters — carved directly into the rock. Not steel-lined. Not concrete-coated. The tuff walls are exposed. The wine ferments and ages inside the living volcanic rock, breathing through the same porous material the Hittites used for storage in 1800 BC. There is no winery in France, in Italy, in Spain, doing this. You're drinking wine that aged inside a volcano.

   How: No booking needed — the Han Çırağan tasting counter is open all day. Ask for 'a full flight of Kocabağ wines including the Emir.' Tasting at the counter is free for a basic introduction; a private tour of the actual cave cellars is approximately €5 — worth every cent for the moment when you see the unlined rock tanks in person. Hold the Emir glass up to the light and ask yourself: what is that slightly salty, mineral finish that has no name in Western wine vocabulary? That's 9 million years of volcanic geology in your glass.

   Backup: If you can't get a cave tour guide that day, the tasting counter gives you the same wines without the underground experience. Take the Boğazkere — the 'Throat-Burner' — it's the one they describe as 'intense dark fruit, black pepper, and chocolate with firm tannins.' That finish you feel is what 1,200 meters of altitude does to tannin structure.

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3. 3 Hunt the Grape That Was Emperor-Grade and Exists Nowhere Else Wine · Price: low

   Where: Mahzen Şarap Evi, İstiklal Caddesi, Ürgüp — tucked behind the old hammam, down a narrow street. Look for the sign. It's deliberately unassuming. The word 'mahzen' means 'cellar' in Turkish. This is someone's actual cellar, converted into a tasting room.

   What: The Emir grape grows only here. Not just in Cappadocia generally — specifically in these volcanic soils at 1,200 meters altitude. Scientists cannot fully explain why the minerality reads as slightly salty. Wine writers call it 'seemingly, if not scientifically' volcanic. What we do know: the grape's name comes from the Arabic/Turkish word for 'ruler' or 'commander' — because in both the Hittite and Roman periods, this wine was reserved for the governing class. The name Emir was given because it was what kings and governors drank. You are about to drink what Tiberius' legatus poured for guests at his provincial capital.

   How: This family-run wine house specializes in local varietals and fruit wines. Ask specifically for 'the Emir — just the Emir, not a blend.' When it arrives: smell it first. Green apple, citrus, sometimes a delicate pine note. Then taste. The finish — that's the part. The slight saline edge that no Loire Sauvignon Blanc, no Grüner Veltliner, no Chablis has. That's the tuff soil talking. Ask the owner: 'When does the harvest happen?' In September-October they sometimes let visitors watch.

   Backup: If Mahzen is closed (they occasionally take breaks), Efendi Şarap Evi is two streets away on the same lane system — also a local wine house, also small-production, also Lonely Planet-listed. Both are in central Ürgüp within 5 minutes of the main square.

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4. 4 Watch the Potter's Pot Get Broken at Your Table Adventure · Price: moderate

   Where: Han Çırağan restaurant (same address as Step 2 — Cumhuriyet Meydanı No:4, Ürgüp). Or Dibek Restaurant in Göreme, which is also famous for testi kebap and requires advance reservation.

   What: Testi kebap is a UNESCO Geographical Indication product (registered 2017). Lamb or beef + vegetables + spices are sealed inside a clay pot (testi = jug in Turkish) with bread dough and slow-cooked in a tandoor oven for hours. It arrives at your table and the server breaks the sealed pot open with a dramatic crack — steam, aroma, and juices spill out at once. The clay pot is made in Avanos (30 minutes from Ürgüp), which has been the pottery capital of Cappadocia since the Hittite era. The dish is not just theater — the clay imparts something to the meat as it cooks that no other vessel can replicate. The tradition traces back to when Hittite nomadic cooks needed portable, sealed cooking vessels.

   How: Order testi kebap — it typically costs 250-400 TL (~€8-12) per person. At Dibek in Göreme, call ahead: they prepare a limited number each day. Pair it with Öküzgözü ('Bull's Eye') red — its soft tannins and pomegranate/red berry notes cut through the rich lamb fat perfectly. The volcanic-soil minerality in the wine mirrors the earthiness of the clay-pot cooking. When the waiter breaks the pot, lean in — the rising steam is the single best smell in Cappadocia.

   Backup: If testi kebap sells out (it happens — limited clay pots prepared daily), order the kuzu güveç (lamb casserole in a smaller clay pot — same technique, same cave-oven tradition, just not broken at the table). Order Öküzgözü regardless.

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5. 5 Walk Seven Floors Down Into the Carving That Started Everything Adventure · Free

   Where: Ürgüp Büyükakten Yeraltı Evi, Kılıçarslan Sokak No:22, Temenni quarter, Ürgüp. A 10-minute walk from the town center, uphill toward the old quarter. Look for the small museum sign.

   What: Yüksel Büyükakten restored his grandmother's underground house — the woman lived here in the 1920s, in caves carved thousands of years ago. Seven floors descend into the tuff. The tunnels at the bottom predate Islam, predate Byzantium, possibly predate Rome. This is not a recreation or a museum display — it's the actual carved dwelling, electrified so you can walk through it. The same technique the Hittites used in 1800 BC to carve wine storage chambers is visible in every wall.

   How: Open Tuesday-Sunday, 11:00-17:00. Entrance: ~25 TL (~€0.80) — essentially free by any measure. The family members who greet you are descended from the original inhabitants. Bring a phone torch — some sections are dark. Go to the deepest level (floor 7). Run your hand along the walls — you'll feel where tools cut into the tuff thousands of years ago. The constant cool temperature you feel at the bottom? This is exactly what the ancient winemakers were exploiting for their storage chambers. The wine cellars you tasted in earlier today are this. Same geology, same technique, same cool darkness — just filled with Emir and Öküzgözü instead of bronze-age provisions.

   Backup: Closed Mondays. If you arrive on a Monday, walk the old quarter of Ürgüp instead — the hillside above the town center has multiple cave dwellings visible from the street, some still occupied. The geological story is the same.

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