Turkish Wines

Turkish wine is wine made in the transcontinental Eurasian country of Turkey. Along with the Caucasus countries of Georgia and Armenia, Turkey played a pivotal role in the early history of wine and may have been one of the earliest wine-producing regions.

Ampelographers estimate that Turkey is home to between 600-1200 indigenous varieties of Vitis vinifera (the European grapevine), though less then 60 of these are grown commercially. With over 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km²) planted under vine, Turkey is the world's fourth-leading producer of grapes. However, the vast majority of these grapes (nearly 97%) are used as table grapes and in raisin production rather than in producing wine. This is partly due to Turkey's history as a predominantly Muslim region; the consumption of alcohol is forbidden under the Islamic dietary laws. The westernization of the 20th century saw a renewed interest in wine production with big leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey's first president, establishing the country's first commercial winery in 1925. By 2002, Turkish wineries were producing 330,000 hectoliter (140,000 hogshead) of wine annually.