Urla wineries, an inviting Aegean wine country getaway

During EWBC's Digital Communications Conference 2012 in Izmir, Turkey Spaswinefood visited three Urla wineries. Urla in Izmir Province is a pleasant hour's drive from Izmir. A picturesque seaside town, Urla has inviting wine country nearby for wine lovers to explore. While in Urla we visited three young wineries Urlice Winery, Mozaik Winery and Urla Winery.  The first two wineries are smaller boutique wineries, with the latter being a larger scale winery. Vinul din Cluj's excellent article describes our visit to the three wineries and their wines. This article will take more of a wine tourism perspective.

Urlice Winery

At Urlice Winery we were hosted by the owners (Bile Bengisu Öğünlü and Reha Öğünlü). Urlice's wines are estate grown and sustainably farmed on a four-hectare estate. The Öğünlü's bought the property in 2004 and released their first vintage in 2008.

Bile Bengisu Öğünlü and Reha Öğünlü © Spaswinefood

At Urlice Winery we were treated to very tasty local appetizers to go along with the wine tasting.  The owners are also involved in the Slow Food movement, which nicely compliments their winery efforts.

An inviting table at Urlice Winery © Spaswinefood

Tempting morning snacks at Urlice Winery © Spaswinefood

Urlice's wines are made from international grape varieties (Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay), with one Turkish grape variety, Misketi.

Urlice Winery's  Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Blend © Spaswinefood

The setting at Urlice Winery is absolutely relaxing. It was great to be invited into the winemaker's home. I could easily imagine having a relaxing lunch or dinner of fabulous Turkish cuisine while sampling the Urlice Wines.

The vineyard at Urlice Winery © Spaswinefood

Mozaik Winery

Our next stop was at Mozaik Winery where we meet the owners and tasted some promising young wines. The family owned winery uses organically grown grapes. The 14-hectare vineyard was planted in 2008, with its first vintage in 2010.

 Mozaik Winery's enthusiastic wife and husband team © Spaswinefood

Mozaik Winery produces only red wines at this stage. Their red wines are made grapes grown on vines imported from Italy and France.

Mozaik Winery's wines © Spaswinefood

Tasting at Mozaik Winery © Spaswinefood

During our visit we tried wines made from two unique European grape varieties Ekigaina and Rebo. There is lots of enthusiasm at this new winery.

Wine from Ekigaina at Mozaik Winery © Spaswinefood

Mozaik Winery is a part of a family business. While raising horses has been the main business the daughter's and her husband's passion is wine.

Mozaik Winery © Spaswinefood

The owners are not only very enthusiastic about wine making; they are also working with an Italian agronomist and oenologist in the production of their wines. Even thought this winery is very new it will be exciting to see where it goes. 

Urla Winery

It was late afternoon when we arrived at Urla Winery. We were met by one of the winery owners, Can Ortalaş and the winery staff. Urla Winery's vineyards of 40 hectares are biodynamically farmed. A part of the vineyards includes an ancient terrace where evidence of early wine production was found.

Urla Winery© Spaswinefood

After touring the winery we tasted some of the Urla Wines. While most of its wines are produced from international grape varieties it has some Turkish grape varieties that it is exploring. Nero d'Urla , a Turkish grape variety is one. Since this young winery released its first vintage in 2009 the winery has received recognition for its wines from Decanter and others. Urla Winery uses a French consultant to work with local staff. I was excited to have meet  Gaye Molavali, a winemaker at Urla. Jim Budd's post also highlights the presence of women in wine making in the Izmir area.

The good news is that if you want to be pampered you might consider staying at Urla Wines boutique hotel. Urla Winery is a fascinating property to visit and could be used as a base to explore wine country. The winery is next to a natural reserve. The property also includes a plant nursery and arboretum. Urla winery is an exciting place to visit. The winery has gotten over 7000 visitors this year.

Urla Winery's boutique hotel © Spaswinefood

Inviting wine country with promises of a great future
At the moment there are limited supply of bed and breakfast, boutique and luxury hotels in Urla. Izmir however, offers a wider selection of hotels. The town of Urla however, is not to be missed. I very much liked the feel of this town, with its farmer's market. The area also presents the opportunity to get to know something about the local culture and Turkey's outstanding cuisine. On brief one-day visit that was not possible. However, a more extended stay presents many possibilities. I could envision a visit to Urla's farmer's market and all sorts of culinary happenings.

Urlice Winery © Spaswinefood

Most of the wines at the Urla wineries that we visited were made from commonly known international grape varieties. On the plus side the wineries are using organic, sustainable and biodynamic farming techniques.  Still, I was disappointed that I tasted only a few new wines to add to my Turkish wine vocabulary of Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, Kalecik Karasi and Narince. The wineries maybe missing out on developing a special niche for wines made from indigenous Turkish grape varieties. On the other hand, in Urla, like in other parts of Turkey, Spaswinefood encountered women who were winery owners and winemakers. Overall Urla is inviting wine country, with promises of a great future. For a complete list of wineries in the Aegean Wine Region see Wines of Turkey.  Check out my travels in Turkey and elsewhere at Spaswinefood, or visit  my travel column at the Examiner. 

Sharon

November 2012

Izmir, Turkey

© Spaswinefood

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