It was Juan Pablo’s idea to start a vineyard in Urla.
A native of Chile, he accompanied his future wife, Ceylan Ertorer Diaz Leon, back to the region in her native Turkey when her mother fell ill. There, surrounded by the family’s unkempt vineyards bursting with syrah and Grenache grapes, bewitched by the loamy fields and silvery ancient olive trees, Mr. Diaz Leon was inspired.
From his youth in Chile, he knew about the Spanish Cariñena grapes and French Alicante grapes that were often used for winemaking. What if the couple expanded the vineyards, planted some new grapes and created a winery?
“Urla has a very old history of viticulture,” Mrs. Ertorer Diaz Leon said. “Juan Pablo was interested and enthusiastic about the vineyards and reviving the soul of my mom here.”
In 2018, they created their winery, Hus, now one of the 10 stops on the Urla Vineyard Route.
Urla, in western Turkey, is a short 45-minute drive from Izmir, the closest major city, midway down a peninsula that juts out into the azure Aegean Sea. In the springtime, fields are full of bulbous artichokes, gnarled olive trees, wild lavender and bursts of bright red poppies. Windmills spin languorously in the distance, and the air is heavy with the scent of fresh herbs and pine.
With its dry summers and a soil mix of limestone and clay, Urla is also an ideal place to make wine. But this Turkish Napa is little-known outside the country.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Napa on the Aegean: A Turkish Wine Region Re-emerges appeared first on New York Times.
