Drinks

It Might Be Time for Turkish Wine

A cheap lira could help build international sales of varietals from the land where it all began.

Koshu grapes ripen in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. Mercian, Japan’s biggest and oldest winemaker, is nearly doubling its vineyards on expectations that its niche grapes -- grown in a small area in the shadow of Mount Fuji -- will increase sales both at home and overseas.Photographer: James Witlow Delano/Bloomberg

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By Ross Urken

February 1, 2019 at 8:00 AM UTC

As the Bible tells it, Noah pioneered winemaking when his ark landed on Mount Ararat, in the far east of modern-day Turkey. After the deluge was over, he is said to have planted a vineyard.

Despite the region’s rich oenological history, Mehmed II’s capture of Constantinople in 1453 created a nation averse to alcohol, though some Orthodox Christians managed to keep the vine alive. After World War I, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established a secular country and chose to encourage viticulture by opening the country’s first commercial winery. In the 1930s, he even promoted a vine-growing campaign.