Cappadocia
High-altitude continental
A landscape of volcanic tuff and rock-cut cellars, with high-altitude vineyards above 1,000 metres and the home of Emir, a crisp, razor-sharp white.
Overview
About Cappadocia
Cappadocia's soft volcanic tuff has been carved into homes, churches and wine cellars for centuries, and vines have been grown here since antiquity. Vineyards lie above 1,000 metres, and Kocabağ's sit at around 1,200, on volcanic soils of sand, decomposed tuff and limestone.
The local white grape is Emir, a high-acid, mineral white that makes crisp still and sparkling wines. Reds include Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü and Boğazkere, grown alongside international varieties. Turasan, founded in 1943, is among the oldest wineries in Cappadocia, and Kocabağ is known for wines made and aged in tanks carved from volcanic rock.
Cappadocia is marked on the map.
Turkey
Shaded: Nevsehir. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
High-altitude continental
Semi-arid, with hot days and cold nights, a short growing season and cold winters.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Volcanic tuff, sand and limestone, at 1,000 to 1,200 metres.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Cappadocia is a well-known place name, not a legal appellation. Wines are named for the grape and the producer.
Cappadocia on the label
An informal origin name, with no legal rules about grapes, yields or methods.
Native grapes
Emir for whites, and Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü and Boğazkere for reds, are the local focus.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.