Kalecik
Continental, river-moderated
A district on the Kızılırmak river north-east of Ankara, the home of Kalecik Karası, a light, red-fruited grape that was nearly lost before its revival in the 1970s.
Overview
About Kalecik
Kalecik sits beside the Kızılırmak (Red River) in Ankara province, where the river creates a special microclimate and the soils are rich in marine fossils. Kalecik Karası, which takes its name from the town, was nearly extinct after phylloxera and years of neglect until Prof. Y. Sabit Ağaoğlu of Ankara University rescued it by clonal selection in the 1970s.
Vinkara, founded here in 2003, planted around 60 per cent of its vineyard, at about 650 metres, with Kalecik Karası, and makes it as a red, a rosé and a sparkling wine. Kavaklıdere also helped to bring the grape back.
Kalecik is marked on the map.
Turkey
Shaded: Ankara. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Continental, river-moderated
Hot, dry summers and cold winters, with the Kızılırmak river moderating temperatures around the vineyards, which lie at about 650 metres.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Pebbly clay loam and soils rich in marine fossils.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Kalecik is a place known for one grape and not a legal appellation.
Kalecik Karası
The grape is what the place is known for; producers such as Vinkara make it as a red, a rosé and a sparkling wine.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.