Thrace & Marmara
Mild maritime
The European corner of Turkey, milder and rainier than the plateau, and home of the red grape Papazkarası and a growing group of Bordeaux-style estates.
Overview
About Thrace & Marmara
East Thrace lies south of Bulgaria and Greece, between the Black, Marmara and Aegean seas. It is Turkey's closest wine region to Europe, and Doluca, one of the oldest wineries in the country, founded in 1926, has its winery here.
The native red Papazkarası is the local grape, grown around Kırklareli and Edirne. Around it, a group of newer estates grow international grapes, notably Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and make wines in a Bordeaux or Rhône style.
Thrace & Marmara is marked on the map.
Turkey
Shaded: Tekirdag, Kirklareli, Edirne. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Mild maritime
Humid and mild, with 500 to 1,000 mm of rain a year and average temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees Celsius, moderated by three seas.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Limestone, gravelly loam and heavy cracking clay.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Thrace and Marmara is an informal region name. There are no legal appellations, grape lists or ageing rules.
Thrace on the label
Producers use the name to show origin, with no rules behind it.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.