The fragrance of fresh grapes and grape juice wafts into the streets from the wine factories. From the courtyards of houses comes the sloshing sound of the juice being emptied into jugs as the rush to make grape molasses and grape ‘sausage’ gets under way. The molasses will be boiled and the pulp dried to the accompaniment of harvest songs.
Owing to its warm climate, the grape harvest in Turkey begins in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions, continuing through Thrace and Central Anatolia and ending in the Southeast. Öküzgözü, Papazkarasi, Çalkarasi, Narince, Sultani, Senso, Karasakiz, Bogazkere, Kalecik Karasi—these are the vineyards where the finest grapes are grown. Sarköy-Mürefte in Thrace, where the Greeks produced wine for centuries and the Turks preserved the tradition after the Republic, and the Ürgüp region of Central Anatolia, regarded as the cradle of viticulture, are perhaps the regions where the grape harvest is the most colorful and lively. Wine lovers pour into these regions to join in the vintage festivities, to taste the previous year’s wine from the barrels, and to meet with producers and viticulturists.