Turkish wine

Turkish wine is wine produced in Turkey. Grape growing in Anatolia has a long history; archaeological and archaeobotanical findings place the region, together with the Caucasus, among the areas where Vitis vinifera was first domesticated, with evidence dating back at least 7,000 years. Estimates of the number of indigenous Vitis vinifera varieties in Turkey range widely, from around 600 to over 1,200, but fewer than 60 are grown commercially. The country has about 410,000 to 505,000 hectares (1,010,000 to 1,250,000 acres) under vine, the fifth-largest vineyard area worldwide. Only a small share of the harvest is used for wine; estimates vary between 3% and 15%. The remainder is sold as table grapes, dried into raisins, or distilled into rakı. The sector has changed considerably since the 1990s. The state monopoly Tekel was broken up and its wine division sold off in 2004, and a number of new private wineries opened, many of them small estates. Producers have also returned to working with several indigenous grape varieties that had been little used commercially during the 20th century.