Yanık Ülke Vineyards (Burnt Land Vineyards)
Near Kula, a short distance from Pamukkale, a quiet vineyard & hotel on an ancient volcano.
A visit to this vineyard gives you an appreciation of the name 'scorched earth' vineyards, as you notice the land consists of black rock thanks to the long-extinct volcanic belt running near Kula. Strabo (64 BC-24 AD), the ancient Roman geographer, in Geographica described this land as "Katakekaumene" which means 'burnt country' - without trees and only the vine of the local wine grape which is inferior to no other. He notes that the mythology of Typhon's battle was the cause of the land's burning. In fact it is due to the volcano rock left from ages past.
The winery itself is set along a major highway running from Ankara to Izmir, set at 920m elevation in the descending hills from Anatolia to the Meander river valley. The winery and hotel sit on a knob with amazing views. The winery continues the ancient tradition of growing wine amidst the volcanic rocky soil of the Katakekaumene area. There are vineyards surrounding the winery and hotel but....
there is the Gürle Vineyards located at 120 m where Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot also are grown. The wines here tend towards fuller bodied oaked reds with a nice selection of white as well. They use a mix of French and American oak barrels in their well equipped and quite large winery, located just below the hotel and built mostly underground.
This vineyard has the benefit of location, hotel and winery all together in a unique terrior.
Recommendable wines include the Mahzen series (Mahzen mean cellar), the Serendipity Kula blend, Probus Red Blend, and the Sauvignon Blanc. Though single varietal wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are available, I preferred their blends in general.
Their hotel the Villa Estet Vineyard Hotel is run by an excellent Turkish chain Anemon and the rooms are large comfortable, with amazing views and a pool. Their restaurant also serves excellent food alongside the wines which are available for tastings.
A visit to the winery allows you to see their impressive cellars where they store their wine, securely underground at a favorable 16 degrees Celsius.
As a place of peace, respite, nice wine, amazing views and gentle breezes, Yanik Ulke Vineyards has pretty much everything you're looking for.
It's also easy to access being roughly 2 hours from both Izmir and Pamukkale along the northern route between the two.
A nice additional stop would be to Sobran Vineyards along the way.
