Emir is the white grape of Cappadocia, the landscape of tuff cones, cave dwellings and hot-air balloons in Central Anatolia. It is grown almost nowhere else: its vineyards lie above all in Nevşehir province, around Ürgüp and Avanos, at 1,000 metres and higher. It is regarded as the region’s signature grape. The name is the same word as the title emir and is usually taken to mean “lord” or “ruler”; how the grape came by it is not documented. The berries are medium-sized and greenish yellow, the bunches conical.

Tuff, ash, cold nights

The landscape shapes the wine. Volcanic eruptions covered the region with ash that hardened into tuff, and the soils weathered from it are light, sandy and poor. The climate is continental, with hot days, cool nights and cold, snowy winters; frost is a recurring danger. In these conditions Emir keeps high acidity. For centuries dwellings, churches and storerooms have been carved into the soft tuff, and Turasan in Ürgüp, founded in 1943, still ages its wines in cellars cut into the rock.

In the glass

This grape’s colour and palate, on the scales wine professionals taste by: each range runs from the lightest typical wine to the richest.

Colour
pale lemon-green
Sweetness
dry
Acidity
medium(+) to high
Alcohol
medium
Body
light to medium(−)
Intensity
medium(−) to medium

Similar in the glass RäuschlingMelon de BourgogneAlbariño

Steps of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s tasting grid (WSET Level 3, 2022). Typical ranges, not measurements: site, vintage and cellar move every wine. Low alcohol means under 11 %, high 14 % and more; intensity is how much flavour the wine has. The colour is that of a typical bottle when it is drunk.

Neighbours in the glass

Emir among the white grapes by acidity and body. In colour and linked: the three grapes closest across all six scales; the five most planted are named too.

lowmedium(−)mediummedium(+)highlightmedium(−)mediummedium(+)fullAcidity →Body →soft and lightfresh and lightsoft and fullfresh and fullChardonnayChardonnay (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium to high · Body medium(−) to fullTrebbianoTrebbiano (Ugni Blanc) (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium(+) to high · Body light to medium(−)Sauvignon BlancSauvignon Blanc (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium(+) to high · Body medium(−) to mediumPinot GrisPinot Gris (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium(−) to medium · Body medium(−) to fullRieslingRiesling (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity high · Body light to medium(+)GleraGlera: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Body light to medium(−)MuscatMuscat: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Body light to fullChenin BlancChenin Blanc: Acidity high · Body medium(−) to fullVerdejoVerdejo: Acidity medium(+) · Body medium to medium(+)Grüner VeltlinerGrüner Veltliner: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Body medium(−) to fullMüller-ThurgauMüller-Thurgau: Acidity low to medium(−) · Body light to medium(−)VermentinoVermentino: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Body medium(−) to mediumSemillonSemillon: Acidity medium(−) to high · Body light to fullPinot BlancPinot Blanc: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Body medium(−) to medium(+)PalominoPalomino: Acidity low to medium(−) · Body medium(−) to fullGewürztraminerGewürztraminer: Acidity low to medium(−) · Body medium(+) to fullViognierViognier: Acidity low to medium(−) · Body medium(+) to fullGarganegaGarganega: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Body medium(−) to mediumTorrontésTorrontés: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Body mediumSilvanerSilvaner: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Body medium(−) to fullChasselasChasselas: Acidity low to medium(−) · Body light to medium(−)FurmintFurmint: Acidity high · Body medium to fullAssyrtikoAssyrtiko: Acidity high · Body medium to medium(+)MarsanneMarsanne: Acidity low to medium(−) · Body medium(+) to fullHeidaHeida: Acidity medium(+) to high · Body medium to fullNarinceNarince: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Body medium to medium(+)Petite ArvinePetite Arvine: Acidity medium(+) to high · Body medium(+) to fullAmigneAmigne: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Body medium(+) to fullCompleterCompleter: Acidity high · Body medium(+) to fullAlbariñoAlbariño: Acidity medium(+) to high · Body medium(−) to mediumMelon de BourgogneMelon de Bourgogne: Acidity medium(+) to high · Body light to medium(−)RäuschlingRäuschling: Acidity high · Body light to medium(−)EmirEmir: Acidity medium(+) to high · Body light to medium(−)
  • Emir
  • The three closest
  • Other grapes

Across all six scales

Filled, the grape of this page; outlined, its neighbour. Closeness is the mean gap between the ranges on all six scales; on just two scales a neighbour can look further away. Source: Weinquiz after the WSET tasting grid.

Every grape on the grape map →

In the glass Emir is pale, almost water-white, light-bodied and dry, with green apple, citrus, white blossom and a mineral note. It is usually made in steel tanks, since oak easily masks its delicate aromas, and is best drunk within one or two years, while it is fresh. The same acidity that makes it lean as a still wine makes it a good base for sparkling wine. Kavaklıdere makes Altın Köpük from Emir, with the second fermentation in tank, and other producers now also make sparkling Emir, pét-nat included.

A part of Çankaya

Emir also has its place in blends. With Narince, which brings body and yellow fruit, and Sultaniye, the seedless grape behind Turkey’s sultanas, it makes Kavaklıdere’s Çankaya, one of the classic Turkish whites. The same house also bottles a varietal Emir from its Cappadocian vineyards under the Côtes d’Avanos label.

Around the world

  • 89hectares of bearing vines worldwide, 2016
  • No. 586of 1,589 wine grape varietiesGrown in a single country.

By country

  1. Turkey89 ha · 100 %

Turkey last reported figures for 2016. Bearing vineyard area around 2023, from the latest year each country reported, rounded. Source: Anderson, Nelgen and Puga, University of Adelaide (2026).

With mussels and meze

At the table Emir is a wine for light food: shellfish, grilled fish, asparagus, salads and cold meze such as stuffed mussels or white cheese with melon. Its acidity also cuts through creamy white sauces, and the sparkling version makes a good aperitif. Serve it well chilled, at 8 to 10 degrees, the sparkling version a little colder.