Öküzgözü is one of the most widely planted red wine grapes in Turkey, and its name is easy to remember: öküz is the ox, göz the eye, and Öküzgözü means “ox eye”. It refers to the large, dark, juicy berries, which in the grape’s home are also eaten fresh or dried. The variety comes from eastern Anatolia, most likely from Elazığ province on the upper Euphrates, and is also grown in neighbouring Malatya. Around Elazığ the vineyards lie at about 1,000 metres, with hot, dry summers and harsh winters. Öküzgözü grapes from Elazığ are protected by a designation of origin.

From the monopoly to the winery

For decades the region’s wine passed through the hands of the state monopoly Tekel, which ran a winery in Elazığ. Kayra, which emerged from Tekel’s privatised wine business, still makes its Öküzgözü and Boğazkere wines there, among them Buzbağ, a long-established name for a red from the two grapes. Today Öküzgözü is grown far beyond its home, in the Aegean hinterland, in Cappadocia, around Ankara and in Thrace, and many Turkish wineries offer a varietal version. Many wineries in the west still buy their grapes from Elazığ.

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
medium ruby
Sweetness
dry
Acidity
medium(+) to high
Tannin
low to medium(−)
Alcohol
medium
Body
medium
Intensity
medium to medium(+)

Similar in the glass GamayKalecik KarasıPinot Meunier

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

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

lowmedium(−)mediummedium(+)highlowmedium(−)mediummedium(+)highAcidity →Tannin →soft and gentlefresh and gentlesoft and firmfresh and firmCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium to high · Tannin medium(+) to highMerlotMerlot (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium(−) to medium(+)TempranilloTempranillo (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium to highSyrahSyrah (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity medium to medium(+) · Tannin medium to highGrenacheGrenache (one of the five most planted of its colour): Acidity low to medium · Tannin low to mediumPinot NoirPinot Noir: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin low to mediumSangioveseSangiovese: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin medium to highMalbecMalbec: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Tannin medium(−) to highCabernet FrancCabernet Franc: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin medium(−) to medium(+)MourvèdreMourvèdre: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium(+) to highMontepulcianoMontepulciano: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium(−) to medium(+)ZinfandelZinfandel: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium(−) to mediumNero d’AvolaNero d’Avola: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium(−) to mediumBarberaBarbera: Acidity high · Tannin low to medium(−)BlaufränkischBlaufränkisch: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin medium to medium(+)CarmenèreCarmenère: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium(−) to mediumTouriga NacionalTouriga Nacional: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Tannin medium(+) to highAglianicoAglianico: Acidity high · Tannin highZweigeltZweigelt: Acidity medium · Tannin low to medium(−)NebbioloNebbiolo: Acidity high · Tannin highCorvinaCorvina: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin low to medium(+)PinotagePinotage: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Tannin medium to medium(+)BoğazkereBoğazkere: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Tannin highGamaretGamaret: Acidity medium · Tannin medium(+) to highGaranoirGaranoir: Acidity medium(−) to medium · Tannin medium(−) to mediumCornalinCornalin: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Tannin medium to medium(+)Humagne RougeHumagne Rouge: Acidity medium · Tannin medium to medium(+)DiolinoirDiolinoir: Acidity medium to medium(+) · Tannin medium(+) to highGamayGamay: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin low to medium(−)Pinot MeunierPinot Meunier: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin low to medium(−)Kalecik KarasıKalecik Karası: Acidity medium · Tannin low to medium(−)ÖküzgözüÖküzgözü: Acidity medium(+) to high · Tannin low to medium(−)
  • Öküzgözü
  • 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 Öküzgözü is a wine of fruit and freshness rather than power: a bright ruby colour, aromas of cherry, sour cherry, raspberry and plum, lively acidity and soft tannins on a medium body. Its acidity makes it a natural choice for rosé and for young reds that are best served slightly cool. Aged in oak, and above all from Elazığ fruit, it can also give fuller wines that develop in bottle for up to ten years.

The classic partner

Its classic partner is Boğazkere from neighbouring Diyarbakır, and the two complement each other ideally: Öküzgözü brings fruit, juice and acidity, Boğazkere colour, tannin and grip. The blend is regarded as the typical red of eastern Anatolia, and many wineries make one; Kavaklıdere’s Selection, for example, combines Öküzgözü from Elazığ with Boğazkere from Diyarbakır.

Around the world

  • 1,600hectares of bearing vines worldwide, 2016
  • No. 203of 1,589 wine grape varietiesGrown in a single country.

By country

  1. Turkey1,600 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 kebabs and aubergines

At the table Öküzgözü suits the food of its homeland: kebabs, grilled lamb and beef, tomato-based stews and aubergines in every form, above all Hünkâr beğendi, braised lamb on a creamy purée of roasted aubergine. Thanks to its acidity and gentle tannins it is just as good with pizza, pasta in tomato sauce or a plate of charcuterie. Serve the lighter versions at 14 to 16 degrees, the oak-aged ones a little warmer.