Eastern Anatolia is the home of Turkey’s two great native red grapes. Öküzgözü grows on the uplands of the upper Euphrates around Elazığ, below the old fortress town of Harput, whose castle looks out over the plain, and around Malatya, better known for its apricots. Boğazkere comes from Diyarbakır on the Tigris, which lies in south-eastern Anatolia, further south and lower down. Researchers look for the place where the vine was first domesticated in the uplands stretching from the Caucasus to the Zagros and south-eastern Anatolia; the Swiss grape geneticist José Vouillamoz and the archaeologist Patrick McGovern see south-eastern Anatolia as the most likely candidate. The climate is harsh and continental: in winter the temperature can fall below −20 °C, summers are hot and dry, with large differences between day and night. Around Elazığ the vines stand at about 1,000 to 1,200 metres.
The ox eye
Öküzgözü means “ox eye”, after its large, dark berries. It gives juicy reds of medium body with bright acidity, soft tannins and aromas of cherry, plum and spice. Boğazkere, roughly the “throat burner”, is its opposite: dark, thick-skinned berries, deep colour and firm, sometimes rough tannins. It ripens late and needs the heat of the Tigris valley, where it copes well with drought on red, calcareous clay.
In the glass
The grapes the region is known for, by sweetness, acidity, tannin and body.
| Grape | Sweetness | Acidity | Tannin | Body |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Öküzgözü | dry | medium(+) to high | low to medium(−) | medium |
| Boğazkere | dry | medium to medium(+) | high | medium(+) to full |
Each grape’s typical range worldwide, not in this region alone, on the WSET tasting grid (Level 3, 2022): dry to luscious, low to high, light to full. The dot before each name shows the colour of a typical bottle.
Together, the classic red
Both give varietal wines, but together they make the classic Turkish red: Öküzgözü brings fruit and freshness, Boğazkere colour and structure. For decades the blend was sold as Buzbağ, a brand of the former state monopoly Tekel. Today Kayra, which emerged from Tekel’s privatised wine business, makes it at its winery in Elazığ, along with varietal wines from both grapes. Many producers in western Turkey also buy grapes from Elazığ and Diyarbakır or have planted both varieties in their own vineyards. Since the Keban dam was built on the Euphrates, its large reservoir has made the local climate a little milder.
The winemakers of Mardin
Further south, in Mardin and around Midyat, where both grapes are grown too, Syriac Christian families have kept their own winemaking tradition alive. The landmark of Diyarbakır is its city wall of black basalt above the Tigris, which together with the Hevsel Gardens has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015.
With stuffed vegetables
What to drink: an Öküzgözü, served slightly cool, with stuffed vegetables, lentil dishes and grilled köfte; a Boğazkere or a blend with kaburga dolması, the stuffed lamb ribs of Diyarbakır, with liver kebab or with mature cheese.