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On the 10th of October, we attended the Lycia Vinification Vintage tour held by Mr. Sinan Anadol from Yakabag House. With a pretty crowded group of participants, we set out from Fethiye. Initially, we gathered at the Saklikent Crossroad en route. Then, in a convoy-like order, we went via Seki to the vineyard facilities in the Elmali district of Antalya Province.  It is essential to note that the group from Fethiye had already attended the homemade winemaking courses held in Yakabag previously; therefore there were some highly experienced participants. With the participation of the group for homemade winemaking course from Antalya, we had a significant number of participants in Elmali.

Mr. Tarık Ozkan the Owner of Lycia Vinification welcomed us at the facilities. The Ozkans, owners of the Company, proved with their presence during the welcoming that all of their family members were busily involved in the company. Mostly the wife of Mr. Ozkan as well as some other family members accompanied to us throughout the whole day either individually or all together. We visited the vineyards under the guidance of Burak Ozkan and his colleagues; as it was the vintage harvesting season, some grapes species had already been harvested and collected, and our guides tried to give information about the species available on site as much as possible. The vineyards close to the facility were the newer ones. By means of question-and-answer method, we obtained as much information about the species as we could.

We took photographs, enjoyed sampling the various grapes species, and listened to the entrepreneurs concerning why they were there and running this business.

The word “wine” in English derived from “Wiyana” in Hittite language. The city of wine referred in the Hittites as Wiyanawanda and Oenoanda (Oinoanda) by the Lycians cultivated their vineyards approximately 16-mile-distance, as the crow flies, to the centre of the ancient city. This project is the revival of the City of Wine thanks to the enterprise of the Ozkans. The enterprise, making Chateau like productions on their own vineyards is 1100 metre above sea level and has a micro climatic environment that is warmer during the day and cooler at night  and this means the grapes ripen and are harvested late in the season.

A modern winehouse was established in Elmali in the year 2007, and it was designed in line with the natural flow philosophy. At the facility, built by means of resorting to French and Italian technologies, the production is conducted with heat control and in stainless steel tanks under hygienic conditions, they have properly-equipped laboratories and a fully automated bottle cleansing system, filling, corking and labelling machine.  The quality label of the Lycia wine house – Kizilbel is going to be produced from the grapes harvested from the vineyards after this year. The Ozkans, being of the idea that it is not possible to produce quality wine from the new vineyards, waited with patience for eight years so that the vineyards could be mature enough. The red grapes species of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Kalecik Karasi, Okuzgozu, Bogazkere, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and white grapes species of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc have been grown on about 250 hectares under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Hasan Celik, who has been supporting the family and serving as an adviser since the outset of the project. Moreover, the family is dedicated to the purpose of contributing new and qualified grapes species by means of re-cultivating the descendants of the species discovered in the region which are considered to be 200 years old, these efforts to reintroduce ancient Turkish vinification, have been ongoing for five years.

Upon returning from the tour around the vineyards, Dr. Mustafa Temimhan made a presentation addressing the group of home winemakers, concerning the technical aspects of wine production.  Our large group made good use of the modest recreational area on the ground of the facility, conversed and got acquainted with other winemakers and the employees and always had either Burak Ozkan or Doruk Ozkan on hand to answer queries.

Our questions were all answered with great enthusiasm and Mr. Tarik Ozkan informed the group by continuing with the occasional presentations. For lunch, the next stop was the Omer Pasha Mosque and Leblebiciler Bazaar (Bazaar of Roasted Chickpea Producers) in Elmali. The group enjoyed the shopping and purchased various kinds of roasted chickpea, copper and tinned souvenirs and kitchen equipments. We tasted halvah with sesame and walnut. Then, we went to Kandilzade Sitki Bey Konagi (Vernacular House of Kandilzade Sitki Bey) dating back to 1893 for the lunch. The atmosphere during the lunch served with a rich menu of Turkish Cuisine was pretty jolly as we were crowded, yet we lost our sense of time and itpassed quickly as we were starving. Along with the dishes including the watery salad (the important ingredient being the juice of unripe grapes)  and delicious halvah made from flour that are specialities of the house, the painting, ornamentation techniques and carpentry works applied on the walls attracted our attention as well. At the house decorated with the carpets and local objects, it was also possible to enjoy the beautiful garden with Turkish Classical Music tunes.

Following the lunch, we returned to the vinyards and Dr. Mustafa Temimhan reiterated which steps were of importance with a brief training about using the grapes prepared for the groups of home winemakers. On returning to the facility, we enjoyed a wine tasting accompanied by some classical music.

We were told that, the wines, they entered in the competition of Challenge International du Vin held in France, was their first product launch with the brand “Lycia Kizilbel” that they had started to produce as a boutique wine production a couple of years ago and that their Turkish wine was awarded the silver medal in the competition in which 4,721 products of wine from 36 countries competed. Achieving a tremendous success in its first year, Lycia Kizilbel, the first production of wine from the Mediterranean Region and Antalya Province, not only gave a message for the future of the region itself, but also brought its brand into prominence as an internationally recognized one. This product, sold only at selected sale points and luxurious restaurants and hotels, has been enjoying the privilege of being exported to a number of countries at a high price.
The tasting was concluded with Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Chardonnay 2008, Merlot& Syrah & Okuzgozu 2007, Cabarnet Sauvignon & Bogazkere 2007 and Okuzgozu & Bogazkere. When we were begging pardon for leaving, the group was still enjoying the wine tasting.
Additionally, their products of wine ( Arykanda Sauvignon Blanc and Arykanda Chardonnay), awarded a couple of medals in the Competition called “AWC Vienna International Vine Challange”, held in the Austrian capital city, Vienna, was also offered to the guests for tasting. The group liked these products of wine that are assertive with their white wine products.
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