The Çakır Winery & Vineyards are located in Kuşçular Village, Urla; the 8,500 sqm land, a 30-year-old vineyard, was acquired in 1999 by the Çakır family. After 21 years of viticulture learning and experience, with special state credit, they opened their doors to visitors in 2020. The winery is housed in a white stone facade building and features tasting areas, a cellar, a lounge & fireplace, guestrooms, an indoor restaurant and garden terraces overlooking the vineyards.
Their first commercial harvest was in 2018 when they launched a series of wines under the “Somnium” (meaning dream in Latin) label. Initially, they produced four wine varieties, and now, with an added plot of 30,000 sqm, they can produce thirteen varieties with a capacity of 60,000 litres. Çakır Winery sells only to boutique vintners, restaurants and online with no distribution to supermarkets.
Kuşçular mh, 8036. Sk. No.54, 35430 Urla/İzmir – Tel: +90 232 579 0629 – Winery website
Winery & restaurant open seven days a week: 13:00 – 23:00. Reservations +90 530 568 3222.
The winery offers two selections of tasting: a four-glass tasting set (1 white, 1 rose & 2 red), or a six-glass tasting set (2 white, 1 rose & 3 red), TL350 (approx. €12 as of August 2023). The winery has a facility for catering to special events and corporate meetings. It has a four-bedroom hotel, the “Cakir Vineyard House Somnium”, overlooking the vineyards that can booked via Airbnb. The restaurant has a seasonal menu inspired by Aegean and Italian cuisine and has a wood-fired pizza oven.
Grape varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Bornova Misketi and Chardonnay. Due to the delicate, thin skin of the Pinot Noir grape variety and the harsh heat conditions around Urla, it is the only variety brought in (from the neighbouring area of Seferihisar, which is higher and cooler) that is used in their production. Wines are tank-fermented and bottled under the Somnium label; now, they have two more labels: Adventum and Yarımadalı. The labelling of the first two series follows Sevinç & Erol Çakır’s (whose profession is as lawyers) progress in their pursuit of winemaking: The dream (Somnium) and the adventure (Adventum). The third Yarımadalı translates from Turkish as “Peninsula”.
See also: LikeCesme “Urla Wineries – Şarapçılık“