OUR MANIFEST
Just a century and a half ago, we were exporting more than our total wine production today. While Turkey still covers the fifth largest vineyard area in the world, it is considered a ‘small’ wine producer.
Moreover, we lost our grape growing culture, winemaking techniques, traditions, festivals and rituals shortly after the forced population exchange in the last century. It will perhaps never be possible to fully recover this memory. Anatolia is losing its grape heritage day by day and the danger is not past even for the varieties we think have been saved.
Yaban aims to contribute to current efforts towards this goal with a practical model. While joining the ranks of Turkey’s wine producers, Yaban determines the ideals she will pursue as follows
SAVING FROM EXTINCTION
Our priority is to bring the forgotten grapes into a commercial activity that will save them from extinction. We will not be acting with feelings of ‘nostalgia’, but by revealing the true potential of the grapes and by enabling other producers to use them. Therefore, Yaban varieties will change, those that have not changed will be processed in multiple styles.
EVALUATING THE OUTSIDERS
In addition to local varieties; we will be working with international grapes such as Semillon, Carignan, Cinsault, Gamay and Alicante, which were planted in our country in the last century but are not often fermented by today’s producers.
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE
BETTER FARMING PRACTICES
While we source our grapes from vineyards that do not belong to us, we will guide the way these vineyards are cultivated day by day according to organic and even biodynamic principles. At least, we will strive for better viticulture compared to the previous year.
REFLECTING THE REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
We will aim to ensure that the use of oak in winemaking does not mask the characteristic features of the varieties, and that they are made in a style that reflects the vineyard regions and is far from the international style.
AMBIENT YEASTS
While making use of today’s technological possibilities and modern winemaking techniques, we will give priority to fermentation with local yeasts.