Eastern Anatolia

In Eastern Anatolia, vineyards around Elazığ grow at roughly 1,000 to 1,200 metres. Winters are very cold, and warm summer days give way to cooler nights. The Euphrates and the Keban and Karakaya dams moderate local conditions. Öküzgözü is a red grape associated with Elazığ. Boğazkere comes from Diyarbakır and the Mesopotamian plateau south of the Anatolian Highlands. Its small, dark, thick-skinned berries make wines with dark fruit and plenty of drying tannin. Blending Öküzgözü and Boğazkere is an established local practice.