Purple-Black Colour
Mature Kavacık grapes develop the rich dark colouring that makes their bunches immediately recognisable.
- Colour: Purple-black
- Appearance: Glossy
- Type: Table grape
Kavacık sits in the rugged uplands of the Kızıldağlar, remarkably close to İzmir yet very different from the densely urbanised coastal city below.
The surrounding mountain landscape has supported rural settlement, forest life and agriculture for generations.
Viticulture eventually became one of the defining activities of the village, with grape growing developing into an important source of livelihood for local families.
The variety that became especially associated with Kavacık is Alphonse Lavallée, a large dark table grape.
Local environmental conditions proved particularly well suited to it. The combination of elevation, climatic conditions and traditional vineyard techniques produced grapes whose appearance and flavour became strongly identified with Kavacık.
The fruit became so closely associated with the village that it came to be widely known as Kavacık Üzümü and, locally, also as Enfes Üzümü.
In recognition of this relationship between fruit and place, Kavacık Üzümü was registered as a Menşe Adı geographical indication on 20 December 2019.
Today the vineyards are more than agricultural land. They form part of Kavacık's landscape, seasonal rhythm, local economy and cultural identity.
