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| Cappadocia or province of Nevsehir as it is called in Turkey is located in the middle of high Anatolian Plateau at an average altitude of 1200 m. The climate in the region is continental with winters cold and summers hot. The average temperature in the region is9-10 degrees with lowest temperature in January which falls until -24C and rises until 37C in July. Humidity is very low in Cappadocia with only 220mm /year as the average rain. Cappadocia receives 1306 hours of sunshine above a temperature 10 C in a year which is actually very close to Bordeaux in France. The soil is of a volcanic nature in Cappadocia very rich in minerals and it gives a very special perfume especially to the white grapes grown in the region. There are a lot of underground cities and small chambers under every house carved in the rock in Cappadocia. The temperature in these chambers rise until only 20C in mid-summer and falls only to +12 in the coldest period of the year in January ideal condition to preserve wines. In the province of Nevsehir the total area covered by vineyards is nearly 27000 hectares ( about 5 % of Turkey ) with a total production of grape of about 200,000 tons (4 % of the production of Turkey) According to some sources and to the types of evaluation there are 30 different sorts of grape of which 18 are white and 12 are red varieties. However only three or four types are used in the production of wine. Of the grapes produced in the region: 55 % are consumed fresh or dried at the table (grapes with seed and without) 35 % are used to obtain grape juice, pekmez (sort of grape jam) and grape paste. 4 % are used to produce wine. . VINTAGE AND LAND OWNERSHIP IN CAPPADOCIA Growing grapes is rather a household activity in the region due to the small size of the vineyards which can be estimated like 40 to 70 acres per family. Because of the fact that Cappadocia is a mountainous region , villagers can not own large portions of land. However we can talk about a more or less equal distribution of land in the region , which means that although not all most of the villagers are land owners. But this land ownership can not go beyond the level of self-sufficiency in terms of agricultural production. The peasants in Cappadocia keep some of the crop for the family for the grapes by drying or boiling them to produce “pekmez” (sort of grape juice). The land work in the region is attributed more to the old people. They go to the vineyard on a horse carriage most of the time mainly early in the morning. Collecting grapes in Cappadocia is an activity which starts from early September and extends to the beginning of October. The first grapes collected are the black ones which are mainly consumed as dry or sent to the factory to become grape juice. The grape has to be collected early in the morning before it gets hot. The white grapes are generally harvested later in the season usually after the mid-September and especially for “Emir” grape the collecting period can extend until the beginning of October. Grapes collected lately are used in two ways: To make pekmez and to produce wine. |