Çakır Winery

Overview

Çakır is a family winery in Kuşçular, a village of Urla on the peninsula west of İzmir. Sevinç and Erol Çakır founded it on an old vineyard that had lain empty for years. Today, the winery, the cellar, a tasting room and a restaurant share one stone building among the vines. For more tables in and around the town, see the best restaurants in Urla.

The Story of Çakır

Two lawyers and a dream

After long careers in law, Sevinç and Erol Çakır changed their lives in 2000. Erol had loved vines since he was a child, and Sevinç was born and raised on this land. So together they set out to bring back the Mestan vineyards of Kuşçular.

An old vineyard brought back

Vines had grown on this plot long ago. Later they were pulled up for tobacco, and when the tobacco went too, the land lay empty, the story that opens our guide to wineries to visit in Urla. The family planted its first vines here in 2001, laid the foundations of the winery in 2017 and brought in the first harvest in 2018. Finally, they named the first wines Somnium, Latin for "dream".

The Vineyard and the Winery

The vines grow at about 50 meters (165 feet), on stony clay and limestone that drains well. In summer, winds from the sea cool the rows, and the grapes ripen slowly. The harvest begins with Bornova Misketi in August and ends with Boğazkere in early October. In all, ten grapes come into the winery, among them Urla Karası, Öküzgözü and Kalecik Karası. Part of the red wine then ages in French oak, and the Chardonnay rests on its lees in larger barrels.

Tasting and Eating at Çakır

A tasting at Çakır pours six wines, with the story of the winery and how each wine is made. We book both the tasting and the restaurant, which is separate. Its cooking leans on the Aegean and Italy, with pizzas from a stone oven and a menu that follows the season. However, the tasting room is for guests over 18, and the restaurant welcomes guests from age 12. The stone building also has guest rooms.

Who Çakır Suits

We suggest it for a long lunch in Urla after a morning at the ruins of Klazomenai. It also suits anyone who likes a wine with a family story behind it.

Our suggestion

Our Urla wine tour tastes at two wineries of the Urla Vineyard Route. Tell us if you want Çakır to be one of them, perhaps with USCA Winery in the same village. For more estates across the country, see our Wineries to Visit in Turkey: Urla, Bozcaada, Cappadocia and Bodrum.

We book your tasting at Çakır.

Updated: November 1, 2026.

Wine in Urla with Us

Lunch at Çakır can close our Urla wine tour; send us your date.