Likya wines shared from trip

A traveler’s wine post turned into a compact map of Lycia, pairing three Likya Winery bottles with three ancient names still anchored in southwest Turkey’s landscape. (x.com) Likya says it has made wine in Elmalı, west of Antalya, since 1998, and that its vineyards sit at about 1,100 meters, or roughly 3,600 feet, above sea level. The winery says its name comes from the ancient Lycian region that once covered much of Turkey’s southern coast. (likyasarap.com) That ancient branding runs through the bottles. Likya’s own “About” page says the company’s aim is to make the Lycian region “a wine city again” and ties its labels to the area’s 4,000-year wine history. (likyasarap.com) Patara, one of the wines in the post, takes its name from the ancient port city near today’s Gelemiş in Antalya Province. Patara served for a time as the capital of Lycia and later of the Roman province of Lycia. (wikipedia.org; romanports.org) A recent tasting note for Likya Patara Kırmızı 2022 says the wine is a blend of Kalecik Karası, Syrah and Öküzgözü from Elmalı vineyards at about 1,100 meters, bottled at 13 percent alcohol. The same review listed a February 21, 2026 price of 693 Turkish lira. (degustasyon.net) Kadyanda, another bottle in the post, points inland to the ancient city also known as Cadianda, near Yeşilüzümlü in the Fethiye district of Muğla. A 2024 survey page from Akdeniz University says formal fieldwork there began with permission from Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry. (akdeniz.edu.tr; lycianmonuments.com) A tasting note for Likya Kadyanda Kalecik Karası 2022 describes it as a lighter red from Elmalı vineyards at 1,150 meters, bottled at 12.5 percent alcohol. The review, published December 18, 2023, said it could pair even with white meat. (degustasyon.net) Opramoas, the oldest wine in the post, refers not to a city but to a man: a second-century civic benefactor from Rhodiapolis in Lycia. An encyclopedia entry says he funded rebuilding after a destructive earthquake around 141 Common Era and aided at least 30 communities. (helios.eie.gr) Likya says it chose Opramoas’s name because he helped repair cities after earthquakes and calls him “history’s first sponsor.” A tasting note for Likya Opramoas 2020 says the bottle was released for the winery’s 25th anniversary as a special reserve red. (likyasarap.com; degustasyon.net) The post lands in a part of Turkey where wine, archaeology and tourism often overlap in the same itinerary. In Elmalı, Likya is selling not just grape varieties and vintages, but a route through Patara, Kadyanda and the long afterlife of Lycia’s names. (likyasarap.com; x.com)