‘The Old world wine’ and its place in the Anatolian Economy

Abstract

According to the known history, the east of Turkey is considered as the birth place of wine in the world. During the Ottoman era, the main wine producers were the non-Muslim population of the empire. After the collapse of the empire, the hands of wine production replaced by modern Turkish Republic’s state owned and promoted alcohol production. For about 70 years, alcoholic drinks (excluding wine) had only been produced by state monopoly. However the wine production had always been produced by both private and public companies. The impact of the recent privatization waves also affected the wine sector. There are more and more wine producers are entering into the market. Is Anatolian wine ('Old World Wine') claiming its title back? This paper examines the possible impact of recent high taxation policy on Anatolian wine production as well as the value added loss of use of grapes for non-wine consumption. The historical roots of the Old world wine are also investigated.