Harvest 2026: A New Chapter for the Native Grapes of Amasya

From Mercan and Merzifon Karası to our first experimental vintage of Osmancık Karası, the 2026 harvest represents another important step in 502 Vineyards’ journey to explore and preserve the native grapes of our region.

As harvest approaches in Amasya, the vineyards are telling us a very promising story.

The 2026 growing season has been one of the most balanced we have experienced at 502 Vineyards. Our grapes have remained remarkably healthy throughout the season, developing steadily and reaching the final stages of ripening without significant disease pressure.

More importantly, the weather has worked with us.

Warm days and cooler nights have created conditions that allow the grapes to develop ripeness and sugar while maintaining the natural acidity that we value so much in our wines.

As we walk through the vineyards today, we see healthy berries, beautiful sugar development, lively acidity and, most importantly, balance.

For us, that balance is where a great vintage begins.

Harvest Begins with Mercan

Our 2026 harvest will begin with Mercan, which we expect to start picking next week.

Mercan has a particularly important place in the story of 502 Vineyards.

Three years ago, we began working with this local grape from Merzifon and became the first winery to vinify it. At the time, very little was known about Mercan as a wine grape.

For us, that was exactly what made it exciting.

We wanted to understand what was already growing around us — not by trying to change its identity, but by giving the grape an opportunity to express itself through wine.

Today, Mercan has become an important part of the identity of 502 Vineyards.

The 2026 fruit looks particularly exciting. With excellent health, good ripeness and vibrant natural acidity, we expect this vintage to give us a fresh, energetic and expressive Mercan.

Merzifon Karası: The Grape That Represents Our Home

Approximately two to three weeks after Mercan, we expect to begin harvesting Merzifon Karası.

Few grapes represent our home as strongly as Merzifon Karası.

Native to our region, it has become one of the foundations of our work at 502 Vineyards and an important part of our mission to bring greater attention to the indigenous grapes of Amasya.

The conditions of the 2026 season appear particularly well suited to the variety.

The combination of warm days and cool nights has allowed the grapes to ripen gradually while preserving their acidity. Sugar development is progressing beautifully, the berries remain healthy, and the overall balance in the vineyard gives us reason to be very optimistic about the wines to come.

We expect the 2026 Merzifon Karası to show freshness, structure and energy — qualities that we believe will make this vintage particularly distinctive.

From Mercan to Osmancık Karası

But the 2026 harvest also brings something completely new to our cellar.

Three years after beginning our journey with Mercan, we are turning our attention to another local grape growing just beyond our home.

Osmancık Karası.

Osmancık is our neighbouring district, and this year we will work with its local red grape, Osmancık Karası, for the first time.

To the best of our knowledge, this will also be the first time Osmancık Karası has been vinified commercially in Türkiye.

We expect to harvest the grapes toward the end of September and produce only a small experimental batch for this first vintage.

At this stage, we are not trying to decide what Osmancık Karası should become.

First, we want to listen.

We want to understand its fruit, acidity, structure, fermentation behaviour and, ultimately, what kind of wine it naturally wants to become.

That curiosity is at the heart of 502 Vineyards.

Looking Closer to Home

Türkiye is home to an extraordinary diversity of indigenous grapes, yet many local varieties remain almost unknown outside the villages and districts where they have grown for generations.

We believe some of the most interesting discoveries in Turkish wine may still be waiting in these places.

For us, exploring native grapes does not always mean travelling far.

Sometimes it means looking at the vineyard next door.

Mercan was one of those discoveries for us.

Merzifon Karası continues to teach us something with every vintage.

And now Osmancık Karası begins its own journey.

Our goal is not simply to make something different. It is to better understand the viticultural heritage surrounding us and give these local grapes the opportunity to express their own identity.

What We Expect from Vintage 2026

There is still work ahead.

Harvest decisions will be made vineyard by vineyard, and ultimately the quality of a vintage is revealed only after the grapes enter the cellar and fermentation begins.

But today, standing in the vineyards, we are extremely happy with what we see.

Healthy fruit.

Excellent sugar development.

Vibrant acidity.

Balanced ripeness.

And a growing season that has allowed the grapes to reach maturity gradually and naturally.

For Mercan and Merzifon Karası in particular, we believe 2026 has the potential to produce wines with remarkable freshness, energy and definition.

And with Osmancık Karası entering our cellar for the first time, this harvest will also mark the beginning of an entirely new experiment.

At 502 Vineyards, we have always believed that wine begins with listening to the land.

In 2026, the land has given us something beautiful to work with.

The vineyard has done its part.

Now it is our turn to bring the 2026 harvest into the cellar — and eventually, into the bottle.

The 502 Vineyards Team
Gümüşhacıköy, Amasya, Türkiye