Melen Winery

Hoşköy (Hora in ancient Greece), where Melen Winery was founded, and Gaziköy (Ganos)  were settled as a small colony in the 1st century B.C., according to Strabo. What was called Mount Ganos in antiquity was used as a pilgrimage stop by sailors passing through the Bosphorus. Ganohora, in those days, with many monasteries, chuches and holy springs, was a religious destination.

In 1352, Ganohora was conquered by the Ottoman Süleyman Paşa and was put in the Gelibolu province. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, the area continued to be a convergence point for Christians, the monasteries still functioned. In the 17th century some monastaries were renewed and restored.

The Gaziköy-Hoşköy-Güzelköy (Melen) triangle has had a reputation for winemaking since ancient times. It had been the home of many vineyards and olive oil refineries. It was recorded that vineyard owners in Hora and Ganos gave one amphora of grape syrup as tax.

In small ateliers by Ganohora’s sea were where the mud from minerally rich springs of Mount Ganos was formed into amphoras, bowls, bricks and tiles. The famous Marseille tiles are known to be shipped form Ganohora. Today, modern brick and tile factories are where these ateliers used to be.

The fact that the area’s history was rich both in winemaking and ceramic production proves that these wines were made and bottled on the spot. A monogrammed amphora was found in an excavation in Kirazlı Köy, located just on the border of the area. Presuming its monogram belonged to the ceramicist,  the amphora is known to have travelled from Egypt to Russia during the Byzantine reign of Alexios I. Komnenos.

Melen Winery is doing its part to uphold and further this cultural heritage.