Get to Know the Grape: Sultaniye
Sultaniye (sool-tan-ee-yeh) is possibly the most commonly grown grape in Turkey. While a perfectly viable vitis vinifera variety, Sultaniye has such high sugar levels that it also works well as a table grape. Turkey stands as one of the world’s leading producers of table grapes and raisins but Sultaniye grapes also are used in pekmez (molasses) and rakı production.
Despite not being a popular wine grape, wineries do use it in wine production. This mid-season ripening grape grows primarily in the Aegean region (Denizli and Manisa) and prefers hot climates and clay loam or chalky soils. Berries grow to a medium size, are round, have a bright green color, and generally grow in heavy bunches. One reason growers favor Sultaniye is those heavy bunches; it’s a very productive grape.
Found both as a varietal and in white wine blends, Sultaniye produces wines that range from sweet to dry. Although, even the driest of them give a sweet impression thanks to the fruity aromas and flavors. Sultaniye wines are often easy to drink with aromas of: asparagus, pear, pineapple. flowers, mango, lemon, golden and green apples, and hay.
Also knowns as İzmir üzümü (Izmir grape), people outside of Turkey may know Sultaniye best as the similar-sounding ‘sultana’.
Food Pairing
For not being a wine grape, Sultaniye wines tend to have remarkably food friendly qualities. So many styles exist, running the gamut from sweet to dry, which really opens up pairing possibilities.
Fried foods can act as a great foil to Sultaniye wines as can fatty/creamy things like guacamole, sour cream, and yogurt. Try a sweeter style wine with guacamole and tortilla chips!
For meat protein, I’d suggest staying away from red meats but otherwise the world is your oyster (you could try pairing those too!). Think green when it comes to vegetables. Start with a simple salad but you can easily branch out with things like asparagus, avocado, brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, leeks, purslane, summer squash, and zucchini. Drier wines will do well with lemon (particularly squeezed over the veg) but try sweeter wines with ripe or dried stone fruits.
You can have a lot of fun pairing herbs and spices with Sultaniye wines. Go nuts with chervil, chili, Chinese peppercorns, five spice, garlic, honey, preserved lemon, lemongrass, lemon thyme, lemon basil (I sense a theme!), parsley, scallions, shallots…
And because life should always have a cheeseboard: lighter and semi-hard cheeses like Turkish dil and (fresh) kaşar cheeses, string cheese, mozzarella, burrata, and young Goudas.
Producers to check out
Büyülübağ, Gemici, Kavaklidere, Küp Şarap, Pamukkale, Paşaeli, and Sobran Bağları all make wines (sweet and dry) with Sultaniye. Click to see my reviews of Sultaniye wines.