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Chillable Turkish Red Wine for Summer Weather

Summer has arrived hard and fast in Turkey with temperatures already soaring into the 30s even in Istanbul. Air conditioning units work round the clock and electricity outages have increased apace of everyone running those units. While I love white wine (and am increasingly coming around to rosé), especially during this time of the year, not everyone does. Even if you do like white and rosé wines, the summer heat is no reason to give up your red wines entirely.

“But no!” I can hear you exclaiming, “How can I drink red wine in this heat?” Chill them! Yes, you heard me, stick ‘em in the fridge. Before you decide that I’ve gone completely off the rails, let’s go over a few things. 

What does “chilled” actually mean?

First, chilling red wine isn’t new. While the popularity of doing it deliberately has waxed and waned, you’re never supposed to drink warm red wine. That “room temperature” advice for serving red wine, especially full-bodied, oaky reds, doesn’t literally mean room temperature. Especially not when that could be in the upper 20s or 30s! It means more like 18 C. So, a lot of red wine should be chilled before serving regardless of the season. 

Second, even red wines we want to drink chilled shouldn’t be drunk at ‘just out of the refrigerator’ temperatures. Like fuller-bodied whites and rosés, assuming we’re drinking those at proper temps. Aim for 12-15 C. And no, I don’t expect that we all have a thermometer to stick inside the bottle to check the temp! Take it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how hot your room is).

That’s appropriate temperature service. So, how do you know which red wines can be served chilled?

Chillable reds – what to look for

To start, concentrate on light to medium-bodied red wines. That means (generally) no Boğazkere, and none of those Bordeaux imitations wineries here can’t seem to help but making. 

Look for wines with little to no oak ageing. You want something that’s overtly fruity and without all those baking spice and vanilla notes from oak.

Stick with wines that have a higher level of acidity and low to no tannins. Chilling will amplify brighter wines with mouthwatering acidity. Tannic wines may become unpleasantly bitter if chilled too much. 

Also think about where the grapes came from and where the wine was made. Cooler climates often produce lighter and fresher wines. In Turkey, that often translates to wines from much of the Mediterranean region (Likya, Tasheli, Selefkia), Bozcaada, Central Anatolia, and upper Thrace vs low-lying and/or hot areas like much of Izmir (especially Urla, Manisa, Aydin), Southeastern Anatolia, lower Thrace, and Antalya.

But which grapes specifically?

As I have observed previously, Turkey offers several light and medium-bodied red wines appropriate for both chilling and grilling. One might argue that this is really the style of red wines on which they should concentrate, versus the over-extracted, over-oaked European imitations so many insist on making…but enough of my soap box! 

A few of these might be controversial options, but I stand by them!

• Ada Karası
• Barburi
• Boğazkere – so yes, I said “generally” Boğazkere would not be appropriate. However, there are a couple few lighter, fresher versions of this floating around. Try specifically the Heraki Akuarela Boğazkere
• Çalkarası
• Erciş Karası (unoaked versions like Akberg’s Büyük Bağ)
• Fersun
• İt Üzümü
• Kalecik Karası – like Boğazkere, not all Kalecik Karası wines will do well chilled. Keep the earlier advice of unoaked and fruity in mind and try wines like those from Tafali, Argos Nahita Dokya, 7Bilgeler, Gordias, Sevilen İsa Bey, Vinkara Doruk, and Turasan.
• Karalahna is the one that might be controversial, but it works!
• Karasakız – again here I think some are more appropriate for chilling than others. While I would advocate that all Karasakız wines benefit from being served closer to that 18-20 C temp, there are a couple you can chill down even more, such as Suvla’s entry Karasakız, 7Bilgeler, and Canavar. 
• Merzifon Karası, especially those from Likya and Edrine
• Öküzgözü also isn’t a blanket recommendation. Entry level wines from places like Suvla and Turasan would be good, Ma’Adra’s Carbonic Maceration Öküzgözü is perfect, 7Bilgeler, Likya, and Akberg’s Büyük Bağ.
• Papazkarası – again, stick to the fresher, brighter styles like Arda Gala, Arcadia Doğal Fermentasyon, Akberg Büyük Bağ, and Chamlija (NOT the Kara Sevda, the other, harder to find Papazkarası).
• Patkara