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Turkish Wine

HomeTurkish Wine (Page 35)

  Summer is waning away here in Istanbul. While the forecast promises warmer days again, we're currently experiencing temperature drops and overcast skies. So while we still have intermittent sun I will continue to enjoy summer white wines. For me, the best Turkish summer wines often come from the Bornova Misketi grape. For a while I thought I'd exhausted all the examples of Bornova Misketi. But then I found Perdix. Perdix is a newly opened winery in the Aegean growing region and a newcomer to the Urla Bağ Yolu (Urla Wine Route). I have not yet had the chance to visit but going by the winery's Instagram page, they have

  I am so excited to begin collaborating with The Vintner Project as a contributor to their fantastic site. It's an honor to have something published alongside these knowledgeable, dedicated, and enthusiastic wine experts! And not only did I get a piece published, but one that features the amazing maps and infopgraphics made by the talented Empathia Creative! Turkish Wine 101 The most common question I get about Turkish wine is an incredulous “Turkey makes wine?” Yes, it does! Unintentionally, Turkish wine remains a well-kept secret; but one well worth discovering. To help you do so, I offer a little primer on wine in Turkey. Modern Turkey is the product of thousands

  Kayseri has developed a reputation for having some great food in Turkey. Manti - the tiny yogurt-topped Turkish ravioli - comes from here. Kayseri also grows most of Turkey's apricots. You may also know it as the city that hosts one of the two airports you can fly into to visit Cappadocia. But wine? Not so much. And yet! If you leave the massive expressway that runs through the area and take a bumpy drive away from "civilization" you trade a panorama of gas stations and whizzing cars for a seemingly secret land of trees and greenery. Here, tucked away in the verdant expanse of countryside sits one of my

  Nestled in a bowl-like cradle in mountainous Bodrum and nearly lost in the riotous greenery of the surrounding agriculture grow vines of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Shiraz, and Zinfandel. This is Garova Vineyards. Despite being wheelchair-bound, owner Mehmet Vuran manages his 2.3 hectares himself. He's also the winemaker. Vuran turns out between 10,000 and 15,000 bottles a year. Some grapes he cultivates himself on his property (the Shiraz and Petit Verdot in question here included). He also brings in Öküzgözü grapes from the Denizli Plateau. In 2016 he converted to spontaneous fermentation for all the grapes from his vineyards; trusting that the care he gives the grapes on the

  Last Saturday I hosted another Turkish wine Taste Along. In addition to having a wee handful of people physically present with me, tasters joined us online from Istanbul, Athens, London, DC, and Las Vegas. Cheers especially to those in Vegas who were easting breakfast and drinking their morning cuppas along with the wine! When I first started in Turkish wine there were really were only what I call the Big Six for grapes. Three white grapes and three black grapes; finding wine made from a seventh Turkish grape was like finding a unicorn. However, even though now winemakers here have greatly expanded both their and our horizon with more

  Wine writer turned winery owner Şeyla Ergenekon and winemaker husband Çağatay cultivate organic grapes on the Gallipoli Peninsula. There they concentrate on French varieties including two of the most popular and widely planted grapes in Turkey: Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Ergenekon produces varietal wines of each of these grapes under the label Singularis. The Regius brings together these two grapes for the winery’s trifecta of premium labels. Ergenekon Regius 2013 Tasting Notes For the Regius, Çağatay aged his Cabernet and Syrah in a combination of French and American oak for 16 months. In Turkey, where the temptation to use lots and lots of new oak has prevailed for years, Çağatay's deftness

  Hailing from some of Turkey's most easterly vineyards in Elazığ, Öküzgözü is the number one planted wine grape in Turkey. As demonstrated in my online Öküzgözü taste along, there is no shortage to wines made with this grape. Commonly found as a varietal wine but blends are also popular. Öküzgözü traditional blending partner has been the ultra tannic Boğazkere. However, we're seeing more and more blends that include more than Boğazkere or that don't include it at all. Öküzgözü's naturally high acidity makes it a great foil for any number of grapes, both domestic and international.  Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere, 2017 Diren, the only Black Sea region winery in Turkey, sources its Öküzgözü

  This month the #winophiles are exploring the Côtes du Rhône. You can view the preview here. Originally I was going to pass on this one. The imported cost of quality Côtes du Rhône wines generally being out of my price range. However, by invitation of this month's host Camilla etc etc, I'm taking a slightly different approach to the topic. While the others look at the Côtes du Rhône in France; I'm looking at its influence on Turkish wine. When the modern Turkish wine industry kicked off in the 1930's and 40's it looked to Europe for inspiration, know-how, and grapes. As a result we have a lot of

  I stumbled across Kayra's Versus Viognier some years ago in a charming Greek fish restaurant here in Istanbul. Despite the recent surge of Viognier's popularity in Turkey, Kayra's remains my favorite. Kayra uses Viognier not only in a varietal wine but also in several blends. The Rhone-like Versus Syrah Viognier is one of my very favorite red wines in Turkey. The Versus line has a third Viognier wine; this one a Chardonnay-driven blend. I've seen this one around quite a lot but have avoided it for years now. Literally for years. To my own detriment it seems! Kayra Versus Chardonnay Viognier 2013 Tasting Notes The wine was an intense lemon color

  I generally try to bring attention to wineries in Turkey that champion native grapes. However, some of the wineries here that focus on international varieties are too good to ignore. One of my favorites is Chateau Nuzun. Not only does the winery turn out well-crafted and delicious wines; it does so with sustainable practices and utter charm. [caption id="attachment_11576" align="alignright" width="501"] Chateau Nuzun vineyards-protecting Öküzgözü grapes from bees[/caption] Owner Nazan Uzun lends not only her name to the winery (N. + Uzun = Nuzun) but also her humor and strength of character. I love meeting with Nazan. She always has a huge smile and her energy and presence make her