Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eu nulla vehicula, sagittis tortor id, fermentum nunc. Donec gravida mi a condimentum rutrum. Praesent aliquet pellentesque nisi.

Turkish Wine

HomeTurkish Wine (Page 44)

  For some years now, Doluca has been making a red blend called Signium. The blend changes from year to year but it has always been red. Until now. Last year the winery released its first white Doluca Signium. As one of Turkey's largest wineries, I often look upon Doluca a bit distrustfully. The winery is responsible for putting some of Turkey's worst wines on the market. However, it was also one of the first to recognize the need for quality wine. In the late 80s it launched its Sarafin line. Together with wineries like Umurbey slowly began to change the face of Turkish wine. Now it offers wines at every

  Akın Gürbüz grew up among grape vines. In his childhood he worked the harvest in his family's vineyards. They did not make wine but sold the grapes to some of Turkey's larger wineries. It was not until later in life that Gürbüz developed a love for wine. It was an introduction that not only began a love affair with wine but that would put him on his path. After studying at UC Davis, working in California and News Zealand-based wineries, Tekirdağ-based winery Barbare brought him back to Turkey. Working at Barbare opened a new chapter for Gürbüz. He became a winemaking consultant for some of Turkey’s premiere boutique and small

  Last winter Istanbites and I visited Thracian winery Saranta. In addition to getting a tour of the winery, it's impressive cellars, and beautiful tasting room, of course we had a nice tasting. While I love all of Saranta's wines, particularly the Chateau Murou line, the highlight of our visit wasn't the tasting. Or at least not the official tasting. I most enjoyed the sip from the tank we had of the winery's new Chateau Murou Semillon. A new grape to Saranta, but not to Turkey. Semillon first appeared in the country over fifty years ago. Brought in by the then patriarch of the family behind the Doluca and Kutman

  Unless you're a serious student of history and/or a fan of the Roman Empire, chances are if you've heard of the city of Antioch it was in church. I know that's where I first heard the name uttered. Mostly I associated it with all the preachy letters from Saint Paul (never my favorite evangalist). Until I moved to Turkey.  [caption id="attachment_13300" align="alignleft" width="300"] Saint Pierre church in Hatay-one of the oldest Christian churches in the world[/caption] I feel every time I turn around I discover an ancient city (most of them from the Bible no less) that either has a new, Turkish name (for example Smyrna is now Izmir and Nicaea

  Umurbey arguably makes one of the best Sauvignon Blancs in Turkey. While the winery's proprietor, Umur bey (Mr. Umur) does not want to be known as a white wine maker; the winery's Sauvignon Blanc is its most recognized wine. It is not, however, the only white wine. Many site Semillon as (one of) the first foreign grape planted in Turkey. Plantings, which remain concentrated on Turkey's European side from Kırklareli down through the Gallipoli peninsula, go back as far as the early twentieth century. Varietal Semillon wines are still elusive, the exception being Saranta's Chateau Murou Semillon. Winemakers mostly use the grape in blended white wines, like this Sauvignon

  It's been a little while since I've written about Chamlija's wines. While not writing about them, I certainly haven't stopped drinking Chamlija's wines. Or thinking about them. In my opinion, other than guaranteed quality and sometimes amazingly beautiful wines, Chamlija's two biggest contributions to the Turkish wine industry are the winery's willingness to experiment, and its championship of native Turkish grapes; especially Papaskarası. Moreover, when these two attributes combine, the genius that results.  At once both clinical and adventurous, Chamlija winery bring s anew level of experimentation to the Turkish wine industry. While great believers in what terroir brings to a wine, therefore planting the same varieties in multiple

  It was while studying agriculture in Germany that Gaye Özcan, proprietor and winemaker at Nif Bağları, learned about the grape Solaris. Developed in 1975 in Germany, Solaris is a hybrid grape resulting from a crossing of Merzling and GM 6493 (which itself is a crossing of Zarya Severa and Muscat Ottonel). Early ripening and disease resistant, Solaris can reach high sugar levels even in cool climates with little sunshine making it increasingly popular in Europe's more northern countries. Having gained an appreciation for the grape and its viticultural properties, Özcan ensured the planting of some vines in her Aegean vineyards. Currently she uses the grape only as a blending partner

  To those for whom it's a surprise that wine is made in Turkey, it will come as an even bigger surprise to learn that all styles of wine are made here. We have all the colors (including amber), dry, off-dry, fully sweet, sparkling, and even fortified. Being a lover of sweet wines myself I'm always on the lookout for a new quality dessert wine. One day I noticed that my wine shop had two different vintages of LA Wine's Passito on the shelf and though it would be fun to try them side by side. But first, what is passito wine? The answer lies in the name. In Italian,

  Solera is my favorite wine bar in Istanbul. Frankly it's the only real wine bar in Istanbul. The staff here are friendly, largely knowledgeable about wine, and have wine service more or less down. Putting them head and shoulders above even many of the high-end restaurants and hotels whose staff have no clue. Owner Süleyman Er approaches wine differently than many restaurant owners. For him, wine isn’t a business, it’s his life. Süleyman doesn’t just own Solera, he also has his own vineyards in Tekirdağ. Twenty years ago while working in the restaurant business he fell in love with wine. After studying to become a sommelier he traveled extensively

  The Aegean island, Bozcaada - formerly Tenedos-has a long history of winemaking. So long in fact, it rated mention in The Iliad. Today this storied island, now in Turkish hands, produces far less wine than it did in history. Some of the wineries, like relatives Talay and Çamlıbağ, also have long histories. Not ancient Greece long, but beginning of the Turkish Republic long. Some, like Corvus and Amadeus MMX are new comers. Amadeus MMX, as its name might indicate, is owned by an Austrian family; one that came to Turkey in the 60s and stayed. The current head of the winery, Oliver Gareis, was born here. While the family