Get to Know the Grape: Boğazkere
Pronounced: bow-ahz-keh-reh, which means “throat burner” in Turkish, this grape is one of the most formidable in Turkey’s vineyards.
Grown primarily in South East Anatolia (Diyarbakır), in some of the country’s most eastern vineyards, Boğazkere berries are small, round, and blue/black in color with thick skin. They grow in large, tight, heavy bunches. In the fall, the leaves develop a distinctive red color from the leaf edge inwards. These grapes do best in hot, dry climates (hello Diyarbakır) and poor, calcareous-clay soils. While Diyarbakır is its origin, Boğazkere is now grown in various places around the country including in Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean vineyards.
If Boğazkere with its in your face tannins, is Turkey’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon, then Öküzgözü is its Merlot and the two are often founded blended together. In fact, it is far more common to find Boğazkere as a blend rather than a varietal wine. Without a deft hand, 100% Boğazkere wines run the danger of over pressing and over extraction giving its name real meaning. As a varietal, the grape makes dark, full bodied wines with dense tannins, medium to high acidity, and complex flavor profiles. It takes well to oak and in many cases needs a little oak ageing to help soften its sometimes harsh character. Aromas may include: black cherry, raspberry, blackberry, black mulberry, pepper, clove, eucalyptus, tobacco, leather, pine forest, dark chocolate, and liquorice.
While I would not call this Turkey’s most food-friendly wine, it does pair well it a number of flavors. Grilled meats, especially lamb go well here as do ragu sauces, stuffed peppers, and pastırma (a dried and spiced Turkish beef). Boğazkere’s big tannins and strong flavors make it a good foil for robustly flavored cheeses like aged Parmesan, gouda, cheddar, grilled hellim, blue cheeses, emmental, gravyer, and gruyer.
Don’t ignore fruits and vegetables when pairing this wine! Try dishes with beans, dried cranberries, dates, and figs, eggplant, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, peppers, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, and tomatoes. And because the sauce you use is just as important, cook with black pepper, cinnamon, clove, cumin, fenugreek, garlic, marjoram, nutmeg, oregano, rosemary, sumac, thyme, and truffle.
Tomurcukbağ, Vinkara, Gordias, Urla, Diren, Kayra, Turasan, Yazgan, Likya, Doluca, Küp, Shiluh, Perdix, and Suvla all offer varietal (and in some cases also blends) Boğazkere wines while Büyülübağ, Eskibağlar, Chamlija, Datca, Ezel, Kocabağ, Kutman, Melen, Sevilen, Kavaklidere, and Pamukkale offer Öküzgözü-Boğazkere blends. Kayra also stands out with its Madre wine, one of the country’s few fortified wines made with Öküzgözü and Boğazkere.
Click to see my reviews of Boğazkere wines.