In the Vineyard With & Reviving the Lost Grapes of Turkey
I am so excited to share a guest piece that Moshé Cohen of In The Vineyard With kindly invited me to write!
Reviving the Lost Grapes of Turkey
Turkey. The mention of this country evokes thoughts of sultans and harems, sticky sweet Turkish delights, thick coffee, and hot air balloon rides over the fantastical ‘fairy chimney’ cave homes of Cappadocia. Wine is not the first thing to come to mind. Nor is it usually the fourth or the tenth. And yet, Turkey is, and for thousands of years has been, a wine producing country.
Six grapes make up the backbone of wine production (with native vs international grapes): Boğazkere, Bornova Misketi, Emir, Kalecik Karası, Narince, Öküzgözü, and Sultaniye. The latter, Sultaniye, is in fact not even a vitis vinifera but a table grape. Wineries that do use domestic grapes for wine production will have at least one of these in their portfolio.
If the count of unique native varieties is accurate, it would be more than Italy, French, and Spain combined. Unfortunately, currently only a little more than 40 of these grapes are used in wine production. However, thanks to the curiosity and dedication of a small handful of winemakers and winery owners here, more and more grapes native to Turkey are being resuscitated. Wineries giving their effort to native grapes can be divided into two groups: those actively seeking out and reinvigorating forgotten grapes and those expanding the scope of lesser appreciated grapes.
Click to Read More of my piece on In The Vineyard With!
(and while you’re there check out Moshé’s excellent podcasts!)