Planting Zinfandel in a Limestone Desert
Karnas Vinyards is a boutique, family run winery and farm which main goal is to farm “respectful of nature”.
Engineering the First Turkish Zinfandel
Me at Karnas
Selva Ismen, the elegant force behind Karnas Vineyards started life as a civil engineer. One of the very first graduates from the prestigious Istanbul Technical University, Selva Hanım lived a life of clinical maths and calculations. Until, that is, she lived in the US for a number of years where she learned to love not only wine, but specifically Zinfandel.
After she retired she began experimenting with winemaking at the family home in Yeniköy in Turkish Thrace. Selva Hanım bought grapes from friend and winemaker Umur Bey (of Umurbey Winery). Her first vintage exploded in the kitchen staining the walls and ceiling with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Rather than being deterred, she decided to expand by creating her own vineyard and set out to find the perfect location. And landed in Turkey’s coastal resort town, Bodrum.
Halicarnassus (Halikarnas)
Halicarnassus (Halikarnas in Turkish), from which Karnas Vineyards takes its name, has a history dating back to the 15th century BC and Mycenaean presence in the area. It seems that after the Mycenaeans, everyone and his brother went through the city. From the Dorians to Darius III of Persia to Alexander the Great to a Christian settlement (at which time it was given its current name, Bodrum), this city oozes history from its pores. It is also the home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the tomb of Mausolus which came to be known as the Mausoleum.
While Bodrum center around the water is lush and green, the outlying areas look more like a wasteland. Seems to be an odd place to establish a vineyard. Selva Hanım said that when she bought the land it was nothing more than a limestone desert.
Farming With Respect to Nature
A limestone desert it may have been but Selva Hanım turned that to her advantage. She disdains vineyards and other (agricultural) businesses that have manufactured lawns and flora believing that the cost of all that manicuring is harmful to the land. One should farm as is suitable to the soil. It might be difficult, but what you are doing should compliment, not destroy the soil and natural ecosystem where you are.
She puts her belief into practice at Karnas Vineyards where the basic goal is to make a quality product with minimal intervention and while preserving the natural balance. As such all farming, not just for the vineyards but also the olive tree groves and other products, is done largely organically. Irrigation is implemented only when vines are very young and need some encouragement or when drought becomes such a huge problem that the choice is irrigation or loss of vine. This style of farming combined with careful vineyard management (including winter pruning, green pruning, and clump dilution) equals low yields in the vineyard. This in turn leads to concentrated, intense, and ageable wines.
Karnas Zinfandel 2013 Tasting Notes
The vineyards aren’t the only thing to receive care at Karnas. Inside what is one of the most beautiful wineries I’ve seen in Turkey so far the wine receives equal attention. Here she continues to eschew the use of chemicals and unnatural processes. After vinification wine rests for a minimum of six months in a stainless tank while sediment, well, settles in a natural clarification process. It then spends two to two and a half years ageing in French oak while enjoying music. That’s right. Selva Hanım keeps music playing in the cellar. Not for herself or for visitors, but for the wine.
Does all this pay off? I think so.
Like most Zinfandel the ABV registers pretty high at 14%. The nose is deep and entrancing, full of blue and black fruits, raisins, and dried figs offset by sweet spices and hints of mocha and tobacco. Big, chewy, and beautiful tannins give the unmistakable impression of a bold and full-bodied wine. A long finish carries the additional flavor of tomato jam.
Selva Hanım has done more than plant Turkey’s first ever Zinfandel vineyard. With this wine she has set the standard for any and all Zinfandels that follow.