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Ooo la la! French Grapes In Turkey (#Winophiles)

 

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This month Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla has invited the #Winophiles group to explore French grown around the world. You can view her original invite here.

France is home to what are probably the world’s most famous and widespread grape varieties. Grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay can be found in almost every winemaking country from France to the Italy, the UK, the US, Argentina, Australia, China, and Tunisia. And pretty much everywhere in between! Turkey likewise is not immune to the charms of French grapes. They enjoy an overwhelming popularity here. Few wineries (in fact only four or five come to mind) do not feature a French grape.

French influences on Turkish wine

When the modern Turkish wine industry got started in the late 30s and early 40s, many winery owners looked to Europe for education and inspiration. And by ‘Europe’ I mean France. People came home to Turkey armed with more than the latest winemaking methods and equipment. They also came home with grapes. So many French grapes. Syrah remains not only the most widely-planted international grape in Turkey but also one of the three most planted grapes period.

While French wine aesthetics continue to influence Turkish wine (the number of French winemakers and consultants here staggers the mind), the grapes remain the lasting legacy of those early forays to Europe. Syrah may hold the position of most popular, but a huge range of French grapes grow in Turkish vineyards. Syrah, Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, Merlot, Tannat, Cinsault, Pinot Meunier, Marselan, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Mourvedre, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Gris, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne…and probably a few others I’ve forgot about.

But for this event I did not choose any of those (okay well yes there is a Sauvignon Blanc below but it’s not just any old Sauvignon Blanc). I chose two less obvious grapes. One with a great deal of history here, and one with almost no history anywhere: Semillon and Ekigaïna. And to continue the French-influence theme, I paired them both with a Moroccan feast. On the menu:

• Baby arugula and preserved lemon salad
• Zaalouk with crispy Halloumi (charred aubergines cooked into a thick sauce with tomatoes, garlic, cumin, and paprika)
• Seffa (chicken thighs cooked in sauce with saffron, ras al hanout, ginger, and tomatoes served over vermicelli and topped with almonds and cinnamon)
• Orange blossom and honey cake

Saranta Chateau Murou Semillon, 2018

Semillon, I learned a few years ago, is considered by some of the older wineries here to be not native clearly, but traditional. While the grape has grown here for, modestly about 80 years, it was the first of the French varieties to be planted. Traditional does not mean common though. Only a very few producers work with it; particularly those on the Thracian side of Turkey along the Marmara Sea and closer to the Greek and Bulgarian boarders. A few years ago during a visit to Saranta in Kırklareli I got to taste a tank sample of their new wine, a 100% Semillon. Gülçin Akçay, Saranta’s viticulturist and winemaker told us that the new Semillon would follow the winery’s current practice of only tank and bottle ageing its white wines and the final Semillon would not have any oak on it all. They might not age in oak but they do age. Currently only two vintages of the Chateau Murou Semillon are available: the 2017 and the 2018.

This is one of my favorite wines here. As soon as Camilla said she was planning this theme for the Winophiles I knew I was going to use this wine!

Brilliant pale straw color in the glass. Aromas on the nose made my mouth water even before the first sip. Pear, mashed apple, tropical fruits, and caramelized lemon slices swirl around in a fruity and alluring perfume. Beautifully progressive on the palate with apples and stone fruit shifting to chamomile and baby’s breath with a lengthy saline finish. Round and mouthwatering with a medium body and alcohol (13% abv). Incredible balance here attesting to Akçay’s skill as a winemaker.

To my utter surprise, not only did this pair well with the arugula and preserved lemon salad, but also went marvelously with the zaalouk and the seffa!  In the zzalouk the Semillon highlighted the pine nuts and tamed the cumin and really made the ras al hanout (especially the rose petals and sweet spices) shine in the seffa.

Mozaik Mahrem Ekigaïna, 2012

Eki-what?! That was my initial thought when I first met Ali Emin, owner of Mozaik winery in Turkey’s southern İzmir district of Urla. In 1955 Pierre Marcel Durquety, with support from the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), created Ekigaïna by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat. Ekigaïna in Basque means “sun month” which seems somewhat inappropriate as the grape is an early to mid-ripening variety. I had a difficult time finding any information beyond that about the grape. Considering that world-wide only about three hectares exist (mostly in Southern France), I guess it’s not surprising.

That some of that hectarage sits in Turkey’s Aegean region however certainly has surprise factor. But Emin, who came to Turkey from Iran in the 80s does not like doing the expected. At Mozaik, which makes up an estate that includes Turkey’s largest race horse breeding farm, the Italian-lead winemaking team follows a non intervention philosophy. They farm the grapes organically and wines raised in third or fourth use oak only for an average of 18 months. After bottling wines remain in Mozaik’s cellar for a few more years before they make it to the market.

I’ve had a few different vintages of the Mozaik Mahrem Ekigaïna and I like more every time I try it. Deep, intense ruby on the pour with an aroma profile I like to “gentlemen’s club.” Aromatic but earthy with broody forest underfloor, forest spice, old leather, dried lavender, and thyme. Structured tannins dissipate slowly like a wave receding from the shore on the palate. Big and bold with 14% abv and a finish just this side of long. Flavors reflect the nose with amped up dried flowers and herbs.

This didn’t pair quite as well with the food as I’d hoped. Although I have to be honest that I cooked less to match the wine and more to just make what I did! The Ekigaïna went really well with the arugula and preserved lemon salad. It highlighted the smokiness of the charred eggplant in the zaalouk and brought out the rose a bit in the seffa but otherwise the wine and those two dishes canceled out one another.

Arcadia 333, 2009

So yes, one of my chosen wines was Sauvignon Blanc, a more common French variety. But there is nothing common about this wine!

In 2009, the year of Arcadia’s first harvest, while inspecting their crop of Sauvignon Blanc they noticed that they grapes had shriveled and looked rotten. Quickly, the owners sent a panicked message to their viticulturist. Should destroy the grapes so as to not infest the entire vineyard? The response came swiftly. No! You’ve struck gold. While I may have taken some liberty with his response, I’m sure that’s what he meant. That year Arcadia, owner of the first botrytis-infected grapes in Turkey, created a sweet wine similar to the Hungarian szamaródni style, a mix of late harvest and botrytized grapes.

Burnished gold in the glass, the Arcadia 333 2009 practically dripped honey. Tropical fruits, candied pineapple, and apricot played with a delightful panoply of sweetly exotic spices in the nose. Very high alcohol (16.5% abv) and all that delectable residual sugar lent the wine a medium heavy viscosity. Viscous, but not cloying thanks to a racy, citrus zesty acidity. Candied ginger and grapefruit…well everything, fruit and peel, joined the aromas of tropical fruit, apricot, and honey on the palate.

I paired this with another Moroccan recipe, an orange blossom honey cake. Subtle but beautiful aromatic flavors from homemade orange blossom water and the candied orange decorates really complimented the wine. I’ve never had a dessert pairing (and rarely even a savory pairing) work so well. These flavors and that wine were meant for each other.

Wondering where else in the world French grapes are grown?

Whether you’ve written a post for the theme or not, join the #Winophiles conversation on Saturday, March 20 at 11 am EST by following the hashtag on Twitter. And don’t forget to check out what the rest of the group is eating and drinking!

• Allison & Chris at AdVINEtures share French Grapes Around the World: Chardonnay in BC’s Okanagan Valley .
• Andrea of The Quirky Cork declares Ooo la la! French Grapes in Turkey!
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator pours West Coast “Bordeaux” Blends with Beef Bourguignon.
• Jeff of FoodWineClick! takes A Reluctant Look at French Grapes Outside of France .
• Jill of L’Occasion features Rhône Grapes in Paso Robles .
• Lauren of The Swirling Dervish goes Beyond Champagne: Pinot Meunier Shines in a Varietal Wine from Two Shepherds .
• Melanie of Wining with Mel offers French Grapes Around the World: Spotlight on Niagara Gamay .
• Nicole of Somm’s Table is Celebrating Women’s History Month with Gamble Family Vineyard’s Mary Ann .
• Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings examines Elevating French grapes outside France at Texas’s William and Chris Vineyards .
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles looks at Roussanne 9009 km from Home .
• Susannah of Avvinare posts Petit Manseng Flourishes In Virginia .
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm is Exploring Malbec Outside of France Paired with Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon .
• And host Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla surveys Gamay Around the Globe: From Burgundy to the Willamette Valley + Mussels, Pici, and A Bottle from New Zealand .