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Pairing the Unpairable: Turkish Mantı and Yogurt with Öküzgözü Rosé

 

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I’ve read a lot of #WinePW posts but for one reason or another never managed to get my act together enough to participate. However, when I saw that the inspiration for this month’s event was Jason Wilson’s Godforsaken Grapes I knew I couldn’t not participate. Being an advocate for Turkish wine and grape varietals this #WinePW was right up my alley.

Öküzgözü

This tongue-twisting grape originates in Mid-Eastern Anatolia (Elazığ). However, as the most popular (or at least widely planted) native variety in Turkey, one can find this grape across the country in vineyards in Mid-Southern Anatolia (Cappadocia) and increasingly across the Aegean and even in Thrace.

Pronounced uh-küz-guh-zü, these grapes prefer red clay or sandy/limestone soils. They get their name, Öküzgözü, meaning “bull’s eye” from their large, round shape and nearly black color. While the name might be a mouthful, Öküzgözü grapes usually produce wines that are more medium-bodied, garnet red wines with round, fruity flavors, some tannins, and rather lively acidity. Generally, Öküzgözü wines often feature aromas of: raspberry, dark cherry, mint, chocolate, eucalyptus, sour cherry, pomegranate, ripe plums, cherry marmalade, clove, and cardamom.

Found as a single varietal wine, it is a natural blending partner with Turkey’s harshly tannic Boğazkere but is also increasingly found as a rosé, perfect for this grape with its tart fruits and acidity.

The Pairings

When my foodie friend (historian and baker extraordinaire) Istanbites and I first dived into pairing Turkish wines with traditional foods, her number one goal was to pair a wine with yogurt. Yogurt is on every Turkish table for every meal. Here it leans to the savory (garlic, salty, herbed etc.) and my favorite style, süzme, is thick enough to stand up a spoon in. When we mentioned our mission to winemakers here, nine out of ten responded with “İmkansız.” “Olmaz.” Impossible. Can’t be done.

But we did it.

Mantı is often called a Turkish “dumpling” which it entirely misleading since they’re often smaller even than a stingy tortellini. Stuffed with minced and spiced beef or lamb, the mantı are boiled (most traditional) or fried or baked for a crunchy texture, and topped with a bit of tomato sauce, garlicky yogurt, melted butter, chili oil, and a sprinkle of dried mint. 

What makes this so perfect for an Öküzgözü rosé? Generally speaking, Öküzgözü is a great match for lamb. In addition, its naturally high acidity would help cut through the thickness of the yogurt and the oiliness of both the oil and butter that top the dish.

VinBodrum Öküzgözü Rosé 

Bodrum Winery, based near the Turkish resort town of the same name, is a tiny family run winery headed by Erhan and Füsun Yürüt. Vin bodrum is Turkish for “basement wine”. Like many family wineries in Turkey the Yürüt family’s story began in the basement, and so it remains. Their entire operation is in their basement. I did say the winery was tiny! But I also enjoy the double entendre in the name. Bodrum Winery sources its Öküzgözü from vineyards in Bodrum which has a lot of limestone soils and gives all their wines a crystalline mineral edge.

The VinBodrum Öküzgözü Rosé 2017 was a really pretty medium intense salmon color. Pink grapefruit, florals, strawberry water, and thyme aromas jumped out of the glass. Punchy, citrus acid, medium-bodied with 13.8% abv, the wine sang with grapefuit and fresh herbs kissed by lemon salt.

Of the three wines, this one worked best with the mantı. The dried mint on the pasta really highlighted the green notes in the wine just as the sumac brought out the wine’s citrussy character while the wine helped support the chili-infused oil drizzled over the yogurt. 

Asmadan Gönülden Öküzgözü Rosé

Despite being a relative new kid on the block, the winery’s popularity has encouraged owner Turgay Gönül Hoşkal to expand the Eceabat-based winery. The winery now offers six different wines made by talented young female winemaker Semril Zorlu. Asmadan’s Öküzgözü grapes come in from Elazığ in Turkey’s northeast, the traditional home of the grape.

The Asmadan Gönülden Öküzgözü Rosé, a 2018, flowed like a Florida lawn flamingo. Raspberry and red currants mingled with pomegranate leaf and bay leaf in the nose and flavors of pomegranate juice with a twist of lemon peel. Softer and less lively than the VinBodrum, the Gönülden was rounder on the palate with a medium body and 13.5% abv.

A less successful pairing, the mantı overwhelmed the wine a little. However, if you like garlic this was your pairing! While the dish may have diminished the wine, the wine really made the garlic in the yogurt sing! And like the VinBodrum, the sumac on the dish made the cistrus flavors in the wine shine. 

Ma’Adra Vineyards Floral Öküzgözü Rosé

From terraced vineyards cut into the mountainside in the extreme north of Turkey’s Aegean comes the grapes for Ma’Adra’s Floral Series Öküzgözü rosé. The winery, owned and operated by the Özdemir family with daughter Didem as head winemaker, Ma’Adra exemplifies what a family winery should be. The mountain’s clayey and stony soils and high altitude lend a grace and elegance to all the winery’s wines.

This 2018 Öküzgözü rosé from Ma’Adra was the palest in color of the three; but definitely not the palest in flavor! A surprising swell of stable aromas complimented the overall herbaceous, tomato leaf, and freshly picked strawberries found on the nose. Lively acidity with a lighter body than the two previous, and largely reflective of the nose.

How did this one go with the mantı? Not too bad. Again the dried mint in the dish highlighted the wine’s herbaceous flavors. In addition, that hint of stable have the lamb more prominence which was great as quite often the flavors of the meat get lost in the dish! 

I don’t know why Öküzgözü, specifically in its pink form, works so well with both mantı but also yogurt in general…it just does! 

Be sure to also check out what my fellow Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers discovered on their journey with #GodforsakenGrapes!

• A North Macedonian Blend: Vranec and Plavec by My Full Wine Glass
• An Ode to Godforsaken Grapes on Somm’s Table
• An Unlikely Match: A Thai Favorite + A Qvevri-Aged Wine from the Republic of Georgia by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Cesanese, Schioppettino and More Interesting Wine to Try by Cooking Chat
• Falanghina and Lagrein from California? Of course! by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Godforsaken Grapes: The Book and Thoughts about Wine by Our Good Life
• Godforsaken Grapes: The Book, The Wine, The Pairing by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pairing Blaufrankisch from Austria with Dark Soya Marinated
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• Pairing Petit Manseng with Asian Food by Asian Test Kitchen
• Saperavi is Super with Khachapuri by Dracaena Wines
• Southwest France: A Pool of Grape Diversity by L’Occasion
• Tasting & Pairing Tannat – #WinePW Exploration of
  Godforsaken Grapes by The Corkscrew Concierge
• To Try in 2020: Paso Whites– Unexpected Grapes In an
  Unexpected Region by Wine Predator
• The Forgotten Grapes of Calabria: Gaglioppo of Ceraudo with
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• White Port: A Blend of Grape Varieties Unknown to Many by Grape Experiences