Porta Diverti by Vinero
It feels like forever since my last post! While I try to post every Wednesday and Sunday, I missed the previous two weeks due to travel. My day job occasionally pulls me back to DC so I can reconnect with the mother ship. Since I’d already crossed an ocean to get there I decided to go even farther west to Las Vegas. Not to visit any casinos though! Rather, to meet my bff’s new baby. Even though my trip did include some wine in both DC and Vegas (and a split of Champagne at the Denver airport I drank with Egg McMuffins-true story); I am happy to be home with my Turkish wine.
Yes, I am technically an expat here. I don’t have Turkish citizenship, nor is my family at all Turkish (we’re largely French Canadian and West Michigan Dutch with a hint of Czech). Despite what I tell the immigration officers when they try to stop me from going through the Turkish citizenship line, I don’t feel myself to be Turkish. However, Turkey is nonetheless home. Perhaps it is because I come from a country of immigrants that I find it so easy to call a new country home. And I’m not the only one doing that. Grapes do it too!
Vinero Winery, creator of the Porta Caeli premium wine line, is poised to take on the role of one of Turkey’s premiere wineries. A role they take very seriously, and one they do only with transplanted grapes. However, for my two cents, the Vinero entry line, Porta Diverti, steals the spotlight.
Recreating Bordeaux in Çanakkale
Vinero Winery, part of the Porta Caeli hotel and spa, is located in the village of Ecebat where Thrace meets the Aegean. While the majority of Turkey experiences a hot and continental climate, this region is very different. The harmony of a maritime climate, surrounding forests, and breezes has attracted many winemakers including Porta Caeli, Suvla, Ergenekon, Doluca, Chateau Kalpak, and more.
Porta Caeli works exclusively with international grape varieties. Specifically Bordeaux varieties. They believe that their terroir and microclimate are not only appropriate for Bordeaux varieties but are capable of producing wine that can compete directly with the hallowed chateaux of Bordeaux. As such, they cultivate Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Sauvignon Blanc along with two other French varietals: Chardonnay and Viognier. With assistance from consultant Michele Roland Vinero launched its first vintage only a few years ago.
Welcome to Wonderland
Porta Caeli makes wine under four labels: Ament (both a Bordeaux blend and a varietal Cabernet Franc). Pacem (both a varietal Sauvignon Blanc and a white blend), and Fellici (a Cabernet Sauvignon rosé) are the winery’s premium wines. The winery also produces a second line called Porta Diverti. Quality, well-made wines, one red blend, one varietal Sauvignon Blanc, and one white blend, see less oak and bottle ageing and therefore have a friendly price tag.
The three upper level series, Ament, Pacem, and Fellici have labels featuring an arch. The same arch sits at one end of Porta Caeli’s hotel grounds inviting one to enter. The Porta Diverti line all feature slightly different images along the same theme. A small figure riding a giant rabbit. These figures also feature on the winery complex’s landscaping. These are an allusion to Alice in Wonderland. Porta Caeli uses them both on the grounds and on the labels to invite you, the wine lover, into their Wonderland.
Porta Diverti Tasting Notes:
I’m afraid that the Porta Diverti Sauvignon Blanc (2014) may get lost in the sea of Sauvingon Blanc available in Turkey. We have some remarkable examples here but this is not one of them. Pale, star bright lemony yellow yields citrussy aromas of blood orange in addition to bergamont, 
mineral, and herbal aromas. The palate has a bitter-sweet-bitter flavor journey. High acid throws off the balance and contributes to the unpalatable bitter lemon pith flavor before transitioning to more floral flavors. Overall, light bodied with 13.5% abv and a medium finish, I think this needs the balance of food. Salad with a nice lemony vinaigrette would pair well here.
For my personal taste I found the Porta Diverti white blend (also 2014 vintage) a far more successful wine. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Viognier gives this wine the delicious scents of white flower bouquets, juicy stone fruit, and exotic tropical fruits. Palate flavors reflect the nose with the added lift of fresh lemon. The Viognier in the blend gives the feeling of lushness making this medium-bodied, 13.5% abv wine feel just a little bit sexy.
And finally to the Porta Diverti red blend (2015). Like the Ament blend, this is a Bordeaux-style blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot aged in French oak. The dark ruby color is as pretty as the wine is aromatic. A very rich nose reveals aromas of black fruits, raspberries, baking spices, and graphite. Racy acid and medium tannins carry flavors of fruit, cocoa, cedar, dill, and gunpowder. Medium-bodied, also at 13.5% abv, this is a nicely complex little number for a relatively small price.