The Mor Salkım Volante Narince Emir is something of a rare blend. It's not unheard of at all, but not something we see frequently. The blend brings to name a few wines like Kavaklidere's Selection, Kocabağ's Emir Narince, and a few others. It also begs the question
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Recently I wrote a post about (some of) the best Turkish Pinot Noirs. I left out two wines on purpose, the Ayda Bağları Pinot Noir and Rosé. These two deserved to be tackled separately. Ayda Bağları After a few years of hobby winemaking, Ayda Kargılı Kalelioğlu and her husband Uğur Kalelioğlu decided to go commercial. Ayda, a dentist by training, had been making wine with the trial and error method. But when the pair decided to ramp up their operations, she pursued an oenology certification in France which she received in 2008. Now, Ayda and Uğur are proud to be a boutique winery. Their capacity is roughly 14,400 bottles a
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While for reasons beyond my ken Karasakız is not more popular in Turkey, it is certainly one of the country's most facile grapes. One of my favorite iterations of this grape is the Paşaeli 6N Karasakız. This wine encapsulates so many things about Paşaeli. Under-utilized grape - check. Old vines - check. Wild ferment - check. Paşaeli almost always allows its wines to undergo spontaneous fermentation on natives yeasts. It just doesn't always advertise the fact. Even on this bottle it appears only in small print. The vineyards lie at 500 meters above sea level in the Aegean, in the Kaz Dağları. They average 35 years old, giving them
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New on the market last year, Etruscan Bağcılık introduced several new wines. While the winery got started in 2010, it kept pretty quiet until its first commercial release. Which means unfortunately I missed it on my pass through Gallipoli while researching for my book. I have since got my hands on a few of their wines, one of which is the Etruscan İno Sauvignon Blanc. Etruscan Bağcılık Vineyard planting for Etruscan Bağcılık began in 2010 in Eceabat on the Gallipoli Peninsula. If Eceabat sounds familiar (in a wine context), it's because several other wineries including Suvla and Asmadan call it home. Etruscan's vineyards here grow a familiar mix of
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For several years Ma'Adra's Öküzgözü rosé has been one of my go-to rosés. But I've always wondered why they don't make a red. I don't have to wonder anymore because now they do! At November's Sommeliers Selection event in Istanbul, Ma'Adra debuted its new carbonic maceration Öküzgözü. We don't talk about carbonic maceration a lot in Turkey. While Ma'Adra may not be the first winery here to use the technique, it is the first to proudly put it on the label. But, what is it? Carbonic Maceration, the Internal Combustion of Winemaking Carbonic maceration is probably how early wine got made
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One of the newest members of the Urla Bağ Yolu, Çakır Bağcılık ve Şarapçılık prides itself on growing its vines just meters from its winery. The winery, like many in Urla, puts a heavy emphasis on Cabernet Sauvignon for both red wines and its Çakır Somnium Rosé. In addition to Cabernet, the winery cultivates Syrah, Chardonnay, and the regional Bornova Misketi. Even if I would prefer to see more native grapes, Çakır makes a lovely addition to the wine route! Çakır Bağcılık ve Şarapçılık Çakır had to open when I made my visits to Urla to research for my book. Last summer, just before I finished writing, I took a quick
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Last year, one of my most popular posts was an interview with Uçmakdere winemaker Işıl Bulutsuz. A number of people asked for more interviews. One of my goals this year is to do just that. I am getting a bit of a late start since it's already April! It did take me a while to figure out video editing (which as you'll see is still very much a work in progress). Anyway, I'm finally able to post my first interview. Tina Lino While she's not Turkish, I decided to start with Tina Lino, who, unlike many of the foreign winemakers and consultants working with wineries here, actually lives here. And,
Read MoreOne of the newer additions to the Turkish wine scene, Kayraklı Şarapçılık is based in the Muğla district of the Aegean. Founder Orhan Kayraklı planted his organically farmed vines in the Asarcık valley between the Bozdurun and Selimiye villages. The vines, completely surrounded by mountainous terrain, grow at 250 meters. Continuous winds cool the valley making it 4-5 Celsius degrees cooler than the areas around it and contribute to significant diurnal temperature swings. Slate and gravel overlay layers of limestone and clay and the vines grow without irrigation. The wines have been available in regional wine shops for a year or more but only recently have migrated to Istanbul.
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Well, are they really the best Turkish Pinot Noir wines? Some of them are certainly the best in my opinion! But that title will give my SEO a much needed bump! Bloggy technical housekeeping aside, let's crack on with the wines! The below seven wines by no means represent an exhaustive list of Turkish Pinot Noir wines. I'm planning a separate post just for Ayda Bağları's Pinots (red and a rosé) so look for that soon! And of course I have written previously about other Turkish Pinot Noirs including: Urla Serendias, Chamlija's Müteşekkir, other vintages of the below wines, and various Pinot Noir blends like Chamlija's PaPiKa, Chateau Nuz,
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Many are shocked to discover the high percentage of women who work in the Turkish wine industry. Something like 65% are women including winery owners, viticulturalists, winemakers and oenologists, and especially, harvest technicians. Last March, I wrote a piece for The Vintner Project about women in the Turkish wine industry. My friend and colleague in wine, if you will, Tûba de Wilde has gone beyond just writing and takes a different approach to highlighting women in the industry. Vinatuu Wine Explorer & Event Maker After completing her bachelor of Tourism and Event Management in Bruges, Belgium, Tûba worked in tourism and communications around Europe while continuously training via courses and seminars
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