August is just about over meaning summer is winding down
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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. Also called 'Kuntra' the Karasakız (kar-ah-sah-kiz) grape is the oldest grape variety grown on the island of Bozcaada. Records show it growing here for at least 500 years. It likes a warmer climate and, in addition to Bozcaada, also grows on the southern part of the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Sea of Marmara island, Avşa. On Bozcaada, the grape is known exclusively as Kuntra. Here, where high winds can severely damage grapes and grape leaves, vines grow in head-trained, goblet bushes to protect the grapes. Elsewhere where
Read MoreFor years Bozcaada wineries have more or less quietly made wine with Karalahna. Maybe it's me noticing it more or maybe it's that the grape made it off the island and into the hands of one of the country's most popular winemakers
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To kick off summer, I recently hosted an online wine tasting of some of Turkey's island wines. Turkey has several islands which boast great seafood, nice beaches, old forts, beautiful scenery, and yes, wine! Many of the grapes grown on these island grow only on these islands. Happily for those of us in Turkey, we needn't trek to the islands for the wines as they're widely available on the mainland. For the tasting, I selected five wines from four different wineries. Four grapes are native Turkish but one is a Croatian transplant. Yes. Croatian. You'll have to read on to find out which grape! Çamlıbağ AyaPetro Erken Hasat, 2020 We began
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On Bozcaada, Turkey’s third largest island, winds are so strong that only a limited variety of vegetation can withstand them. Olive trees look gnarled and bent and appear to be forever hunched over in an attempt to protect themselves from the battering winds. Poppies, one of the island’s biggest crops, survive only due to their proximity to the ground. And yet it is from this inhospitable and windswept environment that Turkish island wines are born. Perhaps you know Bozcaada by its old name, Tenedos. Under this moniker, the island (and its wines!) rated mentions in both the Iliad and the Aeneid. It is, after all, just a hop, skip,
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I love sweet wines. Perhaps I have mentioned that a time or two on this blog! I'd been curious about the Corvus Passito, having seen it around, for years. But it's not an inexpensive wine. It shouldn't be, right? Passito wines are not cheap to produce so they shouldn't be cheap to sell. But when you're looking at that price tag, sometimes it doesn't matter if you understand that or not. A few summers ago, I again found myself on the Aegean island Bozcaada, home base for Corvus. At the winery's Wine and Bites café/shop I was able to purchase the wine by the glass and finally try. Love.
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There's some argument here whether or not the grape Karalahna means 'black pumpkin' (per Wine Grapes) or if it's a derivative of the Turkish word for 'kale', karalahana (with an extra 'a'). Regardless, this native Turkish grape a variety rarely seen of its home island Bozcaada. Even on the island only two producers really feature it, Corvus and Çamlıbağ. Bozcaada based winery Corvus is one of the most recognized names in wine in Turkey. When Reşit Söley decided to give up architecture for winemaking, he did it with a meticulousness and considerable energy. Söley threw himself into regenerating old island vineyards and planting new plots. Now, nearly 20 years after
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Bozcaada based winery Corvus is one of the most recognized names in wine in Turkey. When Reşit Söley decided to give up architecture for winemaking, he did it with a meticulousness and considerable energy. Söley threw himself into regenerating old island vineyards and planting new plots. Now, nearly 20 years after founding Corvus, Söley makes a wide range of wines with both local and international grapes. Of his wines, my favorites are the ones that blend the local and international grapes; like the Blend Bianco. Normally I'd have stayed away from this one (Chardonnay + oak and all) but it came highly recommended by my friend Başak of Empathia Creative. Corvus
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Together with Talay, Amadeus, and Çamlıbağ, Corvus is one of Turkey’s Aegean region wineries located on the island of Bozcaada. Corvus came about in 2002. Like many winery owners in Turkey, this was a second career for founder Reşit Söley who moved to Bozcaada to open his winery. He named it Corvus, which is Latin for “crow” because of the vast amount of crows that also make the island their home. Söley makes wine from a variety of both international and indigenous grapes. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, the winery also cultivates the island varieties Çavus, Vasilaki, Kuntra, and Karalahana. Corvus buys in fruit from other
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My adventure at Suvla was only a small part of my recent trip. I was invited with my friend T to visit some friends of hers (happily now also of mine) at their beautiful home, Lavender Breeze Farm on the island of Bozcaada where we visited the Corvus and Talay winemakers. We were invited to stay in The Priest’s House, a beautiful house they’ve rebuilt on their property which they rent out on AirBnB (check out the link!). Look at these rooms! T and I were prepared to stay forever. I found it a unique house in that the living room/kitchen and both bedrooms were independent from each other. Both bedrooms
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