September 2024
Maybe you have been curious about Turkish wine but trepidatious about trying it. Could it possibly be good? How do you pronounce Öküzgözü?! How can I drink it if I can’t say it?! This September, we bring you a special trio of wines made with grapes you already know and love to ease your introduction into Turkish wine.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Franc are all old wine friends. We know them from their home in France, from elsewhere in Europe, and from the “new world” wine frontiers of North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and beyond.
But did you know that part of that “beyond” is Turkey?
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most popular grapes in Turkey with roughly 80% of Turkish wineries producing at least one Cabernet Sauvignon varietal or blend wine. In fact, evidence even suggests that Cabernet Sauvignon came to the land known today as Turkey as early as the 17th Century!
Sauvignon Blanc also enjoys a great deal of popularity with approximately 48% to 50% of Turkish wineries working with it.
Cabernet Franc’s story is a little different. Until recently, only a small handful of producers planted Cabernet Franc and used it, almost exclusively, in Bordeaux-style blends. Slowly, varietal Cabernet Franc began to appear on the market; first just one or two labels. Then, about six years ago, a small boom of popularity for the grape happened, giving us wines from almost two dozen wineries, at least half of those bottlings varietal Cabernet Franc.
And so we now present the following three wines, each of which demonstrates a delicious and familiar introduction to what today's exciting Turkish wine industry has to offer!
Our first selection is a Sauvignon Blanc from Gurbuz Winery. Founder Akın Gürbüz knows Sauvignon Blanc very well. After graduating from UC Davis’s famous wine school, he worked in California vineyards, then went to New Zealand specifically to learn about this grape. Now, back in Turkey, his Sauvignon Blanc vineyards overlook the Sea of Marmara and he uses his grapes to craft one of the finest examples of Sauvignon Blanc in Turkey.
Tasting Notes: Aromas of ripe peach, soft floral and mineral notes with a rich texture balanced with lime zest notes. Beautifully balanced finish. A perfect wine for those who enjoy sauvignon blancs that have fewer "green" notes.
Our second wine comes from family-run Arda Winery. This is a particularly special wine from this winery, located in northeastern Thrace, near Turkey’s border with Bulgaria and Greece. The Kuşlu (pronounced koosh-loo) Cabernet Franc represents a cooperation between the Saç family behind the winery, and Süleyman Er, owner of Istanbul’s most popular wine bar. While the Saç family makes and bottles the wine, the grapes come from Er’s vineyards. In Istanbul, the wine is sold almost exclusively at his Solera Wine House wine bar.
Tasting Notes: Perfect for a Texas barbeque! Bursting with pronounced fresh jalapeños and beautiful green pepper, ripe red cherry, plum and toasty oak. This wine is wonderfully unique with intense flavors of spicy and zesty herbaceousness, balanced beautifully with pleasing acidity, silky tannins and juicy black fruits. Ready to enjoy now, but could also flourish with age. Pair with deep flavors of many cuisines, from Turkish İskender to spicy Latin dishes, and of course, a Texas barbeque!
The final wine in this month’s trio amps up your Turkish wine experience with a blend of the old wine friend with the unfamiliar: the Özel Seri Cabernet Sauvignon Barburi from Antioch. Özel (ur-zel) Seri is Turkish for “special series”, and special it is. Barburi is not only an endemic Turkish grape, it grows entirely in Turkey’s southernmost, Mediterranean province Hatay. Traditionally, locals have foraged the forests for wild Barburi for use as table grapes and for making home wine, until Antioche founder Abud Abdo began a concerted effort to grow it commercially for wine. Antioche and its vineyards are located in Hatay, the epicenter of the earthquake that devastated southeastern Turkey in early 2023. Despite the destruction and their losses, Antioche perseveres in its efforts to resurrect this grape.
Tasting Notes: Aromas of tart cherry, red raspberry and plum with earthy undertones of wilted flowers and fresh cedar. A beautifully structured and rounded juicy blend, this wine is ready to drink now or could be aged to develop further complexity and robust tertiary flavors.
You can enjoy and purchase each of these wines at the Fine Turkish Wine Bottle Shop + Tasting Room, located in Houston's Montrose District at 1909 Dunlavy Street.
Andrea Lemieux is an international wine expert with particular expertise in Turkish Wine. She is the author of The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine, the world's only comprehensive English language book on Turkish wine, and she is the founder of The Quirky Cork blog which is dedicated largely to Turkish wine.
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