Fruit of the Gods

I recall my first abysmal sip of wine in Turkey. That I choose to make this fact public, given the Turk's proclivity for national pride, is a testament to how far Turkish wines have come in just the past few short years. Because my last glass of Turkish wine came from a bottle I'd carried across the Atlantic, and I felt a shimmer of satisfaction on behalf of Turkey when I popped the cork in the company of good friends.

That Turkey has a wine making industry at all may come as a surprise, given Islam's proscription against alcohol consumption. But Turks, above all, are pragmatic, and in spite of the steep taxes imposed on alcohol by a government presumably wishing to make the price tag hurt, wine production and consumption are now making a vigorous, and decidedly Turkish comeback. Turkey is now the fifth largest producer of grapes in the world, with wine production consistently achieving 20% growth annually since 1995. Wine aficionados are longer restricted to the choice of Kavaklidere's Yakut or Doluca red, white or rose, as both these and other wineries, including Turasan, Sevilen and Pamukkale Saraplari, have introduced new vintages, including those benefiting from the blending of grape varieties, both Turkish and French.

Wine making has a long and distinguished tradition in Turkey – with excavations confirming wine cultivation as far back as 4000 BC, Anatolia may very well be where wine production originated. Speculation of this kind derives from the important role that wine played in religious rites in biblical times. But while later Ottoman rule imposed a strict no-tolerance standard for the Empire's Muslim population, the tradition of winemaking was kept alive throughout the ages by Greek and Armenian communities until WWI, when many of these ethnic communities were forced to flee.

Kavaklidere was one of the first truly Turkish wineries, established in 1929 with the support of Atatürk (whose personal wine cellar perhaps contributed to his ultimate demise from cirrhosis of the liver). But because wine has almost no role in the traditions of Turkish life, quality, and the demand for technologies to improve it, remained of questionable importance. Small producers and home brews, while charming, and certainly drinkable, were a product of tradition and ignorant of the techniques developed by more wine-centric society. A waste of perfect climactic and geographic conditions, really, as regionally, the Turkish climate and soil can compete with the best. But given their exemplary entrepreneurial instincts and enticed by the profit potential, several major wineries have invested considerably in research and development. And Turkey's learning curve being what it is, these producers have gone from making, at best, banal brews to truly exceptional and award-winning vintages.

Despite the major players' continuing research into which grapes grow best where, several wines, primarily those produced by Kavaklidere and Doluca, can now boast medals from international wine competitions, placing a solid handful of Turkish wines on the international stage. These include Doluca's özel Kav Bogazkere-Oküzküzü 2000 and 2001, Kavaklidere's Selection Kirmizi 1997 and özel Kirmizi 2003 and 2002. But I've found equal decanters of pleasure in small, out of the way family vineyards, in unexpected corners of the Aegean (in Sirince and SelÇuk) and on the steppes (Cappadocia has a tradition of viniculture dating back to early Christian times). If your host offers you his home-made wine, seize the opportunity.

My favorite grapes are the Kaleçik Karasi and the Öküzgüzü. Sevilen and Doluca both make a respectable blend of the latter with Bogazkere (I like the grapes grown in Diyarbakir and Elazig, respectively, but are also cultivated in the Marmara and Aegean regions). Kavaklidere produces a fine Kaleçik Karasi, as does Turasan; the grape is widely cultivated in Ankara and Cappadocia. These, and other notably good wines are listed below. Prices run from around 7 to 15 euros a bottle.

Producer	Grape	Region
Doluca	Kav	Bogazkere-Öküzgüzü
DLC	Öküzgüzü
Doluca Antik	Güneydogu Anadolu
Sevilen	Bogazkere-Öküzgüzü	Elazig and Diyarbakir
Sevilen	Kaleçik Karasi	Ankara
Sevilen	Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (dry)	Izmir/Menderez
Sevilen	Syrah
Pamukkale Saraplari	Anfora Cabernet
Kavaklidere	Kaleçik Karasi Ancyra
Kavaklidere	Bogazkere	Diyarbakir
Turasan	Bogazkere	Diyarbakir
Turasan	Öküzgüzü	Elazig
Turasan	Bogazkere-Öküzgüzü	Elazig, Diyarbakir
Turasan	Kaleçik Karasi	Cappadocia

Producer	Grape	Region
Kavaklidere	Narince-Semillon (dry)
Pamukkale	Anfora Trio (Chardonnay, Narince, Semillon sek)
Pamukkale	Narince Anfora sek
Pamukkale	Anfora Zarif (sweet)
Sevilen	Semillon and Colombard organic vineyard (unfiltered)
Sevilen	Sauvignon Blanc
Sevilen	Narince
Sevilen	Chardonnay
Turasan	Narince DÖmisek	Cappadocia
Turasan	Narince	Tokat

Wine Links

www.doluca.com

www.turasan.com.tr

www.sevilengroup.com

www.pamukkalesarap.com