Turkish Delight
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By
Robin GarrPoised on the border between Europe and Asia
and arguably part of the cradle of civilization, Turkey boasts a
rich and ancient history ... and a key role in the early history of
wine. Then called Anatolia, Turkey was home to cultivated vineyards
and a commercial wine industry as far back as 6,000 years ago.
Although Turkey's largely Muslim population drinks little wine in
modern times - per capita consumption is less than 1 liter of wine
per year - Turkey is a secular republic with a strong commitment to
globalization, and its wine-producing industry remains surprisingly
strong, with nearly 50 Turkish wineries producing some 275 million
liters per year, ranking far behind the leaders in the world wine
sweepstakes, but not too far below Canada and well ahead of such
other Middle East producers as Lebanon and Israel.
Even so, exports to the U.S. are limited, so I was quite
surprised to spot a fresh, relatively recent (2002 vintage) bottle
at a local retailer the other day. Naturally I snapped it up ... at
$4.99 a bottle, what was there to lose?
It took a fair amount of research to parse the label, but here's
how I make it out: Kavaklidere is the wine producer, one of Turkey's
largest, based near Ankara, the national capital. Okuzgozu is the
grape, a native Turkish red variety grown around Elazig, a city of
270,000 on the banks of the Euphrates River in mountainous eastern
Turkey. And Yakut is the winery's label name for this particular
wine style, "dry red wine of a certain standard quality ... the best
selling red wine of Turkey."
Recalling youthful experiments with Algerian and Corsican wines,
not to mention cheap Eastern Bloc wines from Iron Curtain days, I
wasn't expecting too much. In fact, I had a modest Spanish red in
reserve for dinner in case this one was a disaster.
But ... hey! It's not bad! Crisp and fresh, not overly complex
but tartly refreshing like unsweet black-cherry juice, it somewhat
reminded me of Beaujolais, not in terms of varietal character but
its fresh, snappy refreshing quaffability. It went nicely with
simple fare, and certainly left no room for complaints at the price.
It makes a good introduction to Turkish wine, and is certainly worth
the minimal investment if you can find it.
WEB LINKS
* The Kavaklidere winery's Website is online in English here:
http://www.focusmm.com/kdere/welcome.htm
* For an intriguing, long interview with Esat Ayhan, proprietor
of La Cave, a wine shop in the affluent Cihangir neighborhood in
Istanbul, see the archives of the English-language
Turkish Daily News.
* Interested in comparing the world's wine-producing nations
ranked by production? You'll find a thorough list at
Wine Institute. |
