Source: AFP
Drinkers get mixed up in something like bubbly Turkish sparkling wine.
“We are selling out very quickly. We can’t keep up with the growing demand especially as the New Year (celebrations) approaches,” said Candas Misir of the Vinkara winery an hour from Ankara.
When it comes to celebrating a big occasion, few might consider grabbing a bottle of Turkish bubbly in a market dominated by French champagne, Spanish cava and Italian prosecco.
But Misir wine — made from a local Turkish grape variety that nearly went extinct in the 1980s — won the gold medal for World’s Best Sparkling Wine at a competition in France in 2020.
His fruity “Yasasin” — which means “Hooray!” in Turkish — it has a floral aroma reminiscent of fine creams from Alsace in eastern France.
And he’s the first to admit that connoisseurs were initially a bit skeptical about the idea of Turkish champagne competing with bubbly.
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“We received a very cautious reception at first,” Mishir told AFP. “People were like, ‘What do you mean, Turkish sparkling wine?'”
“However, one taste is enough to dispel these prejudices,” he added.
Source: AFP
Vinkara was the first Turkish winery to start producing sparkling wine in 2006 using the traditional champagne method from its vineyards around the small town of Kalecik.
Others have since followed with a surge in production. Despite increased taxes by Turkey’s Islamic-conservative government to discourage alcohol consumption, Turks are increasingly producing dry white wines, with production tripling in the past 15 years and five times as much sparkling wine.
‘An Awakening’
The wines’ success is due to their quality, Misir argued, which are harvested almost entirely by hand using the dark-colored local grape Kalecik Karasi — the “black of Kalecik” — nicknamed “Turkish pinot noir.”
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Source: AFP
On the verge of extinction in the 1980s, it has been resurrected thanks to Turkish researchers and vintners.
Burak Demirel, an oenologist and winemaking instructor at Namik Kemal University based in the northwestern province of Tekirdag, said the rediscovery of indigenous grape varieties has contributed to the recent success of Turkish dry and sparkling wines.
“Universities and winemakers are doing a great job in Turkey. They have identified more than 800 indigenous grape varieties,” he said.
“This is a huge potential that Turkey has underutilized for years… Today we are witnessing an awakening.”
Andrea Lemieux, a wine expert who has lived in Istanbul for 11 years, said Turkish sparkling wine does not yet have the prestige of its French and Italian rivals, “but the quality is there.”
“People are very price conscious and because they are not well aware of the reputation of Turkish wines, they may be reluctant to spend €50 on a bottle.”
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However, winegrowers are working on their marketing and foreign expert blogs praising Turkish wines are helping to spread the word.
“There are so many more people writing about Turkish wine now and coming to Turkey to taste the wine. It’s becoming more and more popular,” said Lemieux, author of “The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine.”
Punitive tax
Source: AFP
“Yasasin” is even now sold in the United States. “There’s definitely interest,” he said.
Despite growing popularity, the international market is still limited, with only 30,000 liters of Turkish sparkling wines exported last year.
However, Turkey grows a huge amount of grapes and is the sixth largest producer in the world. “But only 4% of this harvest is intended for winemaking,” Ali Basman, president of the Wine Producers’ Association, told Turkish media.
“We are a long way from fulfilling our potential,” he said.
But both the production and consumption of wine have become much more difficult and expensive under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has tightened regulations and sharply raised taxes during his two decades in power.
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Despite the pitfalls, Demirel is confident.
“There is a new generation of Turkish producers and winemakers who are doing a lot of research and are on the cutting edge of the new,” he said.
“The future of Turkish sparkling and dry wines is bright.”
Source: AFP