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Wine in Turkey
From the ancient land of wine
14th September 2007
Being one of the most ancient lands that produced wine, Turkey has still lots of flavors for wine lovers.
Wine is being produced on these lands as early as 3200 BC. And in our culture, we can trace the influence of wine. For example, the Ottoman poets wrote lots of poems on wine.
You don't often see Turkish wines all around the world. And the total wine brands in Turkey is no more than the local brands of a single small French town.
I was 22 when I first tasted a foreign wine. I love the rather bitter taste of Turkish wines.
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Three mainstream products of "Kavaklidere"
[click image for larger view]
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History of Wine in Anatolia
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Farmers on a Byzantine vineyard in 11th century
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History of wine making on this land starts 2000 years ago, the age of Hittites. The historical origin of wine is a matter of dispute. Some researchers point Caucasian region, and some others ancient Persia. But it's almost certain that Anatolia is the region where wine spreaded all over the world.
In Byzantine times, especially Thrace and Cappadocia were major wine producing areas.
In Ottoman era, the Muslim community did not deal with producing wine. This was largely carried through by Greeks and Armenians. But the Muslim Turks were enthusiastic wine consumers.
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At that time, the wines from Ankara, Erdek, Gallipoli, Crete and Cyprus were the favorites of the taverns of Istanbul.
The "Sultan Mohammad II" who conquered Istanbul was also a wine lover. He himself wrote some poems for wine.
"Sultan Murad 4th", banned all types of alcohol, tobacco and coffee. But he himself was a great wine lover.
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Attitude to Alcohol in General
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A vineyard in Cappadocia Region
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Muslim countries generally have mixed attribute to alcohol. Even in most extreme cases like Iran and Saudi Arabia, (although forbidden by law) alcohol consumption is rather common.
Turkey's situation is somewhere between Muslim countries and Europe.
As an interesting figure, 28% of the total population does not drink alcohol because of the religious reasons.
You see, alcohol consumption is not so low, but the major choice of the consumers is not wine. Turkish people prefer "beer" and "raki" (our traditional high-alcohol beverage).
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It's very interesting that while Turkey is 4th major grape producer of the world, she is number 41 in producing wine, just behind Turkmenistan and Tunisia.
The Only 16% of Turkish people drink wine.
There are virtually no limitation over alcohol by the state. But the attitude of the "extremely conservative government " is negative. The special tax on wine and other beverages are so high that it's the main threat to Turkish wines.
By February 2008, the goverment had to reduce the special tax on table wine, but still the special tax is over 360% (it was over 600% before - yes six hundred percent).
(Figures are taken from a research made by ProCon GfK)
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Carignan grapes from Aegean
(from Karaf Magazine)
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Grape production is common in whole country. But grape production for wine is restricted to some areas, generally they are in west Anatolia. Some ancient vineyards of Inner and Eastern Anatolia still exist and they yield very special wines.
| REGION |
GRAPE TYPES |
| Thrace |
Semillon, Cinsault, Papazkarasi, Gamay, Adakarasi |
| Izmir |
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Grenache, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Merlot |
| Denizli |
Shiraz, Calkarasi, Sultaniye |
| Manisa |
Carignan, Sultaniye, Alicante Bouchet |
| Marmara |
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc |
| Cappadocia |
Emir, Dimrit |
| Ankara |
Kalecik Karasi |
| Tokat |
Narince |
| Elazig |
Okuzgozu |
| Diyarbakir |
Bogazkere |
Wine production areas in Turkey
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Major Wine Producers
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Especially in Western Turkey, all provinces have their own local brands (not so successful as local producers of Europe), but there are only a few nationwide wine producers. Some of them export their products to some degree.
"Kavaklidere" and "Doluca" are my favorite wine brands.
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Impressions after a bicycle tour in a warm January Sunday (!). On the bicycle routes of Istanbul and Bagdat Caddesi.
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| Wine in turkey |
Being one of the most ancient lands that produced wine, Turkey has still lots of flavors for wine lovers.
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| Cyprus |
My reviews after this first visit. After 2004. This review is only about the north - Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.
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| click for more ... |
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My Selections
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The below are my own selections from Turkish wines. They're not expensive and high quality but they have good quality with affordable prices.
 Yakut / Kavaklidere
15 USD
Carignan, Alicante, Okuzgozu, Bogazkere
I think, it's the most price effective product available in Turkey.
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 Cankaya / Kavaklidere
15 USD
Emir, Narince, Sultaniye
"Cankaya" is the optimum white wine for its price.
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 Villa Doluca Neo / Doluca
12 USD
Kalecik Karasi, Okuzgozu, Bogazkere
It's a good quality, full flavored red wine.
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 Cumartesi / Kayra
6 USD
Cinsault, Gamay, Alicante
Very cheap, yet quality red wine.
Also has White and Rose variations.
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Bilgin Esme, September 2007
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