Top 10 intriguing things about Turkey and its wines
by Jo Diaz | Sep 10, 2015 | Turkey, Wine |
Turkey and its wines
- Right now, Turkey is focused on bridging the gaps between one of the oldest grape growing and wine making regions in the world, by educating the new world about what Turkey has to offer.
- It has an 11,000 year history of winemaking.
- There are more than 800 indigenous grape varieties in Turkey.
- Turkey represents both the oldest world in terms of wine making and the newest in terms of quality wine making.
- Turkey’s unique geography is bridging Asia and Europe, which is the physical location for not only being the cradle for civilizations, but also “this geography represents a unique fauna.”
- It has a biological diversity that is represented by 75 percent of the total number of plant species, which are entirely found in all of of Europe.
- It’s the sixth largest grape growing area in the world (but only using three percent of it with winemaking).
- It’s the original home of Vitis vinifera.
- It’s the oldest civilization with the most diverse cuisine.
- It has unique, indigenous grape varieties.
Had the occasion to have Turkish wine with dinner in Istanbul some years ago. All were under $10 so I asked the wine waiter (yep, old school restaurant – they had one, had maps of regional vineyards – the whole deal) for advice and he recommended on from the top of the Aegean. Very nice and fruity almost a zin-beaujolais sort of wine. No idea what the grape was but would have sold like gangbusters in the USA for under $12 or so. Later on the same trip I was in Athens in a continental restaurant and again, a wine waiter, map etc. So I picked a wine from their side of the border (Thrace?) in the same region figuring that the same vineyards had gone back and forth between the two countries for several thousand years or so….and yes, same clean, fruit. A nice wine again under $10. So I hope then never start planting Bordeaux or Burgundy grapes! By the way both country’s wine waiters knew all about Napa and Sonoma and particularly zinfandel. This was way before internet blogs etc.
Great story, Wine Guy. Thanks for sharing. With 11,000 year history of winemaking, we can learn a lot from this area’s wines. I felt very fortunate to have someone search me out, so I could taste that piece of history. If, however, I had also gone to this region, what stories I could be telling… Like you. I appreciate your weighing in and sharing.