Discovering Turkish Red Wine
Wine is like a box of chocolates ….
Ever had a bottle of wine and found yourself totally clueless as to what to expect? This is how I felt after receiving two bottles of Turkish wine for Christmas from friends. Turkey is not quite a hot viticultural region and I have never noticed any Turkish wines in any of the wine stores I frequent. Needless to say, we whipped up a delicious meat and cheese lasagna, accompanied by an Italian dressed salad and Mediterranean black olive bread and sought out to discover a little about this Turkish red wine.
Review: The Kavaklidere Yakut is a light bodied blend consisting of Öküzgözü, Carignan and Boðazkere; all native to Turkey I believe. The wine presents itself quite well, displaying a beautiful deep garnet color. The nose is rather ample, offering earthy and red fruit aromas, namely cherry. On the palate this wine has a light weight to it, but offers bright acidity, subtle, but not particularly unpleasant tartness and a nice concentration of fresh fruit. I would offer this as a food pairing wine because the tannins are rather firm, but not overpowering. The wine finishes short, but has enough character and allure to entice you into another swirl, sniff and sip.
This wine retails for less than $8 and while it cannot be found in most wine stores, it can be obtained from local Turkish stores here in Northern Virginia . I will reply to this post with the names and addresses of a few of the local stores if anyone wants to grab a bottle. For the price, it is a nice bottle to discover with a weekday meal.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
