Satisfaction

A few days ago I had dinner with friends. One of them told me that he never drinks wine or very rarely white wine. 

As an aperitif we drank Turasan Rose 2009. At dinner we had red wine, Seneler Öküzgözü 2007.

The friend drunk both of them. Was it courtesy or did he really appreciate?

Well, yesterday, I learned that now, in restaurant, he orders the Turasan Rose instead of raki. It gives me a great satisfaction and gratitude for all the work done by the Turasan team.  

Thank you! 

The price of wine in Turkey

In Ürgüp, our tasting cellar is a great opportunity for us. We receive you customers every day and it gives us a chance to discuss with you. You give us your opinion about the wines, which allows us to improve each year.

One of the most common subjects is the price of wine. You know there are high taxes, it's not a big news, but one should know that there is a considerable work behind a bottle. For example, we are just starting to sell our Turasan Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. We started working in this Cabernet’s vineyard in 2007 and we are in 2010. Three years of work and investment for this wine...

What I don't understand is the strategy of some restaurants that heighten by 5 or 6 the price of a bottle of wine. By doing this discourages customers, so that they prefer drink water or beer ... It's a pity, because the wine goes so well with the Turkish food... 

I would like to give you two examples of splendid hotels and restaurants practicing very reasonable prices especially for the wines. 

One is located in Uçhisar in Cappadocia : Sira Hotel, one of whose owners, Murat Yanki, is a winelover and is specialized in wine tourism. http://hotelsira.com/

The other one is located in Finike (not far from Antalya) : "Villa Hotel L’Orangeraie," whose owners are French lovers of Turkey. http://orangeraie-de-finike.com/  

They are not the only ones, but are unfortunately rare. I thank them because they highlight a part of the Turkish gastronomy, the wine. 

The wine and the seasons

The wine is not considered as a classic food and fortunately, because it is so different!

When you drink a soda, a beer or eat yogurt, they always have the same taste. Whether in January, the spring or September.

For wine, it's totally different. It lives and evolves with time, seasons, weather ...

Now with the spring coming, the weather warms, vegetation slowly wakes up and wines are opening. They are more aromatic and taste better and better.

We are just beginning to sell our Turasan Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. Let's talk about it :

The color is intensely black. It presents a first nose of truffle, dark chocolate and juniper berry. Then it expresses hints of pepper and fruit such as blackberries, wild strawberries and discreet touches of vanilla and toast.

The attack in mouth is powerful with a nice body. We find flavors of black fruit and spices on the palate.

It is a red wine that goes very well with all red meats and meat sauces. For the more curious of you, try this Cabernet-Sauvignon with a chocolate dessert...

Turkish Premium wines

On Monday, I was in Istanbul with Hasan Turasan and other representatives of fifteen Turkish wineries.

Seven famous journalists came from UK to taste Turkish wines. It is a very important event. Thanks to them we have the opporunity to let know Turkish wines abroad and show to the world the incredible progress that wineries have made in recent years.

This day was also for us, wine producers, the opportunity to taste wines produced by the other Turkish wineries. It is a very interesting and rewarding exercise. I was surprised by a lot of wines. Most of the wines are complex and rich but really overoaked! A good wine is not necessarily a wooded wine and the best wines in the world allow the expression of the grape varieties and the terroir(s). Unfortunately many Turkish wines are masked by the wood they are made up... Hopefully this trend will decrease with the time...