Zeynep vineyard

One of the Turasan vineyards is located in Ürgüp, Cappadocia at 1,050 meters, so it’s one of the highest vineyards in the world.

This 40 acres parcel is named Zeynep, which is also the name of Hasan Turasan’s daughter. She was born in 2001, creation date of the vineyard. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of May and the temperatures should warm up quickly. This will be good for the Chardonnay’s growth. At this time all the buds have broken and branches started to grow.

 Chardonnay vine at 4 leaves stage

To avoid excessive competition with the vines, every second row has been lightly plowed. The other one is still grassy. 

Thanks to a single pass with the rotovator the grass is slightly buried under a few inches of soil. It will be quickly converted into organic matter.

This practice is very beneficial, because it enriches the soil with organic matter, unpacks it and improves its structure. Water and air circulation is better and the soil life can develop itself more easily (fungi, bacteria, worms...).

We often hear that at least 80% of the quality of a wine comes from the quality of grapes. Well, we can say that 50% of the quality of grapes comes from the soil quality and its proper functioning. The soil must be alive to give good grapes!

For this reason among others, we do not use chemical weed killers in our vineyards. The qualitative result is there: the vines are beautiful; the wines are more and more fruity and balanced. As an extra, it's nice to have small flowers in our vineyard in spring...

Grassy inter-raw and biodiversity

Ladybig on a vine

Turasan Rose 2009

Rose wine is a product that didn't use to be so much drunk in Turkey; but the last two years it has begun to attract and seduce more and more consumers. And that is a very good thing. This wine is both cheap and very easy to drink with many common dishes.

Since the 2007 vintage Turasan produces a Rose wine, blend of Kalecik Karasi and Öküzgözü.
This Rose wine is produced by bleeding. It is the result of a short maceration of the juice with the skins. After only a few hours of maceration, when we get the desired color, the juice is separated from the skins and then vinified like a white wine.


Turasan Rose 2009 is a blend of 65% of Kalecik Karasifrom a vineyard located in Kalecik and35% of Öküzgözü from vineyards in the Elazig region.

 

This wine has a bright pink color with blue hints. Its nose is equally brilliant as its color: grenadine syrup, strawberry, black currant, black cherry and kirsch mingle with more spicy notes of pepper and licorice.

The mouth is a subtle balance between the acidity of 2009 vintage and the natural roundness of the wine. It is expressed by aromas of grenadine syrup, caramel, candied apple and a fruity finish of black currant and strawberry.

Like almost all rose wines, it should be drunk cool within three years. In summer at 6-8 °C, the rest of the year at 8-10 °C.

Öküzgözü 2008

Our Öküzgözü 2008 is available since a few days. This wine was made from a single grape variety: Öküzgözü, and all the grapes come from Elazig region.

 

Öküzgözü means “Bull’s eye” in English . This grape with large berries leads to deep color wines with an intense nose.

The nose is first expressed by typical notes of cherry, black cherry, prune, and then most original flavors of dried apricot and thyme.

The mouth is very round; it combines black currant and cherry jam aromas with more spicy notes of black pepper.

This very fruity red wine will get very well with white meats in sauce or not too spicy red meats.

For red wines, the ideal serving temperature is generally 18-20 ° C. The Öküzgözü 2008 can also be served at a slightly cooler temperature, 16 °C, to highlight the fruit of the grape variety and reduce the perception of spicy notes.

Have a nice tasting!

Springtime in the vineyards

In spring, there's a lot of work in the vineyard. This is especially true in Cappadocia where we do not work at all in winter because of cold and snow. 

To protect the vines from winter frost, they are formed into a mound in autumn. In fact, the plants are covered with soil up to the graft point. 

The weather has now warmed and the vegetation starts to grow. We must remove the mounds to prevent the grafts to free themselves from their rootstocks by doing their own roots. Otherwise it would become susceptible to phylloxera. 

We start with a machine and end up with picks. This allows to liberate the graft and to operate a first weeding on the rows. 

Removing the mounds

Liberating the graft point and weeding in the raw

The inter-row, meanwhile, remains covered. We do not sow, it is a spontaneous weed. So there are many plant species that coexist. It is a way of preserving the environment by promoting biodiversity. The microbial life in the soil is even better and this promotes the soil aeration and a good rooting of the vine. 

This natural weed is maintained as long as it does not exercise a too strong competition with the vine.

Natural weed between the rows

The Chardonnay is an early budding variety. In our vineyards buds are currently breaking. The winter buds have grown and the first green tips are appearing. 

 Chardonnay vine budding

Late budding Cabernet Sauvignon vine is at the stage of “crying”. The sap rise in spring provokes the apparition of these “tears” that drop from the pruned branches (see picture below). 

Cabernet Sauvingnon vine "crying"

Racking barrels

In Cappadocia, spring is beginning and temperatures rise slowly; it is time for a first rack on the barrels.

Last December, after maceration and fermentations, the wines have been sent in casks to start their barrel ageing. This period can last more than a year. Meanwhile the wine changes hugely.

Sometimes, it is necessary to rack these barrels to eliminate the lees that have settled to the bottom and to aerate the wine.
That's what we started to do this week with the barrels of 2009 Syrah. It's a big job because you have to empty the barrels one by one without taking the lees and then move them to be washed with water.

Afterwards, we send steam for twenty minutes to sterilize the barrels.

Then you have to bring them back in the barrel store (chai) and ensure that they are perfectly aligned. As I'm pretty demanding about it we can spend several hours aligning them!!!

Finally, the wine turns back in barrels where it will continue its maturation. But be careful, barrels shouldn't overflow!!!

March weather and vineyard pruning

In March the weather is still uncertain. This year, we had a nasty surprise in Cappadocia. Indeed, in recent weeks, the weather had warmed. The almond and apricot trees were in blossom. But last week the temperature dropped to -5 °C for several nights. Everything froze! In Cappadocia stone fruits harvest will be very poor this year.

The beginning of March was so mild that the vegetation started two weeks earlier than in 2009. The vine buds have not broken yet.

Last saturday we started to prune Zeynep vineyard; it should finish next week. The winter was not very cold in Cappadocia. The wood and buds are in perfect condition. This winter, it rained a lot; soils are well supplied with water. Now, the weather is nice and if we avoid spring frosts very feared in the region, then we can say that 2010 vintage begins well…

In Turkey, the 2008 vintage was very good for red wines. Some of you have already tasted our Cabernet-Sauvignon 2008. Know that Öküzgözü 2008 will be available very soon…

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.