Wine-minded people

Wine is lubricative in convivial gatherings. It is beyond being a drink, it connects people. Wine is a lifestyle for wine-producing communities. However, life can be difficult for small producers and developing countries, let alone for a country like Türkiye, with a predominantly Muslim population, where heavy taxes are implied and restrictions on advertising are in effect. Yet the wine sector is flourishing in Türkiye, with boutique wineries entering the market every single year. These new players are keen on reviving indigenous grape varieties, experimenting with local grapes, and initiating exciting projects to bring new wines with heritage grapes to the table.

At one recent wine event, visitors were amazed by the names of grapes they have never heard of. CMC Challenging Master Classes and walk-around tastings organized by Ayça and Taner Öğütoğlu remain one of the very few events where wine-lovers can discover new wines in the market. This year, the number of novelties was astonishing, and it was tricky for the world-renowned judges Oz Clark (OBE) and Caro Mauer (MW), who had difficulty identifying grapes they taste for the first time. We encountered grapes such as Raşegurnik, Kıttıl Nafs, Gavdoni, Kerküş and Midin Karası for the first time in years. In previous years, we had known grapes such as Patkara, Mazrona, Fersun, Acıkara, Keten Gömlek, Hasandede, Karaoğlan, Kösetevek and Sıdalan. I cannot even attempt to translate most. This revival is immensely exciting and gives hope for the future. Just a brief look at the recent past proves that the first step might well be the start of a great future for certain grapes. Grapes such as Kalecik Karası, is now among the grapes we know the best today, and thinking that it was almost in danger of extinction back in the 1980s, fortunately, revived by the joint efforts of academic Prof. Dr. Sabit Ağaoğlu, and leading wine producer Ali Başman. It is a fact that we have hundreds of grape varieties yet to be put into bottles, many more to be discovered by wine enthusiasts.

To be able to create a revival in local grapes and viticulture by connecting people is of utmost importance, both nationally and internationally. This year, a new project was initiated within the Slow Food movement. The “Slow Wine Coalition” event, organized for the first time, aims at creating a worldwide network in wine-producing countries. The coalition has three main objectives: Environmental sustainability, protection of vineyard landscapes, and social and cultural growth of the rural communities living in the countryside. This last one is particularly important for countries where agricultural land and vineyards are in threat of being lost, with significant demographic declines, where economic and social dynamics force younger generations to migrate to big cities for education and job opportunities, leaving only the elderly behind. This so-called rural flight is the major obstacle in sustaining the wine-making and vine-tending culture, leading to both cultural erosion and loss of heritage landscapes.

In the first year of the Slow Wine Coalition, Türkiye participated as well. Wine experts Sabiha Apaydın Gönenli, Gözdem Gürbüzatik and Umay Çeviker presented a joint talk on the disappearing local grapes of Anatolia. Originally an architect, Umay Çeviker, who first attracted attention with his efforts to revive the Patkara, Sungurlu and Gök grapes, his project on reviving these local grapes received the Geoffrey Roberts award in England in 2015. He is also the representative for Türkiye of the Old Vine Conference Limited, a non-profit company committed to Old Vine wines. Yesterday, they were all presenters at the conference “Root, Origin, Soil” organized by Sabiha Apaydın Gönenli that brought together local and foreign experts on wine and viticulture, where the focus was indigenous grape varieties and the importance of centuries-old vineyards in Anatolia and Thrace. Among other presenters were Sarah Abbot (MW), one of the co-founders of Old Vine Conference, Maddalena Schiavone, Slow Wine director, and Georgian amphora natural winemaking expert Mateja Gravner, Tekirdağ Viticulture Research Institute expert Tamer Uysal, academic Prof. Dr. Elman Bahar and anthropologist Dr. Mark Soileau, and last but not least Ugo Hirsch who re-initiated natural wine making in Türkiye, together with Türkiye’s leading wine producers and brand-new producers who lead the way in reviving old grapes.

There is a saying in Turkish, “Eat the grape, but don’t ask about your vineyard,” meaning “Ask no questions and hear no lies,” but in this case it translates more as its second sense, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Old vineyards and indigenous grapes are gifts to us from our past, an important heritage to safeguard for our future. On the contrary, it’s time to enjoy the grape and also ask about the vineyard, and see the vineyard as a cultural landscape element, as our ties to our past and one of our most important heritage assets. Such events and organizations will hopefully grow and create a wide network bringing the wine-minded people together to help develop rural growth in the countryside. Wine-minded people from all fields, from academia to the producer and from the winemaker to the consumer, are the ones to safeguard this amazing heritage.

Book of the Week: When talking about wine-minded people, I need to mention another two wine-minded authors who created the first oenotourism guide for Türkiye. “Oenotourism Guide to Türkiye,” written by Göknur Gündoğan, wine specialist, cultural management expert, and Murat Yankı, professional tour guide, sommelier and culinary historian, covers vineyard trails and facilities offering fascinating agritourism experiences which can be visited year-round, and gives a brief history of viticulture and winemaking in Anatolia and Thrace. A must-have book for any wine-minded person who lives or visits Türkiye. The book is by Alfa press, written in both Turkish and English, be sure to have one in your library, or better in your car, to hit to road to meet with other wine-minded people.