Turkish Wines-global presense by Archaeologous

TURKISH WINE--- Turkish Wine Receives Critical Acclaim
from World-Renowned Wine Experts

News flash! When you are coming to Turkey for your vacation try some wine. Turkish wines have arrived! They now have a firm footing on the global stage.

The Anatolia region (western Turkey area) boasts of wine making dating back to approx.7,000 BC. this is longer than most popular well established wine regions. Turkey is presently the fourth largest wine producing region “in the world” after Spain, Italy and France. So take note if you are traveling to Turkey that Turkish wines are winning awards and notoriety for their excellence and buy some as a souvenir.

It was only in early 2010 that Turkey kicked off an international campaign in London aimed at educating the world on Turkish wines. Plans were made by the group “Wines of Turkey” to present Turkish wines to the world at such prestigious trade events as: The International Wine Challenge (IWC), the ProWein, the London International Wine Fair and Vinexpo.

They offered grand tasting events, testimonies from leading int’l wine experts, historians, viticulturalists and more. For your convenience, here is a list of the wine companies showcased : Büyülübağ, Doluca, Kavaklıdere, Kayra and Vinkara; as well as Bakus, Idol, Kocabağ, Likya, Pamukkale, Paşaeli, Prodom, Selendi, Sevilen, Turasan and Umurbey.

At the London International wine fair (LIWF) the Wines of Turkey scored a coup when they were awarded multitudes of medals and awards in both the International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2010, the world's most prestigious and influential independent wine competitions and the Decanter World Wine Awards 2010. The country’s top grapes, even though perhaps hard to pronounce, are likened to Chardonnay (the Narince) and Pinot Noir ( the Kalecik Karasi).

Turkey has since invited such luminaries in the wine world as: world-renowned wine expert and broadcaster Oz Clarke; Tim Atkin MW, wine critic for The Times and owner of London-based wine school; Charles Metcalfe, broadcaster and founder and co-chairman of the globally prestigious International Wine Challenge; consultant and sommelier David Furer, Caroline Gilby MW, wine writer and critic specializing in Eastern Europe; wine educator and consultant Susan Hulme MW; and wine critic and author Stephen Brook;. They rated the wines in 5 categories: (Outstanding, excellent, good, average, and poor). The results of the 49 Turkish wines tasted were: 9 in Excellent , 37 in good, 3 in Average

Turkish Wines Awarded 'Excellent'
The “Excellent” Turkish wines are: 2008 Kavaklidere Pendore Bogazkere
2009 Kayra Terra Kalecik Karasi Rose
2008 Kavaklidere Pendore Okuzgozu
2008 Kayra Vintage Merlot
2006 Kayra Imperial Öküzgözü Blend
2008 Doluca DLC Grenache
2008 Doluca Kav Tuğra Kalecik Karası
2008 Kavaklıdere Pendore Syrah
2009 Kavaklıdere Egeo Rose
Critic’s comments:
Wine critic Tim Atkin MW also said “Turkish wines are enjoying a timely revival. This historic, but little known wine-producing country has an exciting range of indigenous varieties that deserve to reach a wider audience. I am very impressed by the quality of the best wines, several of which won medals at this year's International Wine Challenge."

Oz Clarke said: “Some of the most exciting Turkish native grapes are the scented but muscular reds, Okuzgozu and Bogazkere, which come from the vineyards in the East and are made into sophisticated, fascinatingly different wines back in cosmopolitan Turkey to the west; whilst the vineyards of Cappadocia are awe-inspiring because of their age and history. Turkish wine is indeed an exciting new world for us all.”

The Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in the UK, Irfan Onal, said: "We're honoured to have hosted such high-profile wine critics in Turkey together with Wines of Turkey as part of our focus on highlighting the country's rich and varied cultural offerings alongside our more general tourism promotions. Our aim is to continue increasing awareness of how much the country has to offer visitors in addition to beach holidays - from wine and cuisine to archaeology, art, film and music; all which reflect its huge cultural heritage of more than 10,000 years."