In a recent Turkish Wine Masterclass organised by the Delhi Wine Club. I got an opportunity to learn about some wonderful wines of Türkiye. In this post I talk about one of such wines – Kastro Tireli Bornova Misketi.
This Masterclass on Türkiye Wines was conducted by Tûba Yargic de Wilde, a certified aspirant sommelier who is the spouse of a senior diplomat in India.
The speaker first gave an overview of the Turkish Wine Industry and explained about the various wine regions of Türkiye.
Although Türkiye is a vast country however the winemaking here exists in various pockets spread over the vast fabric of its land. The major wine regions are East Thrace and Marmara, Aegean, Central Anatolia and South Eastern Anatolia.
Kastro Tireli Winery
As the name suggests, this wine is produced by the winery named Kastro Tireli. Let me break down its name for you. It consists of two words – Kastro and Tireli.
Kastro in Kastro Tireli means a Castle in Turkish language. The story behind this goes back to ancient times when the city where the winery is located used to be surrounded by high walls of white colour, which gave it a look of a castle. Infact the present name of this city is Akhisar which also means a White Castle.
Tireli is the name of the family which has owned the land where the vineyards are located since a long time. Hence the words Kastro Tireli.
Aegean Wine Region of Türkiye
Talking about the wine region, this wine comes from the Aegean Wine Region located in the western part of Türkiye.
This region produces about 52.7% of Turkish wines. Whereas its climate is Mediterranean on the coast, however as we move inside towards Türkiye mainland, it gets more continental.
Hermos Borgova Misketi
Bornova Misketi is grown around and near Izmir in the Aegean region. Its grapes are medium-sized with a pinkish in colour when ripened.
This wine is made with 100% Bornova Misketi organic grapes. After a long skin maceration for 44 days the grape must is fermented with indigenous yeasts and bottled with minimal filtration. The resulting wine displays a deep amber-gold in the glass.
A highlight of the evening was that it was attended by a large number of diplomats and their families with the Distinguished Guest being the Hon’ble Ambassador of Türkiye to India.
Although His Excellency doesn’t drink wine but being a major Turkish event, he made it a point to be present for some while.
In a kind and thoughtful gesture, the Ambassador sent across Mezze prepared by the Turkish Chef at his home and this paired very well with the Bornova Misketi wine during the masterclass.
Well, that was my experience of tasting this beautiful wine from Türkiye. I do hope that you liked this blog post as much as I loved writing it. Do share your views and comments.
Cheers !!
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