BLOG: Turkish Wine In Hong Kong


 

In a new wine market like Hong Kong Turkish wine has so much room to grow despite fierce competitions with other Mediterranean wine. Local wine lovers in general want to experience pleasure by discovering new wine tastes and styles.

 
With the presence of our Turkish wine brand Kavaklidere (http://www.kavaklidere.com/) in HK for more than four years now, we traveled to several regions of Turkey: Cappadocia, Anatolia, Istanbul and Turkey's capital Ankara where Kavaklidere's headquarter is based, to get our hands dirty and to learn about the local viticulture at its individual wineries where native grapes are grown. 
 
Ankara
Kavaklidere Pendore Winery
There are multiple wineries/labels under the umbrella of Kavaklidere, which includes Pendore, Prestige, Egeo, Cote d'Avanos and Ancyra. All of which are famous for growing and making indigenous grapes. If you have been to one of the wine exhibitions in HK before, then you have probably heard of and tasted the famous Red Kalecik Karasi, Okuzgozu, Bogazkere; and White Narince and Emir. (http://www.winesofturkey.org/category/wine-grape/). All of these are available at our wine shop (whether it's Rose, White, Red or Sparkling): Evercohol Wine Shop.
 
Bogazkere Red Grape at the Pendore Winery

Kavaklidere Winery in Ankara
Cappadocia
Signature grape Kalecik Karasi (known as Pinot Noir) are grown in specific parts of Turkey. It can be used for blend but it's at its best performance when it goes solo. Our favorite Kalecik Karasi comes from one of the oldest wineries in Turkey KOCABAG (Trip Advisor). 
 
Cave Hotel in Cappadocia
Located in Cappadocia this high desert plateau in central Anatolia played a major role in ancient winemaking KOCABAG is utilizing the geographic advantages of this moon-like land to produce the most delicious, unique red wine. 
 
With Owner Mehmet Erdogan at the KOCABAG Winery 
Despite its very modest appearance, Kocabag winery has become one of the more well known names in the nascent Turkish wine industry, with several tasting rooms spread across Cappadocia and placements on wine lists throughout the country. The winery produces approximately 6700 cases of wine each year, made from only estate-grown grapes. (Source: Vinography)


KOCABAG Kalecik Karasi 2013 and 2015 available in HK
Istanbul
Although we didn't visit any wineries in Istanbul, we discovered so many seafood restaurants and interesting wine shops there. Forget about kebab for a second, Istanbul is truly a seafood paradise, where sardines, sea bass and red mullets are very popular in Aegean regional cuisine. They are cooked or marinated in lime or perfumed olive oil. As for wine, restaurants including the boutique ones normally offer a long list wine choices and interesting selections to challenge your local wine knowledge and to enhance your dining experience. The most common ones you will see on the menus are Kavaklidere, Sevilen and Suvla. 
 
Dinner by the Galata Bridge
So if you want to have a similar experience in Hong Kong, you can pick a bottle (or two) of Turkish Wines (Kavakilidere or Vinkara) from us and bring them to a seafood restaurant with you. 
 
Our recommendations:
 
Red:
 
 
 
 
White: 
 
 
 
Reference:
Author: Cass Lam
- End -