Turkish Winery Kayra Added to Hallgarten Portfolio
Hallgarten has added Turkey to its country portfolio in the shape of forward-thinking Turkish producer Kayra.
“When I first tasted the wines at the Emerging Regions tasting in 2015 I found them to be modern, well-made wines that truly reflected these unique, different and interesting grape varieties. And when I visited the winery in Turkey I was impressed by the very modern set-up. It was spotless and run by an excellent, enthusiastic young winemaking team,” says Hallgarten’s Head of Buying Steve Daniel.
Kayra has vineyards and wineries in both Sarköy & and Anatolia’s Elazig. Experienced Californian winemaker Daniel O’Donnell has been working with the winery for the last 10 years, helping it towards its goal of reintroducing indigenous Turkish varietals from Anatolia (widely regarded as the birthplace of wine) to the global wine world.
“We want to be known for producing wines worthy of the next generation of Turkish winemakers and are working hard towards this goal,” explains Kayra Wines’ MD Gözdem Gürbüzatik.
Kayra has put considerable investment into research of Anatolia’s indigenous grape varieties (including Narince, Kalecik Karasi, Öku¨zgözu¨, Bogazkere) as the team believes they can produce great wines.
Hallgarten is kicking off with eight Kayra wines, seven of which are indigenous varietals. Steve Daniel explains, “With Turkish food becoming ever more popular, these wines are a great fit for the UK market. And as the wines are so well-made and offer some interesting flavours, they are in fact ideally suited to any restaurants offering a Mediterranean based cuisine. I think they will appeal to Sommeliers too; the Narince white goes particularly well with Asian cuisine, and the Öku¨zgözu¨ is a little like a Turkish take on Malbec and is great with grilled meats.”
The Kayra wines now available to the UK On and Off-Trade include:
- Beyaz Kalecik Karasi 2015
- Narince 2014
- Öküzgözü 2013
- Buzbag Rezerv 2012
- Kayra Kalecik Karasi 2014
- Buzbag Öküzgözü-Bogazkere 2014
- Buzbag Emir-Narince 2015
- Shiraz 2013
