Wine company seeks originality
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Yasemin Sim Esmen
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 13, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - A relative newcomer to Turkey’s wine scene finds it has to offer good quality wine and introduce novel blends in order to stand out. This is the reason why winemaker Franck Peluso has introduced new grape varieties in Idol’s vineyards, midnight harvesting and initiated organic viticulture. Some18 grape varieties have been planted in Idol vineyards
With a double trinity in grape and oak varieties, French winemaker Franck Peluso has set Idol apart from most Turkish wineries with its latest wine brand "Consensus."
The new wine, which brings together shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes aged in French, American, and Middle European oaks, is the latest attempt by young wineries to differentiate in the ever-growing Turkish wine market. The company, which has been experimenting with grape varieties and initiated organic viticulture, has found that the global economic crisis is taking a toll on the Turkish wine industry also. Peluso has made a name for himself in micro-vinification. This complex technique, which the winemaker applied for Idol in the company’s vineries in Torbalı, just outside the Aegean city of İzmir, involves introducing and experimenting with different grapes. "Just to understand how the grapes can give the best of what we want," he said.
Under Peluso’s consultancy, 18 grape varieties have been planted in Idol vineyards. The winemaker planted the main "foreign" varieties of chardonnay, syrah, merlot, and cabernet, and then tried others in smaller quantities. "Then we planted varieties that we can ameliorate with, so that we can get more color, more flavor, or good acidity. The more grape varieties you have, the more complexity you can have."
Three such grapes that were planted for the first time in Turkey are chenin blanc, viognier, and tempranillo. Emre Utku, Idol’s business manager, said wines produced with the new grape varieties would be made in limited volumes. "Because it will take time for people to try and drink wine made with these new grapes," he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Improving quality
When Peluso first started working with Idol, he made several tastings of Turkish wines to understand the wine market in Turkey. "The quality can be much better. I found that 45 percent of bottled wines in Turkey had problems of cork, oxidization, or reduction," he said. "I understand that in Turkey there are many French, Italian, or American winemakers at the moment working to improve the quality."
The winemaker, who teaches in Italy but still maintains his contacts with his homeland France, said he believes the definition of good wine depends on the culture it comes from.
"Take bitterness. French and Italian people like different levels of bitterness [in wine]. According to me, it has got something to do with coffee because Italian people like their coffee very dark. In Turkey you like bitterness; I saw it with [wine made from] Öküzgözü and Boğazkere [grapes], which have very strong and dry tannins. Turks are more tolerant to bitterness," said Peluso. He said the first thing he does, as a foreign winemaker, is to try to get to know the taste buds of the local market. "And then we try to see whether people like dry tannins, more flower, or more fruit, spices, more acidity or less acidity, more balance or less balance."
Utku said he believes the Turkish wine industry has grown a lot in the past decade. "Over time, more wineries have come into the market and more wineries now employ international wine experts. As a result, the market is much more diversified compared to 10 years ago," said Utku.
As a new company in the market since September 2007, Idol has aimed to attain product quality and a distinct position in the marketplace.
"There is not much point in producing another cabernet sauvignon. But through organic viticulture, different varieties, and original concepts such as Consensus, you can differentiate yourself," said Utku. The global economic crisis has started taking a toll on wine consumption in Turkey.
"At the moment, out-of-home consumption is decreasing. People go out less and when they do, they spend less. And usually half of the consumption takes place in restaurants," said Utku, adding that people tend to drink more premium wines in restaurants.
"So we expect premium wine consumption to decrease a bit, but we expect people to drink the same amount of wine. Now restaurants are trying to reduce prices." Utku said this is most reflected to wine companies also when restaurants ask for reductions.nisms for cooperation, and language-related issues.
The consultation comes at a time when print media are in the grip of recession because of falling advertising revenues and are undergoing far-reaching structural changes as the new technologies transform the landscape. According to early estimates, in 2008 advertising revenues have gone down by 3.7 percent in France, 16.12 percent in Spain and 12 percent in Britain.
The new wine, which brings together shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes aged in French, American, and Middle European oaks, is the latest attempt by young wineries to differentiate in the ever-growing Turkish wine market. The company, which has been experimenting with grape varieties and initiated organic viticulture, has found that the global economic crisis is taking a toll on the Turkish wine industry also. Peluso has made a name for himself in micro-vinification. This complex technique, which the winemaker applied for Idol in the company’s vineries in Torbalı, just outside the Aegean city of İzmir, involves introducing and experimenting with different grapes. "Just to understand how the grapes can give the best of what we want," he said.
Under Peluso’s consultancy, 18 grape varieties have been planted in Idol vineyards. The winemaker planted the main "foreign" varieties of chardonnay, syrah, merlot, and cabernet, and then tried others in smaller quantities. "Then we planted varieties that we can ameliorate with, so that we can get more color, more flavor, or good acidity. The more grape varieties you have, the more complexity you can have."
Three such grapes that were planted for the first time in Turkey are chenin blanc, viognier, and tempranillo. Emre Utku, Idol’s business manager, said wines produced with the new grape varieties would be made in limited volumes. "Because it will take time for people to try and drink wine made with these new grapes," he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Improving quality
When Peluso first started working with Idol, he made several tastings of Turkish wines to understand the wine market in Turkey. "The quality can be much better. I found that 45 percent of bottled wines in Turkey had problems of cork, oxidization, or reduction," he said. "I understand that in Turkey there are many French, Italian, or American winemakers at the moment working to improve the quality."
The winemaker, who teaches in Italy but still maintains his contacts with his homeland France, said he believes the definition of good wine depends on the culture it comes from.
"Take bitterness. French and Italian people like different levels of bitterness [in wine]. According to me, it has got something to do with coffee because Italian people like their coffee very dark. In Turkey you like bitterness; I saw it with [wine made from] Öküzgözü and Boğazkere [grapes], which have very strong and dry tannins. Turks are more tolerant to bitterness," said Peluso. He said the first thing he does, as a foreign winemaker, is to try to get to know the taste buds of the local market. "And then we try to see whether people like dry tannins, more flower, or more fruit, spices, more acidity or less acidity, more balance or less balance."
Utku said he believes the Turkish wine industry has grown a lot in the past decade. "Over time, more wineries have come into the market and more wineries now employ international wine experts. As a result, the market is much more diversified compared to 10 years ago," said Utku.
As a new company in the market since September 2007, Idol has aimed to attain product quality and a distinct position in the marketplace.
"There is not much point in producing another cabernet sauvignon. But through organic viticulture, different varieties, and original concepts such as Consensus, you can differentiate yourself," said Utku. The global economic crisis has started taking a toll on wine consumption in Turkey.
"At the moment, out-of-home consumption is decreasing. People go out less and when they do, they spend less. And usually half of the consumption takes place in restaurants," said Utku, adding that people tend to drink more premium wines in restaurants.
"So we expect premium wine consumption to decrease a bit, but we expect people to drink the same amount of wine. Now restaurants are trying to reduce prices." Utku said this is most reflected to wine companies also when restaurants ask for reductions.nisms for cooperation, and language-related issues.
The consultation comes at a time when print media are in the grip of recession because of falling advertising revenues and are undergoing far-reaching structural changes as the new technologies transform the landscape. According to early estimates, in 2008 advertising revenues have gone down by 3.7 percent in France, 16.12 percent in Spain and 12 percent in Britain.