Turkish Wine Selection - Kelly's Picks!
- Andrea Lemieux
- Aug 2
- 3 min read
We are beyond excited to have Kelly Voelkel join Fine Turkish Wine as our Sales Manager. His experience working in restaurants, managing wine bars, and working in and for wineries, domestic and international, has allowed him to develop savvy sales strategies and a great palate.
A relative newcomer to Turkish wine, he’s already in love with much of our stock! So, we asked him to give us his three favorites for our August Turkish Wine Selectıon.
Kelly’s first pick is a wine about which he says: “I know you’re not supposed to have favorite children, but I’m in love with it.”
Hard to find higher praise than that!
From family-run winery, Kuzubağ, this blanc de noir is just one of the Çal Karası wines the Kuzu family has created. Their work with this grape and involvement in the regional wine route, Çal Bağ Yolu, are part of their bid to raise the reputation of the Çal region from which the grape takes its name.
Tasting Notes: Aromatics leap from the glass as spring wildflowers merge with juicy notes of stone fruit and vibrant lemon zest. Elevated acidity and grapefruit notes give freshness and drive. Ripe white peach and green plum offer juicy fruit depth. Subtle tannins lend structure, while saline minerality persists for a fresh finish.
“...drinking so well right now.”
Just in time for the hot summer comes this pick from Kelly: Roze by Odrysia. A blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from Odrysia’s estate vineyards, the grapes were whole cluster pressed, creating a serious, weighty rosé that’s nice to sip on its own, but also pairs well with a variety of dishes and cuisines, even those with big overpowering flavors, a unique feature making this wine truly standout among rosés!
Tasting Notes: Bold and refreshingly elegant. A fuller-bodied rose with versatile complexity. Robust flavors of plum, red berries, are expressed with a dried fruit character. A warm earthy depth provides a savory appeal, while strong acidity and gentle tannins provide balanced textural depth for a long and lingering finish.
“Houston is hotter than … in the summer and we need reds we can put a chill on.”
Kelly’s final pick comes from family-run winery Arda Wines. This is a particularly special wine from this winery, located in northeastern Thrace, near Turkey’s border with Bulgaria and Greece. The Kuşlu (koosh-loo) Cabernet Franc represents a cooperation between the Saç family behind the winery, and Süleyman Er, owner of Istanbul’s most popular wine bar. While the Saç family makes and bottles the wine, the grapes come from Er’s vineyards located in the historic town of Ganos on the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara - an area with a winemaking tradition dating as far back as the 10th century.
Tasting Notes: Perfect for a Texas barbeque! Bursting with pronounced fresh jalapeños and beautiful green pepper, ripe red cherry, plum and toasty oak. This wine is wonderfully unique with intense jalapeño flavors of spicy and zesty herbaceousness, balanced beautifully with pleasing acidity, silky tannins and juicy black fruits. Ready to enjoy now, but could also flourish with age. Pair with deep flavors of many cuisines, from Turkish İskender to spicy Latin dishes, and of course, a Texas barbeque!
You can enjoy and purchase each of these wines at the Fine Turkish Wine Bottle Shop + Tasting Room, located in Houston's Montrose District at 1909 Dunlavy Street.
Andrea Lemieux is an international wine expert with particular expertise in Turkish Wine. She is the author of The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine, the world's only comprehensive English language book on Turkish wine, and she is the founder of The Quirky Cork blog which is dedicated largely to Turkish wine.
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