Turkish Wine Sip & Savor at The Lymbar

On August 7, The Lymbar and Fine Turkish Wine co-hosted a night of pairing Turkish wine with Latin Mediterranean fusion food at the restaurant’s Sip & Savor Turkish wine-paired dinner. The result was no less than stunning!

But how do a Turkish wine importer and a Latin-Mediterranean fusion restaurant find each other?

Fusion in Its Highest Form

Much like many of our partner wineries, it’s all about family. Having a Turkish community connection didn’t hurt either! In this case, that connection was restaurant consultant Mark Rudkin, whose stepdaughter happens to be best friends with one of the daughters of the İçsezen family behind Fine Turkish Wine. 

Mark learned about Fine Turkish Wine through his stepdaughter and thought that our wines would be a great fit with the Latin-Mediterranean fusion that The Lymbar represents. He was right.

Creating the Pairings

How do you even begin to pair fusion food, of any sort, with grapes you’ve never heard of and flavor profiles you don’t know? Well…you get to know the wine! 

So Chef David Cordua, the legendary Houston restaurateur behind The Lymbar, visited our shop to sample some of our labels. Rob and Kelly pre-selected about 15 different wines to taste. David, true to form, took his time with the wines and got to know them. And let me tell you, if you've never seen a Le Cordon Bleu Paris trained chef ruminate on wine pairings, it's something to behold!

In the end, Chef Cordua selected four of our wines, one to pair with each course. But, he didn’t select one for dessert. While a pairing was initially not planned for that particular course, Rob and Kelly slipped in the Odrysia Merlot as a last-minute bonus wine. They thought it would pair well with the chocolate (it did!), but they also wanted to show that while Turkey has its own amazing native grapes, winemakers also work with more common international grapes and create beautiful expressions of those as well.

The Menu - Turkish Wine meets its Mate!

Billing it as “a chance to discover why Turkish wine is considered ‘right at the tip of the spear of the wine frontier’,” Chef Cordua created a delightful menu to pair with a selection of our wines:

• Sea Bass Carpaccio: beet, orange, toasted walnut, and a roasted fennel ‘twinkie’ paired with the Odrysia Narince 

  
  

• Pato en Mole Verde: house-cured duck breast, mole pipian, basil, and avocado paired with the Akberg Büyükbağ Osmanca

  
  

• Beef Kofta Taco: on house sourdough flatbread with pickled onion, tzatziki and romesco sauce, cabbage, toasted sesame, and cilantro paired with the Arda Gala Papazkarası

  
  

• Corn Smoked Lambchops: corn and orzo risotto, olive tapenade, roasted tomato, and pesto paired with the Heraki Patkara

  
  

• Dark Chocolate Torte: with goat’s milk caramel, crispy phyllo, pistachio, and pomegranate paired with the Odrysia Merlot

  
  

An Excellent Time Had by All

Turkish Musician: Onur Çiftçi

Throughout the SOLD OUT(!) dinner, guests were treated to the relaxing sounds of Turkish piano player and singer Onur Çiftçi, while Rob, the force behind Fine Turkish Wine commanded the room with his charm and enthusiasm for Turkish wine, walking from table to table engaging with guests, telling stories, and answering all the questions!

Beyond the convivial atmosphere, and most importantly, guests enjoyed Chef Cordua’s creations and the wine pairings. Several members of Houston’s close knit wine community were also in attendance and complimented the wines. 

Good Food + Good Wine = Happiness!

We’re so happy to have been part of this fantastic event! Huge thanks to Chef Cordua, Mark, Onur, the entire team at The Lymbar, and everyone who came. We’re hoping to see many of those same, lovely faces at the Fine Turkish Wine shop, and we look forward to cooperating with The Lymbar again in the future, as well as other fine dining establishments on similar dinners.

If you weren't able to make it to the dinner, never fear! You're always welcome to stop by our shop and pick up some of the wines for yourself!