Wine Oh Wine Club Gets a Taste of Turkish Wine
When you think of international wine Turkish wine might not be the first that comes to mind. So it might surprise you to find that wine historians believe that wine-making actually originated in this part of the world.
With some evidence suggesting wine was a part of Turkish life as far back as 6,000 years ago. Yet, even with it’s ancient wine roots the Turkish wine industry is still very young. Turkey starting producing wine in 1925 as a symbol of the nation’s modernization and westernization.
In this video, the women of the Wine Oh Wine Club taste the 2011 Karmena Red Blend. This affordable and approachable wine is an excellent introductory wine for beginners looking to learn about and taste Turkish wines. Thanks to its approachability and versatility this Turkish wine pairs well with a variety of cuisines.
Founded in 1958, Diren’s focus has been on the indigenous Turkish varietals. Karmena Red is a blend of 5 grapes indigenous and international wine grapes: 35% Okuzgozu (Oh-couscous–zoo), 30% Syrah, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Bogazker (Bow-aahz-keh-reh). Okuzgozu grape lays a framework of luscious red fruits in the wine, with Bogazkere providing tannin and backbone. Cabernet Sauvignon gives body to the wine, Syrah adds some spiciness, and then Merlot rounds it out.
California Wine Oh’s can buy this wine for $14 on Amazon.com everyone else can go to vinorai.com for more information.
Wine Oh Wine Club Wine Tasting & Wine Pairings
Wine Tasted: Diren: 2011 Karmena Red Blend
Price: $14
Perfume Pairing: By Kilian — Back to Black Aphrodisiac
Music Pairing: “I Would For You” by Jane’s Addiction
Food Pairing: Meze Plate
Diren Winery
Diren Winery is located in the northern part of Turkey and has been presenting quality wines of Anatolia, predominantly from Tokat region, for over 50 years.
Diren was founded in 1958 by Mustafa Vasfi Diren, who found his love for wine making nearly two decades ago. He continued to learn and perfect the crafts of viticulture and vinification until 1985, when his son Ali Diren took over the reins at the winery, keeping it in the family, and continuing to carry the legacy of one of Turkey’s oldest wineries.
As an established and seasoned winery, Diren is known in its domestic market for its eclectic collection of indigenous varietals. The winery takes great pride in producing wine from these rare, native grape varieties and presenting them for international wine lovers. By boasting a large portfolio of indigenous varietals, the Diren wines are a natural complement to Mediterranean flavors such as lamb, kebabs and fish. The wines are known to be inspiring as European chefs and sommeliers alike have found surprising and delightful pairings when presented with the wines of Diren. You can find Diren in the top restaurants of Western Europe and now in the United States as well.
Wine Oh Wine Club
What’s the Wine Oh Wine Club you wonder? Well, it’s kind of like a book club for wine. I thought it might be fun to get a group of wine loving gals with different tastes and perspectives together to drink some wine and share their thoughts on it based on their different backgrounds.
In this episode of the Wine Oh Wine Club we are joined by Gianna a.k.a Momma Wine Oh, Chasta a.k.a Rockin’ Wine Oh, Mary a.k.a Fashionista Wine Oh, Laura a.k.a Foodie Wine Oh and of course Monique a.k.a Wine Oh Wine Oh:) Through the course of the wine video series you can be sure that we will taste red wine, white wine, sweet wine, dry wine, sparkling wine and lets not forget Champagne!
We would also love for you to get involved and join our fun and wine filled community, so grab a bottle of the wine we tried in this video and let us know what you think! Or if you find a wine you want us to feature in the Wine Oh Wine Club please share that with us as well! Give us your feedback in the comments section below, on Facebook, Twitter. If you want to host your own Wine Oh Wine Club at home and share your thoughts with us even better!
If you would like to submit a wine to be considered for the Wine Oh Wine Club here is our Sample Policy: http://wineoh.tv/sample-policy.
Monique Soltani/Wine Oh Wine Oh
Wine Oh TV Founder and Host Monique Soltani is a seasoned journalist with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism and American Studies and well over a decade of experience working as a broadcaster. Most recently, you may have seen Monique reporting on weather and wine for The Weather Channel. She has a certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers, is an experienced wine judge, and has interviewed at least two hundred winemakers, dozens of top chefs, and A-list celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson.
Monique is passionate about telling people’s stories and created Wine Oh TV to share her love of wine, journalism and television with the world. For over five years Monique has been covering the wine scene in California and around the world.
Gianna Franco/Momma Wine Oh
Gianna Franco currently lives in the Bay Area and is the Host of the popular Blog the Can Do Divas. She is also the afternoon Sports Update Anchor on 95.7 FM, The Game, with “Bucher & Towny.” When she is not delivering breaking sports news and commentary you can find her on KPIX CBS-5 as a Fill-in Traffic Reporter and as a Sideline Reporter for Comcast Hometown Network. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, music, reading, and watching movies with her Husband Pete, son Falcon, Step-kids Geddy & Lila and pups Oscar & Mayer.
Chasta Michaelis/Rockin’ Wine Oh
Chasta is a small town girl from Oklahoma with a passion for the “big city.” She moved to California at age 21 to pursue her dreams of radio and TV. After living in LA for 5 years she relocated to Northern California where she married her rockin’ drummer husband, Jay. She now resides in San Francisco and you can hear her daily on “The Lamont & Tonelli Show” on 107.7 The Bone. She also hosts the blog Can Do Divas with her best friend Gianna.
Laura Oppenheimer/Foodie Wine Oh
Laura is a startup marketer by day and frequent patron of San Francisco’s best restaurants by night. She’s previously written for Chicagoist, Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times. She strongly believes sparkling wine is for the everyday, not just special occasions.
Mary Orlin/Fashionista Wine Oh
Mary lives in wine country – the Silicon Valley wine country that is. A Certified Sommlier and WSET Advanced certified, she blends wine and perfume with style on her blog WineFashionista, and travels the world in search of great wine and fragrance.
She is the wine writer for the San Jose Mercury News and Bay Area News Group. Mary has also contributed to Napa Sonoma Magazine, Edible Silicon Valley, Palate Press, Diablo and Grape Collective. In addition Mary is a James Beard and Emmy award winning TV producer. She was the Executive Producer on the NBC show In Wine Country, the longest running wine TV show.
