Discover Boğazkere: Turkey’s Bold Indigenous Grape Variety

Characteristics of the Boğazkere Grape

Grape Characteristics

• Appearance: Boğazkere grapes are medium-sized, round, and dark-skinned, almost black.
• Skin Thickness and Tannins: The grape’s thick skin contributes to its high tannin levels, giving the wine its strong structure.
• Acidity and Sugar Levels: It retains moderate acidity even in warm climates, balancing its tannic nature, while its sugar levels make it suitable for producing wines with moderate to high alcohol content.
• Aroma and Flavor Profile: Boğazkere wines are known for intense aromas of dark fruits like blackberries, plums, black cherry, and dried figs, accompanied by earthy and spicy notes such as tobacco, leather, and black pepper. With age, these wines can develop smoky and chocolate-like nuances.

Key Challenges and Considerations

• High Tannin Levels: Managing Boğazkere’s naturally high tannins is crucial to producing a balanced wine. Winemakers often use extended aging or blending with softer varieties to achieve harmony.
• Balancing Acidity and Sweetness: Finding the right balance between acidity and residual sugar is another challenge, as excessive tannins can overpower the wine’s fruit character if not managed properly.
• Aging Potential: Boğazkere’s robust structure gives it great aging potential, with well-made wines capable of improving over 5 to 10 years or more, developing complex tertiary flavours over time.

Boğazkere Wine Styles

Classic Boğazkere

• Characteristics: Classic Boğazkere wines are known for their deep, dark colour, strong body, and high tannins, delivering intense flavours and strong aromas of black fruits, dried red fruits, spices, and earthy notes.
• Food Pairings: These bold wines pair well with rich, hearty dishes like grilled meats, game, lamb kebabs, and aged cheeses, as their tannic structure cuts through the fat and enhances the flavours.

Rosé Boğazkere

• Characteristics: Rosé wines made from Boğazkere are lighter in colour with fruity aromas of strawberries, cherries, and pomegranate. They are refreshing with a lively acidity, making them perfect for summer sipping.
• Food Pairings: Rosé Boğazkere pairs beautifully with Mediterranean salads, seafood, and light mezze dishes.

Other Styles

• Fortified Wines: Boğazkere’s high tannins and concentrated flavours make it suitable for fortified wine production, creating rich and intense dessert wines.
• Sparkling Wines: While rare, some producers experiment with sparkling Boğazkere, offering a unique take on this tannic grape.
• Blends with Other Varieties: Boğazkere is often blended with other indigenous grapes like Öküzgözü to soften its tannic grip and create balanced, approachable wines.

Viticultural Aspects

• Climate and Soil Preferences: Boğazkere thrives in the warm, semi-arid climate of Eastern Anatolia, preferring well-drained, calcareous soils. It is drought-resistant, making it suitable for regions with limited rainfall.
• Vine Growth Habits: This varietal has vigorous vines with a tendency to grow upright, requiring careful management to control its growth. Boğazkere responds well to spur pruning, which encourages lower yields for concentrated flavours.
• Yield Potential and Pruning Techniques: While capable of producing high yields, quality-focused growers limit production to enhance flavour intensity and tannin concentration. Spur pruning and green harvesting are common techniques used.

Winemaking with Boğazkere

Harvesting

Boğazkere grapes are usually harvested in late September or early October when the tannins have fully developed, but the grapes retain enough acidity to balance the wine. Manual harvesting is often preferred to ensure careful selection of the best-quality grapes.

Winemaking Processes

• Red Wine Production: After harvest, Boğazkere grapes undergo maceration to extract colour and tannins from the skins. Fermentation typically occurs at controlled temperatures to preserve the wine’s rich aromas, followed by aging in oak barrels, which helps soften the tannins and add complexity. The high acidity of Boğazkere wines enhances their flavour profile and aging potential, making them suitable for pairing with robust dishes and aged cheeses.
• Rosé Wine Production: Boğazkere is also used to create vibrant rosé wines by limiting skin contact time during fermentation. The resulting wines are lighter in colour with fruity aromas and refreshing acidity.
• Other Potential Wine Styles: Although primarily used for red and rosé wines, Boğazkere can also be used in fortified wines or as a base for blends with other varieties, particularly to enhance structure and complexity.