Established in 2002 by wine and beer importer Seyit Karagözoğlu, Paşaeli is, in my opinion, one of Turkey’s most valuable wineries. More than just creating quality wine, Paşaeli is of the Turkish wineries making huge efforts to revive rare and dying grape varieties.
While Paşaeli does turn out a couple of the Bordeaux-style blends that are endlessly popular in Turkey. I’ve had the Kaynaklar and K2 blends several times and they’re very good. But the heart and soul of this winery are the grapes you’ve never heard of. A big believer in growing things where they are native, Karagözoğlu set about collecting vineyards where Turkey’s native grapes thrive naturally. Paşaeli has vineyards in Şarköy, Hoşköy, Kaz Dağlar, and Çal where they cultivate native Sultaniye, Çalkarası, Karasakiz, and Yapıncak as well as extremely rare varieties like Sidalan, Kolorko, and Çakal.
Yapıncak has a nickname: Kınalı Yapıncak which means “hennaed Yapıncak” because this golden-green grape often develops copper colored spots. Maybe that little bit of extra color makes its especially suited for color extraction? In any case, Paşaeli’s Old Vine Yapıncak, which comes from vines at least 50 years old, underwent nine days of maceration. The resulting color was not orange orange, but more the color of straw baked under an August sun.