Sevilen İsabey · Türkiye's Aegean
The Aegean& Sauvignon Blanc
How a French grape found a home on Türkiye's Aegean coast, the place that shapes it, and the long, unhurried table it was made for.
Özdere, Menderes · İzmir
The grape
Sauvignon Blanc, at home in Türkiye
Sauvignon Blanc comes from France, where it made its name in the Loire Valley and Bordeaux. It is loved for what it keeps: high natural acidity and a fresh, aromatic character of citrus, green herbs and cut grass.
In Türkiye it has become one of the country's most popular white grapes, planted from Thrace and the Marmara down through the Aegean. Jancis Robinson notes that Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc make good wine in Türkiye when grown high enough, and names Sevilen as an example.
Sevilen grows it in two settings: at İsabey, near the sea south of İzmir, and at around 900 metres on the Güney plateau inland, home of their 900 Fumé Blanc. At İsabey the sea breeze helps the grapes hold on to their bright acidity.
- Origin
- Loire Valley and Bordeaux, France
- The name
- From the French sauvage (wild) and blanc (white)
- In Türkiye
- Grown in Thrace, the Marmara and the Aegean
- Family tree
- With Cabernet Franc, a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon
In the glass: Sevilen İsabey
- Lemon
- Citrus peel
- Lemon blossom
- White flowers
- Cut grass
Pale lemon and remarkably crisp, with the vivid, grassy profile Jancis Robinson singled out in the Financial Times. Light enough to pour by the glass, with enough lift to stand up to olive oil, lemon and the grill.
The Aegean
Türkiye's wine heartland
Vines have grown in Anatolia for thousands of years, and the Aegean has long been at the centre of it. In the late 1800s, when phylloxera destroyed Europe's vineyards, Aegean ports shipped more wine to Europe than all of Türkiye makes today.
Now the region, centred on İzmir, Manisa and Denizli, makes more than half of the country's wine. On the coast the climate is Mediterranean, with hot summers, mild winters and steady sea winds. Inland the land climbs to high plateaus where cooler nights slow the ripening.
- Menderes, İzmirHome of Sevilen's İsabey vineyard, in the village of Gölcükler, close to the sea.
- UrlaA peninsula west of İzmir whose boutique wineries formed the Urla Wine Route in 2016.
- Çeşme & AlaçatıStone houses, old windmills and summer tables that spill onto the street.
- Güney, DenizliA plateau at around 900 metres, where Sevilen grows its cooler-climate wines.
- 50%+of Türkiye's wine is made in the Aegean region
- ~150 mcoastal vineyards around İzmir, under a maritime climate
- ~900 mvineyards on the inland plateau, with cooler continental nights
- 1942Sevilen founded; the family's third generation runs it today
The table
Wine and the Aegean way of life
On the Aegean, dinner is long and shared. Meze arrive a few plates at a time: vegetables cooked in olive oil, wild herbs, white cheese, beans, grilled octopus. The table stays full for hours, and nobody is in a hurry to leave.
Rakı is the traditional partner, but the crisp whites made along this coast suit meze just as well. Their acidity cuts through olive oil and lifts lemon, herbs and seafood. In towns like Urla and Alaçatı, a cold glass of white by the water is as much a part of the evening as the sunset.
- Grilled sea bass or breamlemon, olive oil, sea salt
- Octopus and calamarigrilled or lightly fried
- Zeytinyağlı mezevegetables cooked in olive oil, served cool
- White cheese and melonthe classic meze opener
- Fava and artichokeswith dill and lemon
- Herb salads and goat cheeserocket, purslane, samphire
Serve Well chilled, 8–10°C (46–50°F). A natural by-the-glass white for meze and seafood menus.
From İsabey to your wine list
Sevilen İsabey Sauvignon Blanc
A standout white: remarkably crisp, with a vivid, grassy Sauvignon Blanc profile.
As praised by Jancis Robinson MW · Financial TimesImported direct by Kalara Corp from Sevilen, a family winery founded in 1942. Ask us for trade pricing and samples for your restaurant, bar or shop.
Photography via Unsplash: Kaan Uğrasız (Özdere), Jason Steele (grapes), Mehmet Uzut (Çeşme), Büşra Salkım (Alaçatı), Sophia Sideri (wine by the sea).