Discover the Roots of Wine

 DISCOVER THE ROOTS OF WINE

 

Discover the Roots – Inaugural Wines of Turkey Conference & Tasting 2011

 

Thursday 24 February 2011

 

First-ever such event on Turkish wines in London

Turkey touted as possible birthplace of wine

 

London, UK, 4th December 2011  – Leading international wine experts, historians, DNA experts and viticulturalists will be at Vinopolis for a special conference andtrade and press tasting organised by Wines of Turkey on Thursday 24 February 2011.  The aim is to launch Turkish wines into the British market and discuss the evidence that points to Turkey as being the possible birthplace of wine.  Turkey is part of a region where wine-making has a very long history and where it possibly originated by at least 7000 B.C. With the world’s fourth largest grape-growing area, it produces many excellent wines using indigenous grapes such as Emir and Narince for whites; and for reds, Kalecik Karasi, Okuzgozu and Bogazkere that deserve to be better and more widely known.  According to Dr. Patrick E. McGovern, the author of Uncorking the Past (2010): “You might say that we were looking for the vinicultural Garden of Eden.  The eastern Taurus, Caucasus, and northern Zagros mountains have long been considered the world center of the Eurasian grape: this is the area where the species shows its greatest generic variation and consequently where it might have been first domesticated.  It is also becoming increasingly clear, as we pursue our combined archaeological and chemical investigations, that the world’s first wine culture – one in which viniculture, comprising both viticulture and winemaking, came to dominate the economy, religion and society as a whole – emerged in this upland area by at least 7000 B.C."  Hot on the heels of Turkish wines' recent successes at the 2010 London International Wine Fair, where they scooped numerous medals and awards, 'Discover the Roots – Inaugural Wines of Turkey Conference & Tasting 2011' for trade and press will include talks, Q&A sessions, tastings and masterclasses with: 

• Dr Patrick E. McGovern, Scientific Director, Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory,  University of Pennsylvania Museum, and Adj. Professor (Anthropology)
• Jancis Robinson OBE MW, The Financial Times and jancisrobinson.com
• Dr Jose Vouillamoz, Grape Geneticist, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
• Prof. Dr Gokhan Soylemezoglu, Professor of Viticulture, Department of Horticulture, Ankara University
• Writer, broadcaster and consultant on food & drink Kevin Gould moderating as Chairman

 Masterclasses with: 

• Tim Atkin MW, wine writer and broadcaster
• Charles Metcalfe, wine writer and broadcaster

 

The Wines of Turkey conference and tasting is free to attend for all trade and press.  For further information and to view the program online please visit www.winesofturkey.org  For press registration and accreditation for the conference, tasting and/or one of the masterclasses, please email winesofturkey@redmintcomms.co.uk or call +44 (0) 207745 7255 by Friday 11 February 2011. www.winesofturkey.orgwww.vinopolis.co.uk