The perfect marriage of wine and food rarely happens however, when it does you feel like royalty. Now imagine this taking place at a Wine Bloggers Conference's (#EWBC) Gala Dinner in Izmir, Turkey. During dinner we were served fabulous cuisine paired with exciting Turkish wines. Many of the wines we tasted were made from Turkey's indigenous grapes, such as Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, Kalecik Karasi, Emir, Misket and Narince.
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| Ready to taste wine at #EWBC Gala Banquet © Spaswinefood |
That special evening at the Swissotel Grand Efes, Izmir the featured wineries included Doluca Winery, Kayra Winery, Kavaklidere Winery, LA Wines, Pamukkale Winery, Selendi Winery, Sevilan Winery, Suvla Winery, Yazgan Winery and Vinkara Winery.
Now let us take a look at the banguet menu.
Welcome Wine
The featured welcome wines were
1) Pamukkale's Trio White 2011 (a blend of Chardonnay, Narince and Sauvignon Blanc) from Güney, Denizli, and
2) Selendi's Gülpembe Rose 2011 (a blend of Grenache, Mourverde, Cinsault, and Syrah) from Akhisar, Manisa.
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| Seafood Trio © Spaswinefood |
Seafood Trio
The Seafood Trio included Pan Fried Scallops, Marinated Sea Bass and Cesme Shrimps Tartar paired with
1) Sevilen's 900 Fume Blanc 2010 from Güney, Denizli, and
2) Vinkara's Doruk Kalecik Karasi 2011 from Kalecik, Ankara.
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| Crispy Duck © Spaswinefood |
Crispy Duck
The Crispy Duck was paired with
1) Suvla's SUR 2010 (a blend of Merlot,Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot), and
2) Kavaklidere's Prestige Öküzgözü 2009 from Öküzgözü, Elaziğ.
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| Filet of Porgy Fish © Spaswinefood |
Filet of Porgy Fish
The fish was paired with
1) Yazgan's Emir 2011from Emir, Cappadocia, and
2) LA's Mon Reve Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc 2010 from Torbali, Izmir.
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| Grilled Bon Filet © Spaswinefood |
Grilled Bon Filet in Herb Crust
The Grilled Bon Filet was paired with
1) Kayra's Kayra Vintage Öküzgözü 2010 from Öküzgözü, Elaziğ, and
2) Pumukkale's Anfora Cabernet Sauvignon from Güney, Denizli.
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| Cotton Candy on Chocolate © Spaswinefood |
Dessert
The chocolate dessert was paired with
1) Doulca's Safir 2010, a Misket from the Aegean, and
2) LA's Passito 2010 a Misket from Torbali, Izmir.
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| A side-by-side tasting of two Turkish Misket's © Spaswinefood |
We were happy to share our table that evening with students from Dijon and new Turkish friends. It was great to make friends over wine discussions.
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Dijon meets Portugal's Port Ambassador © Spaswinefood |
It takes a special team culinary team to pull this off. Special thanks to the Executive Chef at Swissotel Grand Efes and his team.
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| Culinary team, Swissotel Grand Efes, Izmir © Spaswinefood |
Spaswinefood was happy to experience such royal dining. Also, special thanks to Vrazon's leadership team and Wines of Turkey for a great conference.
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| The talented Vrazon team Gabriella, Robert and Ryan © Spaswinefood |
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| Taner Ogutoglu, Wines of Turkey © Spaswinefood |
The Gala Dinner was indeed a royal affair with Turkish Wines. Next morning, it was off to nearby wineries and vineyards. Prior to the Gala Dinner Spaswinefood had taken "flying carpet tour" of Turkey. Along the way we were introduced to Turkey's rich culinary traditions and its wines. Our travels took us to Istanbul, Gallipoli, Canackkale, Troy, Bergama, Kusadasi, Ephesus, Pumakkale, Aphrodisias, Fethiye, Kayakoy, Antalya, Konya, Cappadocia, Ankara areas and of course Izmir. Check out our travels in Turkey and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.
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| Discover The Roots, #EWBC's Conference Theme © Spaswinefood |
Sharon
November 2012
Izmir, Turkey
© Spaswinefood
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