This document summarizes the story of Resit Soley, a Turkish architect and visionary who purchased vineyards on the small Turkish island of Bozcaada in 1984 to pursue his dream of making world-class wines. Despite skepticism from others, Resit has planted indigenous and European grape varieties across 40 hectares of land, producing high-quality wines under the Corvus Vineyards label in limited quantities. The document highlights three top red wines from Corvus and how the winery is bringing pride and recognition to Turkish winemaking.

1. y most recent journey in
search of fine wine took me to
the arid hillsides of a small
Turkish island called Bozcaada in the
Aegean off the northwest coast. Bozcaada,
with a half-Turkish and half-Greek popu-
lation, is about five miles across the sea
from Troy, a civilization that ceased to
exist thousands of years ago. Bozcaada is
not only important strategically but is also
one of the most important wine-growing
areas in a region where wine has been an
important part of everyday life for cen-
turies.
In 1984 when a young Turkish
architect told his family and friends about
his dream of buying vineyards and making
world-class wines on this small island,
they all thought he had lost his mind! Resit
Soley (R-aa-sheed So-Lay) is a visionary
architect who has been influential in
reshaping the skyline of not only Istanbul
but also the corporate identity of many
Fortune 500 companies in Turkey over the
last 25 years.
Having grown up in a country
struggling for years with its rich cultural
differences, Resit exudes a bold sense of
national pride, especially when it comes to
farming his land and making wine and
olive oil in his beloved Turkey. He
believes in God, nature and land! He
believes that it is his environment that
defines him. He supports the local econo-
my in any way that he can since he firmly
believes that it is the local communities
that are the building blocks of our coun-
tries. If you think he is a strong opponent
of globalization, you are right!
He has planted grapevines on
almost half of the 40 hectares of land he
owns at Corvus Vineyards. Some of the
traditional grapes planted are Vasilaki,
Cavus, Kuntra, Okuzgozu and Bogazgozu.
Resit gets his inspiration locally, both from
the people and the landscape. These days,
he focuses all his attention on making
wines that are comparable to the quality of
the most established wineries in the world.
Grapes indigenous to the island have been
planted as well as vitis vinifera--the
European grapevine such as viognier and
shiraz. Resit truly is making history at
Corvus by welcoming world-renowned
winemakers with every vintage. With a
total production of less than 10,000 cases
WINE
A Turkish Star is Born in the Aegean
Corvus Vineyards Shines with Pride
Daniel Mahdavian
M
77 The Virginia Sportsman Oct/Nov 2007
The rolling hills where Corvus is making wine and history

2. of both red and white wines, and a new
distribution agreement in the works for the
US market, Corvus is likely to be an
overnight cult winery.
Here are my top three favorite
reds from the bright star of Corvus:
2004 Rarum is dark pink in color with
the taste of young vanilla, white chocolate,
a hint of crisp rhubarb and crunchy pink
radish just picked from the garden. The
lingering lavender and rosemary oil
essence in the bouquet of this wine
seduces the nose and calms the nerves.
With a mouthful of delightful dried red
currants and blueberries, who needs any-
thing to eat with this dry wine?
2004 Blend No.1 is a dry red wine that
is a blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon,
malbec, merlot, cabernet franc and kar-
alahna. Its young exotic vanilla bouquet
reminds me of a young lover’s passionate
scent on the first date, only intensified by
the wine’s ripe red burlesque cheeks--a
labor-of-love sort of a gift from Resit that
will offer a different percentage of each
individual grape variety used year after
year. This is a precious wine for the collec-
tor at heart.
2004 Corpus is the grand dame of the
Corvus wines, and it does express just that.
It is big and bold with a nose of just-picked
Mexican vanilla and buttery biscuits. The
body is rich like black raspberries with a
finish of caramelized berries in a luscious
French-baked Clafoutis dessert. This a
cellar-worthy wine for the next generation.
Established restaurants, trendy
new lounges and boutique hotels in
Istanbul carry Corvus’ limited production
wines whenever they can get an alloca-
tion! I first fell in love with Corvus wines
at the Loft Restaurant & Bar near
Istanbul's chic Taksim neighborhood, a
place that offers exquisite modern Turkish
cuisine with gracious service. I hope you
get to visit the romantic city of Istanbul as
it goes through its renaissance. Try not
only their delicate baklava but also wine
from this new young star of a winery,
which is not only making higher quality
terroir-expressive wines but also bringing
a deeper sense of pride to this country.
Cheers to the Corvus team, which is mak-
ing a wave by making creative and deli-
cious wines!
Daniel Mahdavian is the president of
Refuel Consultants, a restaurant and hospi-
tality consulting company based in
Washington, DC. Daniel regularly writes
for consumer and trade publications. He
invests in wine for collectors and manages
private and corporate wine-related events.
He is always on the go to vineyards around
the world in search of the next delicious
bottle of wine. Questions are welcome at
daniel@refuelconsultants.com
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