Selected guests, special wines and unique delicacies combined once again at the Winemaker's Dinner event by Lara Barut Collection. The seventh edition of the prestigious Winemaker's Dinner meetings, where Turkish winemakers meet with foreign visitors, was held on 13 November, accompanied by Selim and Pinar Ellialti, the Founders of Suvla Saraplari. 

 

Lara Barut Collection, operating within the organisation of Barut Hotels – one of the well-established hotel chains in Turkey – continues to hold unique gastronomic events. The Winemaker's Dinner meeting is held as part of these prestigious events, with Suvla Saraplari – established in the early 2000s on the Gallipoli Peninsula – as this edition’s special guest business.

Showcasing award-winning Suvla

Selim and Pinar Ellialti, the founders of Suvla, which meticulously processes century-old local grapes such as Karasakiz, Kinali Yapincak and Agiorgitiko into world-class award-winning wines in their organic-certified family vineyards of 900 decares (90 hectares), conversed with foreign guests at the event. 

Participants had the chance to taste nine different Suvla wines, which were matched with a gourmet menu of 'Fine Dining' by Secret Grill, the À La Carte restaurant of Lara Barut Collection offering premium delicacies.

Even as a young brand, Suvla received and added into its portfolio almost 450 medals – predominantly gold and grand prizes – within a very short time. It has confirmed its quality at the competitions including Balkan International Wine Competition, Mundus Vini, China Wine & Spirits Awards, Les Citadelles du Vin, Berliner Wein Trophy Winter Tasting, International Wine Challenge, International Organic Wine Awards, International Wine Competition Bucharest, Syrah du Monde, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Decanter World Wine Awards, AWC Vienna and Sommelier Wine Awards. 

 

Supporting Turkish wine-makers

Volume-wise, Turkey ranks 30th in the world, producing 64.4 million litres of wine annually. Lara Barut Collection supports winemakers, who turn grapes native to Turkey into wines with rich and strong characteristics, and crown their success with numerous international awards. For this purpose, it has been holding Winemaker's Dinner meetings on the second weekend of every month since May. For wine tastings, Secret Grill – the À La Carte restaurant of Lara Barut Collection offering premium delicacies – makes special menus matching with wines. With all the food being grilled, this restaurant creates selected delicacies for the event. The visitors get to know Turkish gastronomic culture closely and get information about its cultural and historical heritage.

Until now, brand owners including Mustafa Camlica (Chamlija), Burak Ozkan (Lykia Wineyards), Sibel Kutman Oral (Doluca Saraplari), Enis Guner (Sevilen Saraplari), Cevza Basman (Kavaklıdere Saraplari), and Akin Ongor (Selendi Saraplari) have participated in these meetings, describing how they have introduced domestic and imported grapes in Turkey, and told the audience about the inspiring journeys of their brands.