Sandra Guibord, New York-based sommelier, CEO, and founder of Sandra’s Wine Life, recently announced a partnership with Sibel Kutman Oral, a vintner and third-generation owner of the legendary Doluca Winery in Turkey, launching their first rosé in the United States: Playa Rosé.
Playa Rosé is Sandra Guibord and Sibel Kutman Oral’s first collaboration, a wine whose name is inspired by Sibel’s Puerto Rican heritage.
Playa Rosé, a blend of ancient Turkish varieties
This wine is created by blending ancient Turkish varietals that are indigenous to some of the oldest vines in Turkey and the Mediterranean. This festive wine offers a lighter and more fruity taste than the vineyard’s traditional premium and entry-level rosés.
Sibel Kutman Oral is the head of marketing of the 90-year-old vineyard that is still a family-run business. Feeling inspired to continue the family’s pioneering legacy, Sibel’s direction led the vineyard to become a market leader in its category, with a renewed, corporate identity.
“When acclaimed wine writer and lover Sandra came to visit Doluca Winery to discover Turkish wines and varietals, we hit it off right away. After touring the winery, we began our tasting, and as soon as the sexy magnum bottle of Playa was served and deliciously pleased us both in body and soul; we began dreaming about launching DLC Playa in the States,” Sibel Kutman Oral says.
Sandra Guibord is a wine importer and CEO and founder of a multi-media wine education platform. She hosts wine seminars for large global corporations, and she helps people from senior executives to everyday admirers select wines for life events and build private collections.
“From my travels throughout Turkey, I became so impressed by their deep dedication to their culture and history and how it is represented in their food, their designs, and their wines. After touring Doluca vineyards and meeting Sibel, we sat at lunch, and she shared this bottle of Playa Rosé with me. I had an overwhelming feeling of ‘kismet,’ and I knew that this was the perfect wine to introduce to American wine enthusiasts; the perfect sip of Turkish culture,” Sandra Guibord says.
Playa Rosé will be available in 2023
Playa Rosé is launching in Miami in May and will be available nationwide in the spring of 2023.
“When two passionate and determined women set their minds to achieve a goal, no ocean could stand in their way, and so yes here we are, in less than a year, blushing with excitement as our Playa flamingos land in Miami,” Sibel Kutman Oral says.
Learn more about Sandra’s Wine Life at www.sandraswinelife.com.
About Sandra Guibord, Sandra’s Wine Life
Sandra Guibord, CEO and Founder of Sandra’s Wine Life, has over two decades of experience in the entertainment business. A former Wilhelmina model and actress, including soap operas, network television series, films, and corporate spokesperson roles, Sandra is now a preeminent guide within the wine and spirits community.
Sandra assists top corporations, legal firms, and nonprofits with entertaining their top clientele and senior executives. Utilizing her hands-on learning gained through travel to wine regions worldwide, Sandra Guibord has made the often-vexing world of wine enjoyable through her fun, festive and informative approach that has been well received by wine enthusiasts from novices to connoisseurs. She offers practical wine advice for casual events (virtual and in-person), business dinners, romantic dates, and building custom wine collections.
Sandra launched her first book titled ‘Find Your Wine Identity’ in the Spring of 2022.
About Sibel Kutman Oral
Born in Istanbul, Sibel was raised in a multicultural home with her Turkish father and Puerto Rican mother, adding unique styles, flavors, and flare to her upbringing. Sibel studied abroad at Wesleyan University in the U.S., where she pursued her dreams as a professional dancer in New York City at Leslie Partridege and Dancers and Avila Weeks Dance Corporation. After her professional dance career, Sibel’s strong love for her country and family brought her back to Turkey and into the family business of winemaking.
She joined Doluca Winery as a third-generation family member, helping the winery grow into one of the most prestigious and top-producing vineyards in Turkey. By creating and developing the marketing department, Sibel became an Executive Board member and oversees all commercial functions. She has built her life around her family and the business, becoming a successful pioneer in the Turkish wine-making industry.
Sibel created Playa Rosé in honor of her Puerto-Rican heritage from her mother. Having spent time on the beautiful beaches of her mother’s home country, it brought forth the idea of honoring this part of her heritage. Playa Rosé is much like Sibel; it is festive, fresh, and modern with deep roots in an ancient culture. Playa Rosé is made with the indigenous Turkish varietals of Kalecik Karasi and Çalkarasi.
Sibel and Doluca Winery are very proud and excited to share Playa Rosé and many other of their esteemed wines with the rest of the world.
About Doluca Winery
The Doluca Winery is one of Turkey’s oldest running vineyards, and the legacy began in 1896 when Ali Pasazade Efendi started a small winery in the Southern Thracian village Mürefte. When Ali’s son Nihat A. Kutman returned home after completing an oenology and viticulture program in Germany in 1926, he established the Maison Vinicol – the basis for Doluca Saraplari.
Doluca Salaplari began with two grapes, Yapincak and Karalahna. Kutman continued his research and made exploratory visits to France and Germany through the 1930s and became one of the first importers of international grape varieties to Turkey, including Cinasault, Semillon, Gamay, and Riesling.
Since those early days, Doluca has grown into one of the giants of the Turkish wine industry. In 2011, the Kutmans relocated from Mürente to Çerkezköy in northern Thrace where the new, modern winery includes a state-of-the-art laboratory of both stainless-steel tanks and oak barrels.
The annual production of 3 million gallons spans across 11 brands that run on the spectrum from table to premium. Doluca’s wines can be found in countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Japan, and China.
