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April 2017

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By 0Red Wine, Rest of the World, Wine Reviews

  Thanks to a car-having friend I had the opportunity to visit three wineries during my recent too short trip to Israel. Tzora Vineyards was not only my first winery visit in Israel, it was also my first kibbutz. As we went straight to the winery, I had a pretty limited experience on the kibbutz. Luckily and most importantly I had more time at the winery itself. The misty Judean Hills Tzora Vineyards has plots in several places in the Judean Hills on man made terraces. Limestone soils, cold winters, summer mists, and diurnal temperature variations create a perfect environment for growing quality grapes. Those quality grapes are used in Tzora’s three different wine

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  The Barbare Reserve Premier is the second wine I’ve had by this organic wine maker and the first non vintage blend I’ve not only had, but remember even seeing here in Turkey. It’s a fancy wine with an equally fancy price tag; it will set you back 130 TL give or take depending on where you get it. With a whopping 15% AVP, the Barbare Reserve Premier is not fooling around. It’s a big wine and it wants you to know that right away. The wine is blend of 2009, 2011, and 2012 vintage Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot which is aged for 36 months in French oak. Thirty-six months-that’s

By 1European Wines, Red Wine, Rest of the World, Sweet Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Naturally it took me four years here to find the wine tasting scene and now that I’m in it I’m sorry I’ll have to abandon it so soon. Most of the tastings I attend are run by Murat, founder of Şarap Atölyesi. I love going to Murat’s tastings. Not only do I get to try new wines, often pulled from his private collection but it’s a double learning experience for me. I’m usually one of only few (if not the only!) non-native Turkish speaker so his lecture and materials are naturally all in Turkish. I generally take away 75-80% of what’s going on so it’s bot challenging and rewarding. Murat put together

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  This 2014 Selendi Blend was another wine I tasted with Şarap Atölyesi at a tasting at the Historic Pano Wine House. I’d had this one before at Solera and was not exactly wowed by it but was game to give it another go. With a blend of 30% Shiraz, 27% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Cabernet Franc and matured for 24 months in French oak this wine is not messing around. It means business. So does Selendi apparently as they’ve produced only 9,164 bottles of this blend. Selendi Blend 2014 Tasting Notes The nose of this ruby-red wine displayed some nice clove, black pepper, vanilla, smoke, and red fruits. These followed to the

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  A few months ago I went to a wine tasting lead by Murat Mumcuoğlu of Şarap Atölyesi. I was excited before the tasting because I’d been following Murat on Twitter and Instagram for a wile and was excited to meet him. After the tasting I was excited because, thanks to him, I discovered Likya’s Acıkara. Rescuing precious grapes Never heard of Acıkara? Neither had I; for good reason. Until just a few short years ago it was a mostly forgotten, nearly extinct Turkish grape. The folks at Likya found some vines in the wild (I believe) and thinking they were one thing, transplanted them to their vineyards. However when harvest time came around they realized

By 0Amber Wine, Amphora, European Wines, Orange Wine, Rest of the World, Wine Reviews

  While we were in Sighnaghi KMac and I made a point to find the Okro winery and restaurant one evening. When we arrived one of the family members showed us around their cellar and answered our exhaustive questions. Of course we then stayed for a tasting and to have dinner. To accompany the excellent food we ordered my favorite bottle from the tasting: the 2014 Okro Mtsvane. Shades of green Mtsvane, which means “green” in Georgian, has six different, genetically unique, variations. The two most common of which are Mtsvane Kakhuri and Goruli Mtsvane. I am not positive which of the two Okro used. I know she told us told but unfortunately I misplaced

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  As part of a wine tasting with Şarap Atölyesi I had the opportunity to taste the Selendi Moralı 2015 which came on the market only this summer (2016). Selendi, one of Turkey’s Aegean wineries, is based in Akhisar province of Manisa (near Izmir). It has vineyards in various locations and often names its wines for the village where the vineyards are. The grapes for the Moralı were grown in the villages of Sarnıç and Moralı. After six months in French oak barrels, this Grenache, Mourvèdre, Merlot, and Cinsault blend is a very European-influenced wine; but the earth (toprak) and sun (güneş) are all Turkey. Selendi Moralı 2015 Tasting Notes So how excited was I to arrive in Vegas

By 0European Wines, Red Wine, Rest of the World, Sweet Wine, Wine Reviews

  I bought this Szabó Pince Turán about a year and a half ago when I spent a miserable week in Balat, Hungary. The only thing that made that trip bearable was the Hungarian Festival with all its food and wine booths. While I do like a sweet wine, I don’t normally lean towards sweet reds. Even though I quite liked this Szabó Pince Turán when I tried it at the festival (although to be fair I was likely rather in my cups at the time) I’ve hesitated to open it since bringing it home. However when my girlfriend over at Multiculturally Wed sent me a recipe for red wine brownies I knew I’d found