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September 2017

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  Many people I know are turned off by the term: late harvest. “I don’t like dessert wine.” “It’s too sweet.” For many ‘late harvest’ means a wine that is syrupy sweet; but it doesn’t have to mean that at all. Late harvest wines can be super sweet, dry, and everything in between. Sweet Is as Sweet Does The late harvest Misket Urla Symposium is an excellent example. It is not a dessert wine but a lovely, light, semi-sweet. So if late harvest doesn’t automatically mean sweet wine; what does it mean? Late harvest grapes are just that. They are grapes that have been left on the vine longer than a typical harvest (an additional one

  Tanini was one of my favorite winery finds at Tbilisi’s New Wine Festival this year. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a bottle of their rose to bring home though. The Tanini Qvevri Mtsvane amber wine more than made up for any disappointment though! Tannins, tannins, tannins Tanini is the brain child of Emzar Vasadze who makes traditional Georgian wines in Kakheti. Using only native grapes, he produces Saperavi, Tavkveri, Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli, Kisi, and Saperavi Rose wines; mostly in qvevri. Georgian wines, particularly qvevri wines, are knows for being pretty tannic and he took the name of his wine, Tanini, for that quality. But wait, what are qvevri and amber wines? I am by no means

  Nıf Vineyards is one of the Turkish wineries I have only recently become interested in. This is due in large part to its 2012 Sangiovese.   Based in Ege, Izmir, Nif Vineyards is one of Turkey’s Aegean region wineries. What makes Nıf especially interesting is that more than any other winery here I know, it focuses heavily on Italian grapes. In a country which favors French grapes the Italian grapes we see here are few and far between. Nıf’s wines are not inexpensive. They run a gambit from about 70 TL (the Nıf Vineyards Sangiovese was 69 TL at the Savoy Tobacco shop in Cihangir) to 140 and above. They are worth

  Before E&M left Turkey they had a going a way party that really was just a ‘eat and drink whatever is still around’ party. Included in that were a few bottles of Greek wine they’d picked up while there visiting family. Estate Papaoiannou This Terroir Agiorgitiko comes from Ktima Papaioannou. An organic vineyard, Ktima Papaioannou’s vineyards are located in the AO (Appellation of Origin) of Nemea. They grow a fairly wide variety of both native and international grapes including: Agiorgitiko, Cabernet Sauvignon, Roditis, Assyrtiko, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot, Touriga, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc, and Petit Verdot. The Terroir Agiorgitiko is a limited edition wine with only 4,500 bottles produced. It spent two years in

  In the semi-recent past I led a tasting called the Four Faces of Papaskarası . We tasted four of Chamlija’s Papaskarası wines: the Blanc de Noirs, Blanc de Noirs Fumé, Papaskarası , and Papaskarası Reserve. I’ve had the Blanc de Noirs before but this was my first go round with the Chamlija Blanc de Noirs Fume. It was not only my favorite of the night but everyone’s favorite! I often feel spoiled as there are a number of wineries that ship directly to me; Chamlija being one of them. However there are a couple Chamlija wines for which I would pay the inflated retail price. The Blanc de Noirs Fume is

  I love Italian wine. Red or white. I don’t care. I love it all. And when you find a trusted producer, like Marchesi Antinori, you are guaranteed that even the lower end wines will be nice. Such is the case of the Villa Antinori Bianca 2015. The Villa Antinori Bianca is a Tuscan wine. A white Tuscan wine! Surely not! Surely yes! Tuscany is not just about red wines. The red wines might be more well-known but there is no shortage of white wine in Tuscany. Marchesi Antinori is the famed producer of Tignanello-the herald and (still) standard bearer of Super Tuscan wines. Antinori produces far more than Super Tuscans