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May 2017

Home2017 (Page 6)

By 0European Wines, Rest of the World, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  This Kindzmarauli Marani Kisi was part of the loot I brought home from Georgia in October. It was a duty free purchase I made before boarding. I remember that I had an awful migraine when I left Georgia. I was in pain, nauseated, and miserable. To add insult to injury, there’s a dedicated wine store in the Tbilisi airport and they offer wine tastings. I had to content myself with at least buying a couple wines as I was too ill to taste any. Kisi is a native Georgian grape grown largely in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. As with many grapes, winemakers in Georgia use both traditional

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Melen is one of those wineries tucked away in Hoşköy of which I had some nebulous knowledge, but had never seen any of their wines. Until a trip to Migros in the Cevahir mall. Migros had two or three of Melen’s wine including the Melen Tempranillo 2014. I was gun shy as I’ve been burned by Turkish Tempranillo before; but for 29 TL what could it hurt? Nothing that’s what. This was a shockingly good wine for the price. The inflated retail price no less. Melen Winery The Melen winery has been a family venture around since the founding of the [Turkish] Republic. Their website is written rather poetically and absolutely worth a read

By 0European Wines, Rest of the World, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Last autumn E&M visited E’s family in Greece returned with many many bottles of Greek wine for us to try, including this 2015 Roditis Sauvignon Blanc by Papaioannoy. I have had very limited experience with Greek wine before now. Limited in fact to pretty much just jugs of table wine from my brief trip to Athens. Those I would not recommend. I would however recommend the Papaioannoy Roditis Sauvignon Blanc. Papaioannoy is an organic vineyard located in Corinthia where they grow grapes on the doorstep of history with vineyards located adjacent to the Temple of Zeus. Papaioannoy has 57 hectares planted in seven locations to take advantage of different soil make up and

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  The Yedi Bilgeler Phytagoras Reserve 2013 is why I fell in love with this winery. The first time I had it was at Solera where it caught my eye both because it was new and because I really liked the label. I have enjoyed it several times since and included it in one of my wine tasting events. Yedi Bilgeler Yedi Bilgeler is based near the village of Selçuk; home to the ruined city of Ephesus. Due to Turkish alcohol laws wine tourism next to impossible.  As a result the native wine industry has suffered. Possibly the best way to stay in concert with current law and yet still attract people to

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

  It’s been years since I went to Lebanon but the more Lebanese wines I taste the more I want to visit again! This 2016 Chateau Kefraya Blanc de Blancs (la cuvee de Roussalka) is just one example of why we should be paying more attention to Lebanese wines. Chateau Kefraya Chateau Kefraya is the lifetime achievement of founder Michel de Bustros (1929-2016). He planted his first vines in 1951 and Chateau Kefraya as been making award-winning wines ever since. The Chateau’s wines even won medals in the early 80s when, despite the Lebanese civil war, de Bustros continued to produce wine. Located in the Bekaa Valley at the foot of Mount Barouk,

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

  In February at the Sommelier’s Selection Turkey event I discovered several wineries of which I was previously unaware. One of those was the Edrine Winery. I was lucky enough to meet one of the family, Demir, and their brand ambassador Ali who invited my friend K and me to visit. Edrine Winery Located in the village of Havsa outside Edirne, Edrine (not to be confused with Edirne!) is a family run winery. Founded in 2007 their first vintage came out in 2010. What started as a boutique winery has expanded rapidly and Edrine now produces some 2 million liters of wine annually. The owners, the Öktem family, concentrate on creating quality and

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