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January 2021

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  Karaoğlan is one of those Turkish grapes few people talk about and even fewer have heard about. However, I think that will soon change. This is a grape on the rise in Turkey, poised to deliver great things.  We don't have a lot of information about the history of Karaoğlan except that it has a long one in Eastern Anatolia. The grape grows largely in Arapgir Bölgesi in Malatya on the eastern side of the Euphrates Valley. The landscape is rugged and mountainous with an average elevation of 1200 meters.  The grape itself looks a lot like Öküzgözü from the neighboring Elazığ with its large, blue-black berries. Unlike Öküzgözü

  If Turkey has a traditional wine blend it would be Öküzgözü Boğazkere. These two grapes native to Turkey's eastern provinces (of Elazığ and Diyarbakır respectively) compliment one another. Öküzgözü has bright red fruits and vibrant acidity. Boğazkere adds tannin, structure, power, and savory notes. I've drunk quite a few of these blends over the years. Like anything else, some are good, some are not, and some are outstanding. Having had Öküzgözü Boğazkere blends a plenty, very few surprise me anymore. Until I had Kutman's. The Adnan Kutman winery sits at the edge of the Sea of Marmara fully on the other side of the country to the grapes' homes. The winery

  It seems difficult to think of a time when Greece and Malagousia were not synonymous. Granted my entrée to Greek wine is recent. But I feel like I learned about Assyrtiko and Malagousia at a similar pace. And yet, until the 90s, Malagousia was largely unheard of. In the 1970s Professor Logothetis from the Agricultural University of Thessaloniki rented a small plot of land from Yiannis Carras. There he planted several grapes he'd encountered on his travels around Greece, including Malagousia. While his early plantings were vinified with other grapes, Evangelos Gerovassiliou, then winemaker at Domaine Carras, quickly realized its potential. He began propagating the variety at Domaine Carras

  We're kicking off the new #WorldWineTravel blogging group with a trip to La Rioja! Well a virtual trip in any case! You can read host Jeff Burrows' of Food Wine Click! invitation post here. Arguably the most well-known word in Spanish wine, people mostly associate the Rioja region with the Tempranillo grape. However, there's far more to Rioja than just Tempranillo. Authorized grapes in Rioja include Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Maturana Tinta for red as well as Viura, Malvasía, Garnacha Blanca, Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Blanca, Turruntés (not to be confused with Torrontés), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Verdejo. Despite this broad allowance of grapes my wine does indeed come from

  I am so excited to have my second piece up on The Vintner Project! I'd like to say that I 'sat down with' Seyit Karagözoğlu of Paşaeli Wines to talk about his wines and his efforts to reinvigorate some of Turkey's disappearing grapes. However, times being what they are we conducted the interview over a series of emails and phone calls. Karagözoğlu is one of a small, but dedicated, group in Turkey trying to rescue Turkish wine grapes on the brink of extinction and he talked to me about what called him to do this. Seyit Karagözoğlu and Paşaeli Wines: Rescuing the Lost Turkish Grapes Turkey ranks sixth in grape production,

  Here in Turkey we have a grape called, Öküzgözü, which means "bull's eye." Hungary goes one step further with a wine they have: Bikavér which means "bull's blood." That's far more hardcore. But what is Bikavér? Bikavér has a fantastic origin story which I won't try to recreate but which I highly recommend checking out on Taste Hungary's blog. It is a red wine (usually a blend) made in two of Hungary's wine regions: Eger and Szekszárd. While production rules differ slightly between the two regions, a few things are consistent: A minimum of four grapes must be in the blend Kékfrankos (Blaufränkish) as the dominant blending grape

  Emir, the lord of grapes and grape of lords! One of Turkey's premier white grape varieties, Emir is thought to have earned its name (which means "prince" or "lord") by being a favorite at the table of princes and lords during the Ottoman Empire. Or perhaps the name is meant to show how finicky and difficult the grape is to grow! Native to the Mid-Southern, Central Anatolia region, Emir (eh-meer) shares its home with Turkey's famous Cappadocia. While the grape does not exactly take advantage of the hot air balloon rides; being at home in this region means it's not afraid of heights! This region has a generally high

  Yusta Bursa is one of Turkey's newest wineries which debuted its first vintage (2017) last year. With vineyards and the winery based in Bursa-"just" across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul it is the first winery to put down roots in Bursa. A family run winery n the business side, it is one of the many here to use Turkey-based French wine making consultant Jean Luc Colin. Bursa generally has a reputation for being a very conservative city. Tourism (both domestic and international) centers around Ulu Cami (the Great Mosque) and several religious tombs. However, more recently, the city has garnered a reputation as a foodie haven. Dinner and