Recently I connected with Jacqueline Coleman from History and Wine. She very kindly asked me to sit down and talk with her on her podcast, Wine Uncorked. About what did we talk, you might ask? Well of course that one thing no one can ever make me shut up about. Turkish Wine! Click to Hear the Interview by Wine Uncorked! And while you're there, have a listen to some of the other fantastic interviews Jacqueline has done!
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I am thrilled that I was able to put together a piece about some of the amazing women in Turkish Wine for The Vintner Project around Women's History Month. This is a story I have been wanting to tell for a while now and I am so grateful that The Vintner Project gave me a platform to do it. The Rising Stars in Turkish Wine Are Women In what is globally a male-dominated industry, Turkey emerges as an exceptional place to have a strong cade of women in the wine industry. Over a quarter of Turkey’s wineries employ women in a country where only about two in five working age
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I am so excited to share that I am a contributing author to the revamped Turquazz! What began as a celebration of Turkey's devotion to jazz and its own Anatolian music has developed into a full-blown exaltation of Anatolian music and culinary arts. "From the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, from Greece to the Iranian border – what is known as Anatolia has a lot to offer, not only a varied landscape but also a long history and multi-faceted culture. For certain, Anatolia is a place of endless stories once you explore its abundant riches. What we focus on today here are the contemporary approaches to this cultural mosaic
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Pronounced: bow-ahz-keh-reh, which means "throat burner" in Turkish, this grape is one of the most formidable in Turkey's vineyards. Grown primarily in South East Anatolia (Diyarbakır), in some of the country's most eastern vineyards, Boğazkere berries are small, round, and blue/black in color with thick skin. They grow in large, tight, heavy bunches. In the fall, the leaves develop a distinctive red color from the leaf edge inwards. These grapes do best in hot, dry climates (hello Diyarbakır) and poor, calcareous-clay soils. While Diyarbakır is its origin, Boğazkere is now grown in various places around the country including in Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean vineyards. If Boğazkere with its in your
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Often in Turkey I buy wines from winemakers or wineries I like whether or not I want the actual wine. Such was the case with the Sevilen Vendage 76. I was initially excited to see what I felt pretty sure was a new release from the winery. And then I looked at the label. Another Bordeaux blend. Cabernet Franc dominant which is unusual here. But how much more wannabe Bordeaux can I handle? And yet, I do really like Sevilen's winemaker. Sibel Çoban Ürentay is one of Turkey's rock star female winemakers. While I'm not much of a feminist, I do hate articles about women that have to describe
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Uçmakdere Winery, based in the village of the same name along the Sea of Marmara, is one of the most exciting wineries for me right now. Entirely because of the winemaker, Işıl Bulutsuz. Işıl Bulutsuz is not only the daughter of one of Firuze’s founding families, she is also the winemaker. Prior to becoming Firuze’s winemaker Işıl studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris where she received a diploma in Wine and Management and graduated from the Professional Culinary Arts Program from Turkey's Mutfak Sanatları Akademisi (MSA) Culinary Arts Academy. She sat down with me (virtually of course!) this week to talk about her work in wine. Don't forget to
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This month Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla has invited the #Winophiles group to explore French grown around the world. You can view her original invite here. France is home to what are probably the world's most famous and widespread grape varieties. Grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay can be found in almost every winemaking country from France to the Italy, the UK, the US, Argentina, Australia, China, and Tunisia. And pretty much everywhere in between! Turkey likewise is not immune to the charms of French grapes. They enjoy an overwhelming popularity here. Few wineries (in fact only four or five come to mind) do not feature a
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I thought I'd had all of Gordias's wines. The I stumbled across a picture of this blend on the winery's Instagram feed. A wine I hadn't had?! Clearly, I had to rectify this situation. Not only had I never had this particular wine from Gordias but I'd never had this wine from anyone. The blend was something entirely new to me. Not only is a blend of Turkish grapes Kalecik Karası and Boğazkere extremely uncommon, Gordias owner and winemaker Canan Gerimli then threw in some Merlot. Because, why not? Gerimli pulled grapes for this wine from several locations around Turkey. The Boğazkere came from its 'home' in Diyarbakır, the Kalecik Karası
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For April's Wine Pairing Weekend event I'm inviting the #WinePW crew to explore Under the Radar European Wine Regions with me. 'Under the radar' doesn't have to mean 'unknown'! It's all about exploring regions that are new to us; that we think could use a little more love from others; a place on your wine travel bucket list; or a place you didn't know makes wine! Details for participation This #WinePW April 2021 event is Saturday, April 10, 2021. Are you ready to explore the great European unknown and participate? Here's how: Send an email to tell me you're in
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In December I looked at several Turkish Cabernet Franc wines as part of #CabFrancDay (December 4), that month's #WinePW food and wine pairing event, and my Advent wine calendar. However, those are not the only Cabernet Franc wines Turkey has to offer! The below wines in now way cover all the Cabernet Franc here. They just happen to be the ones I've enjoyed in the last year (give or take). Gürbüz Cabernet Franc, 2018 Late 2019 marked Akın Gürbüz's first Cabernet Franc. Grapes sourced from Solera's Gazıköy vineyards, fermented in open vats then aged for 13 months in new oak. The result: one of the most stunning Cabernet Francs in
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