Of all the random things for a Turkish company to produce, we have some pretty decent buffalo burrata here. The company recently released a truffle burrata and of course I had to buy it! Then this Barbera tasting came up and I thought: Barbera, Piemonte, truffles
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Such is the scarcity of MMG Şarapçılık's wines that the only two vintages of their Syrah I've had were made seven years apart! One of the Urla Bağ Yolu wineries, MMG Şarapçılık clings to the side of Urla's mountains. The view from the restaurant terrace is incredible, looking over the valley formed by the mountainous region where the winery's steep and terraced vineyards lay. I visited a few years ago and I do recommend it (although take care as parking is a wee hazardous!). During my visit I purchased all of their wines knowing they're not in İstanbul. Fast-forward a few years and you can find the wines here.
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It was recently pointed out to me that I never posted a list of my favorite wines from 2020. In fact, I have not posted a list like that since 2017! How embarrassing. However, I feel happy that someone reads this often enough to have noticed the oversight! We can all agree that very few of us enjoyed 2020. At least I had wine to cushion the blow! Below is a list of my favorite Turkish wines that I tried this year (in no particular order). Unfortunately my typing is a lot slower than my drinking so I haven’t posted reviews of all of them but for those I
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The #WorldWineTravel blogging group continues its virtual exploration of Spain this month with a trip to Rías Baixas! Host Linda from My Full Wine Glass invited us to grab a bottle from Galicia and chat. Known as "Green Spain", this region in northwest Spain is wet and cool and produces some fantastic wines. It's also got a great double meaning as April is Earth Month! Linda gave a great primer on the area in her invitation post (which you can read here). And I got my bottle so let's get to it! [caption id="attachment_15873" align="alignright" width="400"] Map borrowed from RiasBaixasWines.com[/caption] Rías Bai
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I haven't written before about Çakır Bağcılık ve Şarapçılık. It's a newish winery, releasing its first vintage only last year. Until recently this was the only of their wines I've had it being the only native grape they work with. And while I had it last summer (I am so behind on my writing up my notes!) with warmer weather coming back around I've been thinking about how darn good this was and how much I want it again. So let's talk about some Çakır Bornova Misketi. But first, the winery. Çakır Bağcılık ve Şarapçılık, is one of the newest members of the Urla Bağ Yolu (along with Perdix). The winery
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My fourth article for Turquazz is now live! 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 that is Anatolian culture. There are two words
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My third article for Turquazz is now live! 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 that is Anatolian culture. There are two words
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Sauvignon Blanc wines enjoy a huge amount of popularity in Turkey. It's right up there with Chardonnay. Generally if a winery makes one, it makes the other too. Because Turkey loves its oak there's plenty of "fumé blanc" floating around here as well. Happily (for me who doesn't love oak on white wine), winemakers have developed a more deft hand with their oak aging. Over the last few years we've seen a shift from wine that's been metaphorically beat over the head with stave and barrel to wine that's been gently caressed by it. Meaning I no longer have to approach every oaked white wine fear in my heart!
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To celebrate Earth Month, Gwendolyn the Wine Predator challenged the #Winophiles group to find a wine that celebrates "Loire's organic gardens." You can view her invitation here. Something like a quarter of Loire Valley vineyards are farmed organically. Considering the size of the valley, the number of wineries, and the vast array of grapes and wine styles there, that's pretty darn impressive! I have generally have trouble sourcing decent European wines in Turkey. I figured I could find a Sancerre though as Sauvignon Blanc enjoys huge popularity in Turkey. However, could I find an organic or sustainable wine? I really didn't think so. Imagine my delight when I learned
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In January, Esat bey, owner of La Cave in Cihangir, asked if I'd recently had the Kayra Vintage Boğazkere. It was his highest selling wine that month. Far (apparently) outstripping any other wine sales. He gave me a bottle with the instructions to go home that evening, open it, and let him know what I thought. He would do the same. I do not know who started the run on this wine but I hope that person creates more buying trends! It's been a while since I've had any Kayra and I forget sometimes how good their wine is. Particularly those in the Vintage and Versus lines. If you're
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