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August 2022

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  In May at Gusto Bar's CMC, I connected with Erdem Yılmaz from Tasheli. Then, after drinking the winery's Göküzüm Aküzüm, I reached out to him with some questions about the wine. And to order more! During our conversation, he very kindly offered to send me a few bottles from the rest of their selection. He sent me a Patkara-Kalecik Karası rosé, the new vintage of their orange Göküzüm, and the Patkara-Cabernet-Shiraz red blend. Reviews for the other two will be upcoming but, as I've been having a surprising yen lately for rosé (I know, who am I?!?!) I'm starting there! Tasheli and Patkara  Located in the Çömelek village in the Mut

  It's been ages since I posted a wine bar review. Sorry about that. Especially to all you on the Asian side whom I've accidentally been ignoring! Now, finally, a wine bar review on your side of things: Bordo Şaraphane. My last visit here was actually an embarrassingly long time ago. But while there I completely forgot to take any pictures, thus delaying this review so terribly! I enjoyed my visit but was glad to meet a friend there so we could split a bottle. One of my continued arguments with "wine bars" in Istanbul is the maddeningly small selection of by the glass wines. While Bordo's overall list was

  While Narince appears most commonly as a varietal wine, blending it is not uncommon. Sometimes we see Narince Emir, Chardonnay Narince seemed popular for a while and a few other blends pop up from time to time. Sauvignon Blanc Narince is less common. Ayda Bağları started making one a couple years ago, the VinAida 2. But the original, I think, is the Arcadia Finesse Sauvignon Blanc Narince.  I've started drinking this wine a lot lately and I realized that I hadn't ever written about it before! I've had it a few times over the years, loved it every time, every vintage. However, sadly for drinkers, finding it isn't easy.

  On Crete, the largest of the Greek islands, Lyrarakis Estate has spearheaded the movement to revive one of the island's oldest and rarest grapes: Dafni. Lyrarakis Estate Founded in 1966, family-run Lyrarakis Estate focuses on local, often rare, Cretan varieties. Located in Irakleo (or Heraklion) just east of the island's center, the winery and vineyards sit near the idyllic Lassithi mountains. Here the family has worked hard to revitalize rare grapes like Dafni, Plyto, and Melissaki. And how's this for timely? Lyrarakis Estate was named as one of Wine & Spirits Magazine Top 100 this year! Dafni The grape's name comes from δάφνη, the Greek word for laurel/bay leaf as the wine produced

  Many of us know Grüner Veltliner, or "green Veltliner" Austria's premier white grape; but what do we know about its "red" counterpart, Roter Veltliner? I say "counterpart" but that is rather misleading. Despite the name similarity, the grapes themselves have no relation. Moreover, Roter Veltliner itself is a misleading name because it's not at all red. It's a white grape. Roter Veltliner Unlike my beloved Turkey, Austria is one of those countries that actually has winemaking regulations. Austrian quality wine - by which I mean Qualitätswein - has rules. It doesn't just mean wine that is good, it means wine produced under a designated origin; like Italy's DOC(G), Spain's DOC(a),

  Akberg Büyük Bağ I learned about last autumn at the Gustobar Sommelier Selection and was then happy to see them back in the spring at CMC (Istanbul's two big wine events). We know how much I love a new winery so I was excited at both events to try their wines. Even after I learned where the winery is based. Akberg winery has its base in Şirince, Izmir. Something that makes most of us in Turkey instinctually wince. Why you might ask? Should you come to Turkey and do a tour of Ephesus, the famous Greco-Roman ruins south of Izmir along the Aegean, your tour inevitably includes a trip

  This month, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla issued a CSA challenge to the #WinePW group. You can read her invitation here. The challenge - pair any wine with seasonal vegetables that you would receive in a CSA box or find at a farmer's market. I picked up that gauntlet as the perfect opportunity to finally cook something special for the bottle of Dracaena Wines Chenin Blanc I've been saving.  And I felt ever so peased to do so. Whether or not you wrote a blog for the theme, please do join the #WinePW Twitter chat group on Saturday, 13 August at 8 am EST/ 11 CST! Follow the

  We are well and truly in the depths of summer now. Whether you're hiding inside with the AC or toughing it out, hoping for a good breeze, a nice chilled glass of wine comes as a welcome relief. While I think it's unfair to limit rosé to just spring and summer, there's no denying how many posts there are nowadays about rosé and rosé season. I haven't written much about rosé lately. But I thought it would be a good time to revisit the Buradan Şirin; especially as Buradan was kind enough to send me some wine! Buradan -  Wine "from here" Located in the Aegean district Çeşme, Buradan distinguishes itself

  In 1997, the Tsimbidis family founded Monemvasia Winery in Monemvasia, Laconia, Peleponnese. Their goal: to reinvigorate little-known grapes lost in time. The Tsimdibis family took its time with its winery. They devoted their first years to the study of local varieties and experimenting making wines with them. It wasn't until 2005 that they even began to plant. Now, they are the proud growers of a collection of rare varieties, uniquely encompassing Monemvasia*’s terroir over 30 hectares of organic vineyards. *Monemvasia is the name of the winery, a municipality on the east coast of the Peleponnese, a town on a small island off the coast of the Peleponnese, AND a