Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eu nulla vehicula, sagittis tortor id, fermentum nunc. Donec gravida mi a condimentum rutrum. Praesent aliquet pellentesque nisi.

November 2023

Home2023 (Page 4)

  This month, the #ItalianFWT group is exploring the wines of Piemonte and/or Valle d'Aosta. Culinary Cam will be hosting a Twitter (I refuse to call it X), on Saturday, November 4 at 8am Pacific/11am EST/6pm Istanbul. You can read her invitation to the event here.  Lacking any wine from the Valle d'Aosta, I chose a wine from Piemonte. I have several on hand at the moment but my overwhelming love for anything bubbly trumped all the other wines, and so I had to choose a Brachetto. Brachetto the grape and the wine Brachetto is both a grape and a wine, both of which hail from Piemonte. The berries are dense and firm

  We leave behind the tricks and treats of Halloween and October for a new month. Hopefully one that is actually autumn-like. Every new month is a fresh start for us. A time to reevaluate, start something new, or just start anew.  So what will I be drinking this month? I have several things planned! But more importantly, what will YOU be drinking? Read on to find out what the Universe recommends.  Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) This month you'll hear a siren's song calling you to exploration. It could mean travel is in the cards for you, or perhaps expanding our current world through learning something new. This spirit of

  My friend Roy lives in Australia, mostly in Melbourne, and visits Turkey regularly. Has been doing so for so long, in fact, that he owns several apartments here. We actually met when, two apartments ago for me, we were neighbors! I've teased him throughout our friendship about how I refuse to believe Australia has good wine* and wouldn't believe it until he brought me some. And yet, every year he's come without wine. He says that he wouldn't dare to choose wine for me since he's happy enough with whatever plonk is around.  Until this year, inspiration struck! I found a wine shop near him (not difficult given where

  For many of us, our first encounter with amber wine, wine made in amphora, or "natural" wine was with a Georgian wine. While many countries have for centuries made wines thusly, the global trend and enthusiasm for such is often attributed to Georgia. Wine trends come late to Turkey, but they do come. These started quietly with Gelveri and have since spread. Now finding orange wines does not take much effort and a growing number of people are making amphora wines and "natural" wines. What happens though when a trend isn't a trend, but culture? Does that change the wine? For those who poo-poo amber/"natural" wines, does culture make

  Canan at Gordias doesn't make a lot of white wines. But when she does, like her Nana Narince and Fesleğen, they're worth tracking down! I recently revisited the Gordias Sauvignon Blanc and don't know why it took me so long to do so! While her Kalecik Karası and some of her other reds are pretty accessible, this isn't an easy wine to find. I had to get it direct from the winery. Absolutely worth the extra effort though if you're a Sauvignon Blanc lover! This is one of my personal favorite Turkish Sauvignon Blanc wines. Gordias Sauvignon Blanc, 2021 Golden lemon-lime in the glass, the aromatics came rushing out of the glass

  Deanna of Wineivor has invited the #ItalianFWT group to explore the Vento and the Wines of Romance this month! As Deanna pointed out in her invite, the Vento is well-known for its wines, among them Prosecco, Valpolicella, Soave, Bardolino, and Amarone. I chose to focus on Prosecco. Not just because I love bubbles (which of course I do!) but because of the memories associated with it.  In October 2019, I took my mother to Italy, her first trip there. We went to Rome because if you're Catholic you go to Rome, and we went to Venice. At every meal or stop to rest (she not being super mobile), I

  A family winery located in the Balaton Uplands Laposa Birtok has a beautifully romantic story. In 1978, József Laposa and Eleonóra Barabás met on a train traveling through Balaton. It must have been love at first sight because the couple married later that same year. Coincidentally, both happened to come from wine families and the marriage joined the Laposa family barrel maker with the Barabás family winemaker. The couple received a small wine press house in the Balaton Uplands as a wedding gift and from there built their winery. Today in the hands of their children, Laposa Birtok focuses mainly on white wines. They work with traditional, local grape varieties typical

  This week's post is a little different than usual - it's a guest post by my friend Karin! I met Karin about a year and a half ago at the Women in Wine Expo in Georgia. Despite her living in Minnesota and me in Turkey, we realized we had a mutual acquaintance! The world is small and the wine lover world even more so. A wine educator herself, Karin has earned an impressive list of certifications and specialties. She's also a big supporter of others in the wine world and is a great write. But I'll leave you to find that out for yourself! Grape Spotlight: Areni Who's heard of it?

  Not all wine names are obvious immediately (or at all!) until you ask about the story behind them. One of my favorite Turkish wine name stories is that of the Arcadia 333. But Arda Dokuz Sekiz has a pretty great one too. Dokuz Sekiz - 9/8 The name here is actually pretty simple - dokuz sekiz means nine eight and refers to the 9/8 music time signature. Music written in 9/8 time has nine beats per measure with each beat being an eighth note. Meaning that, even if not all the notes are an eighth note, the notes in each measure will add up to nine eighth notes. Okay, that's cool.