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March 2024

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  We've still got a couple weeks until spring is official by the calendar, but it seems to have arrived in Istanbul early. Although if past winter/spring seasons are prologue, then we could well see snow in the city in March. I'm hoping that is not our future this month, but it's difficult to know what the universe has in store! Slightly less murky than our weather forecast is our drinking forecast! So, which wines will we all be hunting down this month? Read on to find out.  Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Aquarius, this month brings a possibly unique opportunity to turn your creative ideas into passive income streams. We

  I had my first encounter with Sideritis at the Athens wine expo Oenorama a couple years ago. Only two or three examples were available to try at the time, but I've since been able to hunt down a few more. Never heard of Sideritis? Not surprising. While it seems to be moving on from 'rare' and into 'emerging', it's still not something you'll find on everyone's list/shelves.  A pink-skinned grape, Sideritis (Σιδερίτης) can be found in a few different locations around Greece, namely Patras on the Peloponnese peninsula, Central Greece, and in northern Greek in Macedonia. It takes its name from the Greek word ‘sidero’ (iron), referring to the

  I've written about a couple few wines now from Akberg. This winery emerged from less than savory "fruit wine" origins to create interesting (grape) wines. In cooperation with Gülçin Akçay, one of our best winemakers, Akberg sources native grapes from across the country. Some, like Narince, Bornova Misketi, and Papazkarası are grapes we know well. Others, like Osmanca and Erçis Karası are specific to them/emerging grapes. Only recently had I been able to try the Akberg Büyük Bağ Bornova Misketi. Kind of a funny story about how that happened. If you have no desire to read through my rambling story, feel free to skip down to the notes below! We lose power

  It's a little strange for me to post about wine today in Ash Wednesday. Today is a fast day which means I will not be drinking any wine at all. Sad for me. And yet, it is #WineWednesday so, here we are! I've flirted with some of Kastro Tireli's other low intervention / "natural" wines. My favorite still being the Hermos Bornova Misketi. I recently realized that I had not yet tried the Kalecik Karası though so I moved to immediately rectify that! Kalecik Karası hails from Central Anatolia, just outside the capitol Ankara, in Kalecik. Whence the grape's name. You can read more about the grape here! Kastro Tireli

  This month, Camilla from Culinary Cam has invited us all to share our love for rosé wines - which are not just for summer! - and, since it's February, to put a little romantic spin on things. You can read her invitation here and follow along the discussion on Saturday, February 10 at 8am EST / 11am CST on Threads.  I'm not much of a rosé girl myself; but bubbles are a completely different story! So, since I couldn't think of any particularly romantic food options (the dessert I did being the exception perhaps), I decided to go romantic with my wines! Hello, Greek traditional method bubbles.  PDO Amyndeon (ΠΟΠ

  If you haven't checked your calendar yet, you might not have noticed that this year is a leap year! Hello, rarely seen February 29. Julius Caesar instituted leap year back in 45 BC. By adding a single day every four years, he created a more or less consistent solar calendar. Like any oddity, leap year has a number of its own traditions and superstitions, many of them related to relationships! For example, apparently not only was is considered acceptable for women to propose to men on a leap day, the men could not refuse! It's said that Queen Margaret even imposed a fine for men who would deny

  In the September 2023 Turkish Wine Horoscope post, I promised a review of this wine and here it finally is! Yaban Kolektif is a group of wine professionals and enthusiasts dedicated to reviving some of Turkey's rarer grapes. Not having a winery of their own, they cooperate with other wineries (mostly Vinolus lately) and winemakers to release their wines. From Yaban's Instagram: Yaban is a step taken to reunite viticulture and winemaking in Turkey with its past and forgotten values. We lost our rich viticulture culture, winemaking techniques, traditions, festivities and rituals in a short time after the natural disasters and forced population exchanges in the last century. It will perhaps

  Over the last several years, 7Bilgeler has slowly released a series of wines, the Vindemia series, made with native grapes. Some have been more successful than others. I'm very excited to try the Karasakız, which I really really hope they haven't managed to mess up. But in the meantime, the Öküzgözü. 7Bilgeler Vindemia Toprak Öküzgözü, 2021  Like many (if not all) of the native grape wines 7Bilgeler has released, the grapes for the Vindemia Toprak don't come from the winery's Aegean vineyards. Owner Bilge Yamen sources them from the home of Öküzgözü, Eastern Anatolian district Elazığ, specifically Karaçavuş Köyü. The vineyard sits at 1540 meters in clay and limestone soils, and

  Champagne and Fries Day?! Yes, it's a real wine holiday! January 10 also happens to be the birthday of the creator, Anna Maria of Unraveling Wine who created the day to memorialize the celebration of her two favorite things.  Schramsberg Vineyards While not Champagne, California's Schramsberg Vineyards makes traditional method sparkling wines in the same style and with the same love and dedication as any Champagne house. Dating back to the 19th century, when German immigrant Jacob Schram first opened his winery, Schramsberg moved into the hands of Jack and Jamie Davies since 1965 when they bought and began to lovingly restore the old property. "They set out to produce sparkling