With the up and down weather this winter, there's no way to predict if spring will come in like a lamb or a lion.
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Well, we've made it one month into the new year. Hopefully we all made it through relatively unbruised. Now, as we head into the
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Today starts us off on not just a new month, but a whole new year. I don't know about you, but my 2025 got
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It's December! That means Christmas is around the corner! I truly love this season. This decorations, music, movies, jollity, the YouTube video of a
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I'm so excited that my first piece for Food Wine Travel Magazine was published today! Discover Turkey's Unexplored Mediterranean Wine Region Beneath my feet lies an
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Cooler temperatures and grey skies mean that it is time to get cozy with warm sweaters and big wines! I used to like really
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Iranian food meets Turkish wine? How often does this happen? Hopefully more and more often now if this Bitter & Sweet pairing inspires anyone! My
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Hello autumn! We passed the autumnal equinox last month, and it seems that the weather is responding appropriately with lower temps. Huzzah! I don't
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If August's beautiful weather was anything to go by, we're headed for a cooling down as autumn approaches in September. I even opened a
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This year the Jancis Robinson summer writing competition theme was "my favorite grape". Both an easy and yet incredibly difficult topic! My entry was
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Mother of Zeus it is HOT. Why is it so hot? Once again, I do not understand summer people. It's so hot that I cannot
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Hello, heatwave! July has cannonballed into the pool of your life with flip-flops, sunscreen, and power outages due to everyone turning on their air
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There's so much advice, so many opinions and stories about pairing wine and chocolate floating around. The dos and don'ts of pairing the two
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Congratulations, you’ve made it to June — the halfway point of the year, where to-do lists meet beach days, and productivity wrestles with balcony
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Wow, April was something else, wasn't it? Ah, May—after the cold-warm-cold of April, the world has finally awakened. Green, leafy trees, blooming flowers, spring has
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Spring has officially sprung! Sure, the temperature dropped a bit there in March, but (knock on wood) we seem firmly settled into spring now.
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March brings any number of key days with which to mark the month. Fat Tuesday this year is the 4th. The 20th is the
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It might be the shortest month of the year, but you'd never guess with everything that February has in store! Of course there's pressure
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Happy New Year!! It's a new year and we have a new look for the horoscope! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas (or are anticipating
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Every year - well every year that I remember - I like to do a quick review of the wines I tried or posted
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It's CHRISTMAS!!! Well almost. But my decorations are up, I've already dived into the rabbit hole of terribly fantastic Hallmark movies, and am thinking
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It's November! The year is drawing closer and closer to a close. Are you ready for it? Or are you, like me, still enjoying
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For my birthday in August, my friend Malia of Shoyu Sugar made SPAM musubis for me!! I remember eating SPAM a bit when I
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How is it October already?! I know that I for one wanted the heat and humidity of summer to be over, but I blinked
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While actual autumn does not begin until later this month, the beginning of September heralds to many the end of summer. Summer vacation is
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Summer is horrible. The entire season should be eliminated. Let's just extend spring and fall a month a and a half each and skip
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Summer is in full swing and it's just begun. It's hot, tempers are rising with the temperatures! We all need something to cool us
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Summer has arrived hard and fast in Turkey with temperatures already soaring into the 30s even in Istanbul. Air conditioning units work round the
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Summer has unmistakably arrived! While it is spring that often gets the lamb or lion heraldic, it's really summer that needs one. Be it
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The beautiful weather of late has brought new energy and excitement to the air! It's hard to not feel happy and upbeat with the
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They say spring comes in like a lion or a lamb
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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
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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.
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So, 2023 is now behind us. Not such a bad year, all things considered. Although there's always hope that the future will be better
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Every year - well every year that I remember - I like to do a quick review of the wines I posted about during
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Since November seems to have forgot how to be autumn, we'll see what kind of weather December has in store. The seasons here can
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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
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Autumn is officially here - on the calendar anyway. We've had such odd weather all spring and summer, here's to a properly cool and
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Is summer over yet? Please?? I know I complained about that weird cold and rainy early July we had
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Holy cats July was miserable! Horrible, hot weather including the hottest day Istanbul has had in years. During which, no less, my precious wines
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Well we had a nice three-day spring before summer dropped on us like a ton of bricks. Hopefully none of us have anything serious
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Hello spring! You have finally graced us with your presence. Huzzah! This month I say Happy Birthday to several very good Gemini and Cancer friends,
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If you haven't heard already, I'm collaborating with a fabulous new agency that is focusing on wine tourism in Turkey! Vines & Pearls offers
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Well April was kind of miserable, wasn't it? Hopefully it's true about April showers bringing May flowers. Given the amount of rain we got,
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Well March was all miserable and depressing weather. Here's to hoping April remembers that it is an entirely spring month. A few showers here
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Papazkarası has been staging a quiet take over. When I first discovered the grape, maybe you could find two or three wines. Now, this
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It sure felt like spring had sprung during the second half of February. Even my crocuses are blooming! But my experience both here and
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I don't know about you all, but the beginning of 2023 did not treat me well! Despite vowing to not participate in dry January,
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Every year - well every year that I remember - I like to do a quick review of the wines I posted about during
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Happy 2023 to everyone! Who's made a resolution for the new year? Share in the comments below! I'm not one for resolutions generally but I
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It's December! The winter solstice is around the corner but, even more exciting, Christmas! My tree is up! Is yours? Especially in light of
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Merlober is in the rearview mirror so we can get back on with wine that isn't Merlot this month! So far (knock on wood)
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Happy autumn! I'm so glad we're in cooler weather now. It's almost time to break out the cozy sweaters and remember where I stored
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My last wine bar review released a maelstrom of comments and conversations about the lack of extensive (or really even good) by the glass
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Summer is over; even if no one told the weather forecast that it's supposed to be! Those who had the summer off are back
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August is just about over meaning summer is winding down
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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
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Summer is definitely in full swing and we have the hot temperatures to prove it! Are you absolutely melting or hiding inside with your
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Shortly after I returned from Puglia and Radici del Sud, I turned around and went back to the airport. This time, back to one
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June has been just a crazy month for me! I hope yours has been calmer. I've barely been able to enjoy any wine at
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Now in its 17th year (or rather having just completed its 17th year), Radici del Sud turns the spotlight on wines from indigenous vines and
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Day 2 for the Radici del Sud press tour dawned early after a late night return from Giovanni Aiello. We woke up to remnants
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Let me begin with post with a small freak out about OMG MY FIRST PRESS TOUR/JUDGING! Thanks to Katarina at Grapevine Adventures, I was asked
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Most of my May seedlings have perished due to neglect. I'm afraid this is not going to be my year for plants! I'm travelling
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I am so excited to post another article about the book! Several years ago, I wrote a piece, Grape Expectations, for Culinary Backstreets. And
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I don't know about you, but I have been thrilled with our weather the last week or two of April! I'm not ready yet
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A few months ago, thanks to Lisa Morrow of Inside Out In Istanbul, Lisa Futterman reached out to me for an interview about the book!.
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Last year, one of my most popular posts was an interview with Uçmakdere winemaker Işıl Bulutsuz. A number of people asked for more interviews.
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It's finally spring! The snow is over for real now and warmer weather is already here. I for one cannot wait to get back
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Sultaniye (sool-tan-ee-yeh) is possibly the most commonly grown grape in Turkey. While a perfectly viable vitis vinifera variety, Sultaniye has such high sugar levels
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It may not seem like it with all the rain and cold days, but spring is just around the corner. Lent starts tomorrow (what
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It's monthly wine bar review time! This month's wine bar: Foxy Nişantaşı. Much like my last review about Beyoğlu Şaraphanesi, I have had a contentious
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Many are shocked to discover the high percentage of women who work in the Turkish wine industry. Something like 65% are women including winery
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Did you participate in dry January? I surely did not! If you did though, I'll be you're really ready for a little tipple! In
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Foça Karası, a nearly extinct grape from Izmir’s Foça district, is currently championed by only a few wineries, namely Öküzgözü Şarapçılık. Foça Karası (foe-cha ka-ra-sih)
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One of the world’s first empires, the Assyrian Empire (circa 2500 BC - 609 BC) spanned the periods of the Early to Middle Bronze
Read MoreKatarina Andersson of Grapevine Adventures wears many hats. She is a historian (Ph.D. in history from EUs European University Institute in Florence!), wine writer,
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In September Lori Budd of Exploring the Wineglass and Dracaena Wines reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in being a
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I've been a little neglectful of my wine bar reviews of late. November and December were insane! Hopefully with the new year things will
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Goodbye 2021, hello 2022! Last year wasn't so bad
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Summer red-wine drinkers meet your new best friend, Fersun! Fersun (fehr-soon) is a recently rescued from extinction native Turkish grape. Grown exclusively by Likya Şarapları,
Read MoreIf you've never visited my site or seen me on social media, you may not know that I spent four + years writing a
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Most people, including many wine enthusiasts, have not heard of many (or any) of Turkey’s grape varieties. While Turkey shares some native grapes with
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Located a little over an hour's flight from Istanbul, Cappadocia is the jewel of central Turkey. Its surreal "fairy chimney" rock formations, hot air
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From Çalkarası to Fersun, these emerging grapes should be on your radar. An hour and a half drive from Antalya along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, Likya
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It's December and Christmas is around the corner!! Is your tree up? Mine is and this year it's covered with a new selection of
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While for reasons beyond my ken Karasakız is not more popular in Turkey, it is certainly one of the country's most facile grapes. Also called
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Visitors to volcanic regions often have little doubt about where they are. Volcanic mountains and hills (active or not) make up places like Mount
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It's November and we're fully into Autumn. For some people, cooler weather means a switch to red wine. But much like I will happily
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Hasandede is one of those grapes that doesn't get a lot love. According to 'Wine Grapes', Hasandede makes "very basic-quality white wine." Maybe that
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Today I'm kicking off a new monthly series here
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Discussion around wine influencers and their help or harm to wine writers has been a hot topic in the wine writing world of late.
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I am not a sommelier. I have never trained as one, or worked as one. But recently, I flew to Ankara to sommelier (can
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Not far from Solera is Tarihi Pano Şarap Evi (Pano), an old-school spot that takes you back in time, to when wine and multiculturalism
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One of Turkey’s most popular culinary traditions is that of rakı balık. Literally translated as rakı fish, this is the great tradition that comes
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Some Turkish grape names are very straightforward. Kalecik Karası, for example, means “black from Kalecik.” Very little to argue about there. Others, like Gök,
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I started my wine bar reviews with the most recent wine bar I'd visited, Carafe Istanbul. Now, we go back to the beginning with
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Many of us have heard the old adage to pair white wine with chicken and fish and red wine with red meat (like beef
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I recently took a quick little holiday on the Urla Bağ Yolu with a friend. I've been before; frankly I cannot even remember how
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Every year the Jancis Robinson hosts a summer wine writing competition. This year, inspired by the Old Vines Conference, writers were invited to submit
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