As is usual for Istanbul, we seem to have skipped right over spring and jumped with both feet into summer. I am not built for summer. Neither is my non air conditioned apartment. At least I have a wine fridge (conveniently located next to my couch, I can actually pull out wine without getting up which maybe tells you a little too much about me) so, even if I'm too hot, my wine isn't. Which brings us to the most important question
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The Turkish wine import market is kind of arid in terms of volume and variety. Imported wines also cost about as a much as would ice water in the depths of the Sahara. I am therefore very selective about the few wines I'm allowed to bring home. And because there are so many wines to try, only rarely do I buy a wine more than once. The Akriotou Wild Mountaineer is one of those. I first encountered it one year at Oenorama in Athens and was just so struck by it. Of course we all know that I love a grape comeback story, and the Wild Mountaineer features one
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This time of year is always fun for us winos. It's usually this late spring time when wineries start to trickle release new vintages of whites, rosés, possibly bubbles, and even a few of the more crushable reds. The Paşaeli Kabuğunda Co-Ferment, which the winery first released this time last year, has been in my writing queue for a wee little bit. Now the new 2025 vintage is out and I figure now is a good time to intrigue people into looking for the new vintage. I've written about Paşaeli a couple-few times (well over two dozen times apparently!!). So, since this is already preparing to be a long post,
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My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. And it's taking ever so much longer to write about these visits than it took to make them! After two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda and Gürbüz Winery we headed for the Aegean. In this region, our first stop was Kuzubağ, next to Heraki, then Kastro Tireli for a multi-winery tasting, and finally for our last stop in the Aegean, we made it to Akberg. So, buckle up, you're in for another long post. Akberg [caption id="attachment_22721" align="alignright" width="328"] Güney & Rob
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I am continuously delighted by Cretan wine. Even before my first (and to date only) visit to the island, did I love the wine. Crete really exemplifies what I love about lesser explored wine countries. Granted it's not a small island, but it is responsible for a rather large chunk of Greece's native grapes, including Liatiko, aka Turkey's Çal Karası. Aside from Liatiko though, the majority of the native grapes cultivated on Crete are rare and only recently re-emerging on the market. [easy-image-collage id=22695] Crete's wineries are pouring so much heart and effort into bringing back these varieties through more sustainable agricultural practices and innovative winemaking, including new to me
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Happy May and Happy May Day! And I hope everyone in Istanbul is spending today safely
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I'm actually gearing up to write another lengthy post about a winery visit I made with Fine Turkish Wine back in November. It's taking me rather forever to get through these. But before I dive into another of those, I want to take a sec for a wine I keep meaning to talk about. The HUS Bornova Misketi. HUS Şarapçılık HUS Şarapçılık has seen more than its fair share of tumult and tragedy for a young winery. Ceylan Ertörer Diaz Leon and Juan Pablo Diaz Leon met while studying in Canada. While neither ever thought about having a life in wine, during a visit to Ceyaln's family in Urla, they both felt struck
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Organized by Sabiha Apaydın in coordination with the Georgian Wine Association, the Georgian Wine in Focus masterclass returned to Istanbul last week. And before anyone stops reading thinking we can't get these wines in Turkey
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My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. And it's taking ever so much longer to write about these visits than it took to make them! After two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda and Gürbüz Winery we headed for the Aegean. In this region, our first stop was Kuzubağ, then we went on to Heraki, and then on to Kastro Tireli which hosted a mega tasting for us. Kastro Tireli It's been many years since I last visited Kastro Tireli, and I'm glad we were following José. I vividly recall
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The Lidya Antik Bağ Rotası, the newest of Turkey's wine route, has really come out of the gate at full speed with thoughtful branding, a slick website, an active social media presence, and special events. A couple weeks ago I attended a dinner hosted by the wine route. The guests were a quirky mix of winery owners and winemakers, marketing specialists, wine bar owners, social media wine influences, journalists, and somehow, me. [easy-image-collage id=22576] The evening began with an introduction to the wine route; its origin story, the inspiration, and the opportunity to taste some of the wines. We were then treated to a fantastic and not at all creepy puppet
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