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Amber Wine

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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. We spent two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda before venturing onto Gürbüz Winery. A visit to Gürbüz Winery is never short! Akın's enthusiasm and energy hold you captive as wine after wine (especially when you're with an importer) get opened and tanks and barrels are tapped to try new vintages.  Gürbüz Winery Akın Gürbüz grew up among grape vines. His family owned five hectares of vineyards planted to Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Yapıncak, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They did not make wine but sold the

  Quite some time ago (again, I drink faster than I can type) I received an exciting invitation to a wine masterclass in Istanbul: Georgian Wine in Focus. Organized by Sabiha Apaydın in coordination with the Georgian Wine Association, the masterclass introduced participants to some of the Georgian wines available in Turkey.  Yes! Before you ignore this post because it talks about wine not available here, these wines are! Am I 100% sure where? Sadly, no. Because the shop that did have them, doesn't seem to anymore. But, the usual suspects to check would be La Cave, Mensis Mahzen, maybe Gözde Tekel, it's possible you might even see these at

  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 conditioning. Whether you're road-tripping with your ride-or-dies, firing up the mangal, or just trying to keep your houseplants alive, this month promises surprises that are as spicy as a sidewalk taco stand. I don't understand summer people. Although, to be fair, I don't understand winter  people either. It's just too hot. If only the universe had air conditioning in store for me. Let's see what wine it has in store! Aries (March 21 - April 19) Today in overly bold decisions and caffeine-fueled confidence

  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 lounging. This is the season of long evenings, spontaneous road trips, and discovering that yes, sunscreen should have been applied 20 minutes ago. June is that magical time when the mangal is always hot, your calendar is suddenly full, and everyone starts pretending they’ve always liked rosé Whether you’re chasing big dreams, weekend naps, or just the ice cream truck, this month brings the perfect blend of chaos and charm. So grab your wine glasses and get ready — June’s here, and it has some new wine recommendations

  How do you pair fine Turkish wine with one of the country's iconic staples, börek? That's a question I found myself asking recently.  For ages, my friend, Başak, has been telling me that she wants me to try this 'amazing' börekci in her mother's neighborhood.  Not that I dislike börek, far from it, but my börek experiences in Istanbul have always left me a little cold. She finally wore me down, but I thought, let's turn this into a wine pairing exercise. We were for sure going to be drinking wine anyway so, wine not? Börek Börek is a traditional food found throughout Turkey, the Balkans, arguably Greece with its

  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 sprung! Hopefully, it's finally time to shake off the winter blues, swap sweaters for sunshine, and see what the stars might have in store. Whether you're planting literal seeds in your garden or metaphorical ones in your career, love life, or personal goals, this is your cosmic cue to grow.  So, what will you be drinking this bright and, fingers crossed, warm and cheerful month? Read on to discover your future! Aries (March 21 - April 19) Listen up, Captain Get-It-Done—yes, you! You’ve been flying solo like

  Canadian wine doesn't often fall into my hands. Luckily, my partner in wine crime Emma's Baked Goods went back to Montreal for a visit this past autumn, and brought back a couple wines to share! I love traveling friends (more so than ever now that I'm grounded). Thanks to her, I got to try the La Bauge Les Beaux Jus Frontenac Blanc. Vignoble de la Bauge In 1986, Alcide and Ghislaine Naud decided to transition from dairy farming to wine production. Together with brothers Alain and Jacques Brault, they founded Vignoble de la Bauge. Their vineyard began with Seyval Blanc, followed by Chancellor vines. Fast-forward to 1997 when Alcide and Ghislaine's

  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 one for our Orthodox friends!), Hannukah, and New Year! So, who made a resolution? If you did, hopefully it wasn't to stop drinking wine! Although while all of us in Turkey cower in fear of whatever the new ÖTV increase is, I can certainly understand the temptation to give up alcohol. On a less depressing note, I'm looking forward to seeing what new wines may get released this year from everyone's 2023 harvest. A few of those may even appear in someone's horoscope, so

  Every year - well every year that I remember - I like to do a quick review of the wines I tried or posted about during the year that I most enjoyed, that most surprised me, etc. This year the list is a little shorter than normal. Part of the problem with hyper focusing on such a relatively small wine industry is that

  It's been quite a few years since Kastro Tireli debuted its first "natural" Hermos wine, a blend of Narince and Viognier. The line takes Kastro Tireli's clean winemaking practices one step further. The winery has always used organically-grown grapes and, when possible, native yeast fermentation. Hermos goes another level by using skin contact for the white wines, no filtration, and adds the barest hint of sulfur before bottling. What started with one wine is now five: the original Narince-Viognier blend, a Bornova Misketi (one of my favorite wines), varietal Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. I have not tried any of the reds, but very much enjoyed the two