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European Wines

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By 1European Wines, Rest of the World, Sparkling Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm invited our wine writers group to explore any (wine) topics that tickle our interest for 2025. We know I like wine from underappreciated and often unexpected countries, so I decided to use some newly acquired wine and explore Albanian wine.  I've yet to actually visit Albania, although it is pretty high on my list; and not just for wine! I spent years working on projects in Kosovo during which I visited Pristina many times and became rather enamored of Albanian music and literature. My Kosovar friends and colleagues tried to teach me some Albanian, all of which I've totally

By 0Articles, European Wines, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  It's been a while since I've done one of these Turkey versus Country X Taste Offs. As you can tell from the title though, this one's going to be a little different. This isn't really a taste-off, more of a 'reveal'. The Question of Kolorko Kolorko is a nearly extinct variety that hails from the shores of the Sea of Marmara. Small, disconnected plots of old bush (or goblet as they're called in Turkey) vines grow scattered around the villages of Hoşköy, Güzelköy, Kirazlı, Iğdebağları, and Şarköy. It's a low-yielding and late ripening grape that has thick skins containing high levels of catechins—an antioxidant phenol that requires gentle pressing to avoid bitter

By 3European Wines, Greek Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  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

By 3European Wines, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  I don't usually write about French wine. There are more than enough people already doing so. However, I do like to make exceptions when I find something weird and/or wonderful. The Albert Boxler Chasselas very much falls into that 'wonderful' category. Chasselas is one of those grapes I've read about but never thought to be able to taste. Until, that is, I found myself in Colmar in France's Alsace. Buried among the bottles of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir were a few grapes that often fall into the "other" category. Including this Chasselas. It was probably the least expensive bottle I bought on that trip. But

By 1American Wines, Articles, European Wines, Sparkling Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Sparkling wine is almost universally associated with celebrations. Yes, bubbly wine is a happy drink and happy drinks are great for celebrations, but that's not why the association. It is largely due to how expensive sparkling wine tends to be. People generally, therefore, save it for special occasions. Why is sparkling wine so expensive? How are sparkling wines made? Let's pop a cork and get into it! This post ended up being way longer than I expected. So, I'm trying for the first time to add a table of contents.  Table of Contents Everything You Need to Know about Sparkling Wine Traditional Method Sparkling Wine Martinotti Method Sparkling Wine Ancestral

By 0European Wines, Red Wine, Wine Reviews

  While most of my focus is in Turkish wines, it's nice to sometimes walk in the vineyards of our neighbors. Metaphorically speaking of course. I've yet to visit Romania at all let alone its vineyards. But that's one of the great things about wine. Opening a bottle is like opening a magic door through which you can step and discover new worlds. Maybe you've never been to that region, or even that country, but wine lets you taste what you cannot see.  For me, one of those recent journeys too me to Romania and to the discovery of one of the country's native grapes, Fetească Neagră. Fetească Neagră [caption id="attachment_22440" align="alignright" width="350"]

By 0European Wines, Greek Wine, Red Wine, Wine Reviews

  We've had some rather chilly days lately in Istanbul. I should be neither surprised nor resentful. It is, after all, winter. Just because we've had ridiculously warm winters for the last several years and I've largely managed to avoid turning on my heat doesn't mean things will always be so. While I don't love it, the cold weather does encourage me to reach for one of the many, many red wines languishing in my wine room.  If you want to wrap yourself in a cozy red wine, perfect for cold winter weather and drinking by the fireplace, look for a bottle from the Goumenissa PDO.  Goumenissa PDO (ΠΟΠ Γουμένισσα) The what

By 2European Wines, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  It's a pretty rare day for me to post about wine from one of the "main" (aka Italy, France, Spain) European countries. Partially, because it's more difficult for me to get my hands on those but also because that's what almost everyone else writes about. However, some things are too exciting to not share. Such is the case with a wine I picked up on a trip (a while back) to Bologna: Leoni Conti La Mia Albana Progetto 1. Previously, I shared some notes on a few of the Lambruscos I got there. The Lambrusco grapes weren't the only native grapes I was hoping to find during my trip.

By 1European Wines, Red Wine, Travel, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  This post contains affiliate links While I was only in Bulgaria a few short days last summer, its wine left a lasting impression on me. I did several great tastings, found some fantastic wine bars, had my first canned pét-nat! and brought home some great wine. It's time to dive back into Bulgarian wine and talk about one of those great tastings - in fact the first one I did - at Sofia's Coupage. Coupage Located just a few blocks off Sofia's Slaveykov Square, Coupage Wine and Cheese is the brainchild of Aleksander Angelov. As the shop's name promises, it is more than wine (although that's enough in my opinion!). He also

By 3European Wines, Greek Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  It might be trite, given how many different grapes grow in Greece, but I love Assyrtiko. Love it, love it, love it. And while I've recently started coming around to mainland Assyrtiko, my heart will always be on Santorini. It was my great privilege to work for a time with Vassaltis Vineyards, one of the best wineries on Santorini. I learned so much working with them, and walked away with some of their incredible wines, including the Gramina, Santorini, and the Vassaltis Vineyards Plethora.  Vassaltis Vineyards One of the youngest wineries on the island, Yannis Valambous established Vassaltis Vineyards in 2014. Vassaltis produces a wide range of wines, most of them

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