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European Wines

HomeEuropean Wines (Page 12)

By 1European Wines, Red Wine, Wine Reviews

  We're kicking off the new #WorldWineTravel blogging group with a trip to La Rioja! Well a virtual trip in any case! You can read host Jeff Burrows' of Food Wine Click! invitation post here. Arguably the most well-known word in Spanish wine, people mostly associate the Rioja region with the Tempranillo grape. However, there's far more to Rioja than just Tempranillo. Authorized grapes in Rioja include Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Maturana Tinta for red as well as Viura, Malvasía, Garnacha Blanca, Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Blanca, Turruntés (not to be confused with Torrontés), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Verdejo. Despite this broad allowance of grapes my wine does indeed come from

By 0European Wines, Red Wine, Wine Reviews

  Here in Turkey we have a grape called, Öküzgözü, which means "bull's eye." Hungary goes one step further with a wine they have: Bikavér which means "bull's blood." That's far more hardcore. But what is Bikavér? Bikavér has a fantastic origin story which I won't try to recreate but which I highly recommend checking out on Taste Hungary's blog. It is a red wine (usually a blend) made in two of Hungary's wine regions: Eger and Szekszárd. While production rules differ slightly between the two regions, a few things are consistent: A minimum of four grapes must be in the blend Kékfrankos (Blaufränkish) as the dominant blending grape

By 0Amber Wine, European Wines, Orange Wine, Rest of the World, Wine Reviews

  The Renčel family has always had a homestead in in Karst. Each generation added to the homestead somehow. And while the family produced wine from the beginning (along with crops and animals), their wines were simple: a Terrano and a white blend. Until Joško Renčel. The transformation of this small farm into a dedicated and well-respected winery began slowly. First by abandoning other agriculture in favor of vines. Next, Renčel deviated from the classic Karst grapes. He planted and experimented with a variety of grapes to see what else would work in the fertile red "terra rossa" soils of Karst. Located in Slovenia's Primorska on a limestone plateau that

By 0European Wines, Rest of the World, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Even before I visited one of Estate Gai'a's wineries I was a fan. While I went to the winery in the Nemea, Gai'a also has a winery in Santorini and it was the Assyrtiko from this winery that began my love affair with them. In addition to the winery's Thalassitis, a more traditionally made Assyrtiko wine, Gai'a also crafts a wild ferment Assyrtiko. The grapes for the wild ferment come from the winery's Pyrgos vineyards, part of the PDO Santorini. Here vines grow in the traditional ‘kouloura’ (basket) in the island's low nutrient pumice soils. Water is often scarce but humidity is retained by and fed back into the

By 0European Wines, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  It's almost Christmas! Really really almost Christmas! This was the second to last bottle of wine in my Advent box 'o wines. This was also the final disguised for blind tasting bottle. Of course I would end on a blind tasting. But, let's see if I manage to go out with dignity. Energetic and mouthwatering with distinctive sea spray salinity that made me think: hmmm, I know you! High, lively acidity, medium-bodied, guessing moderate alcohol. Citrus and sea water

By 0European Wines, Rest of the World, Sparkling Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  This lovely little number has been showing up in shops around the 'Bul lately. I've had it before and from that experience knew I had to include it in the Advent wine calendar! I needed at least one bottle of bubbles for the calendar. This wine is so cheerful and happy which made it a great fit! A large-scale wine producer, Collis Riondo managed 6,000 hectares(!!!!) covering all the main production zones in the Veneto. The winery makes both sparkling and still wines under several labels. However, in Istanbul we see only this Riondo Cuvée and two or three of the still wines from their Castelforte line. Cantine Riondo Cuvée

By 0European Wines, Rest of the World, Sweet Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  To be honest, this wine did not come out of my boxes 'o Advent wine. I happened to be at a friend's for dinner and she served this with dessert. But I thought, why not include it? I did after all drink it during Advent. So that counts. Georgian wine has a growing popularity in Turkey. However, so far what we get here are European-style wines (i.e. not qvevri aged or skin contact) from the larger, factory wineries. And while Badagoni fits into that large-format category, their wine is not available in Turkey. This I think she got in the UK of all places - which apparently imports a

By 0European Wines, Rest of the World, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  This morning I finally managed to pull out a not blind tasting bottle! And the first white wine of the season too! What I got was a Grüner Veltliner from F.X. Pichler - just about the only Grüner Veltliner available in Turkey. I adore Grüner Veltliner. Luckily I have an Austrian friend who brings back bottles to share with me. Even though she comes from Welschriesling country and gently mocks my pronunciation of Grüner Veltliner. It's a deceptively difficult thing to say. Or so I tell myself to avoid having to admit simply that my German accent is atrocious. My apologies to all German speaking people to whom I

By 0European Wines, Red Wine, Wine Reviews

  It seems, based on a quick inspection of my Advent boxes o' wine, that I wrapped MOST of them to disguise the labels. Which really makes my Advent wine calendar a month-long blind tasting experiment. That's good though. I desperately need the practice. And it also lends an exciting sensation of fear and trepidation every time I reach into the box. Today's wine is missing the capsule. I must have thought that would give me too many clues as to its contents. That says to me either the wine is foreign and I wanted to remove any tell-tale DOP indications; or it's domestic but I put only one wine