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Red Wine

HomeRed Wine (Page 26)

  Spring has finally spring in Istanbul. We don't have a lot of green in this city so every tender spring bud is a precious miracle. I've lived in cities before and vastly prefer them to swaths of farmland where I grew up. But I do like a happy medium between the concrete and crop jungles. Regardless of where I'm living, one thing that does not change is how happy budding plants make me. Maybe its the rosemary, basil, and mint I just planted on my balcony, one tree on my street or the honeysuckle that seems to be growing out of the building behind mine. I find it all

  Last October Istanbites and I finally made it to Avşa island to visit Alp Törüner and his winery Büyülübağ. A lovely island in the Sea of Marmara, Avşa's population skyrockets in the summer. So we thought we would be really clever by waiting to visit until autumn. But September then October came and went until we were scrambling to book a fare on one of the last boats to the island before winter. Scramble we did though and, while it took forever to find one still open, we had a hotel booking, boat tickets, and were ready to go.   Adventures on Avşa Despite being so far into fall we really were

  Porta Caeli, on the Gallipoli Peninsula, is a luxury wine brand that tries to model itself after Bordeaux. The winery produces several series including Ament (all red), Pacem (whites), Felici (pink), and their entry series, Porta Diverti (all the colors). Previously I reviewed the Porta Caeli Ament Bordeaux blend. This post we're tackling the Ament Cabernet Franc. Porta Caeli Ament Cabernet Franc 2014 Tasting Notes Porta Caeli uses the heaviest blasted bottles I have ever hefted. Even after we finished the wine I kept trying to pour more because empty it felt like it should be full. It would make for a great weapon. The Cabernet Franc here spent 18 months in

  Last year, Kırklareli-based winery Vino Dessera debuted a new line of wines. The Vino Dessera Entrika line up includes three wines: a red, rosé, and a white. Following the winery's principal that wine should be an "affordable luxury," none of the wines are pricey. Prices range from around 50 to 75 TL ($8-12). Also true to form for Vino Dessera, some very nice wines lie under the modest sticker price. Vino Dessera Entrika Red 2017 Tasting Notes During a previous visit to the winery I learned that Doğan Dönmez, in charge of the family winery, was experimenting with the Italian grape, Barbera. If his experiments proved successful, he would be

  I've been digging through older tasting notes, trying to pull out wines from wineries I've neglected, and stumbled across notes for the Kastro Tireli Peri. Based in Akhısar in the drier area of Turkey's Aegean, Kastro Tireli has built a reputation as a high-quality red wine powerhouse. A well-deserved reputation at that. The award-winning wines include blends of both native and international grapes. It is also one of the few wineries in Turkey giving focus to Mourvedre; a grape that seems to really like the hot, semi-arid conditions of Akhısar. Yes, some of the wineries top tier wines might price in as a little rich for some. But happily,

  Located in Turkey’s Thrace, just a stone’s throw from several other wineries on the Trakya Bağ Rotası (Thracian Wine Route), Saranta produces quality wines under two labels: Saranta and Chateau Murou. The winery possess several features that set it apart; one such is the Saranta Öküzgözü. Saranta sources grapes from its own vineyards in Kırklareli as well as from other growers in the Thracian region. The origin of grapes used in member wines has been a point of contention among several of the Trakya Bağ Rotası member wineries. Some of the members feel that you cannot call a wine "Thracian" if the grapes do not come from Thrace. A

  For this month's Wine Pairing Weekend, Nicole at Somm's Table invited us to write about wines from the ancient world. People often forget to include Turkey, which in fact is the home of the vitis vinifera grape, when talking about ancient and old world wine cultures. In fact though, it has one of the most ancient of wine cultures. When Christians hear the name, Antioch, it evokes images if Saints Peter and Paul preaching the Good News to early Christians. Historians may muse on the lives of early civilizations like the Hittites and those that came before. Modern Turks (and the rest of us who live here!) think of

  Located over a two and a half hour drive from Lebanon's storied Bekaa Valley, Gaston Hochar established Chateau Musar in 1930. While the winery may not be in the Bekaa Valley, the vineyards are. Organic since 2006, Musar vineyards are managed with minimal human interference and all the wines are made naturally. Chateau Musar creates three series of wine. The top series, Chateau Musar, includes a red, rosé, and white. Next comes the Hochar Père et Fils Red, and finally the Musar Jeune series (red, rosé, and white). The Hochar Père et Fils Red, from which I somehow got my hands on, is sometimes referred to as the ‘second wine’

  The twenty-first century may still be fairly young but the wine world has already been rocked by a movement as big as it is controversial. Natural wine. While winemakers in several countries could argue that this is hardly new; much of the west treats it like a spanking new phenomenon. As we see natural wines popping up all over it seems to be a case of ‘better late than never.’ And now, the latest country to jump on the bandwagon is one of the oldest winemaking countries: Turkey. Where then, does Turkey enter this picture? Over the last 15 years in particular the wine industry in Turkey has leapt

  Müteşekkir is a new line from Chamlija, featuring a Pinot Noir, a red blend, and a white blend. Despite being an entry level wine (where I find many wineries slack off a bit) these show Chamlija's dedication to quality. Priced at about 55-60 TL (right around $10) this line offers a decent quality/price balance and a kicky little label. "Müteşekkir" means "thankful or grateful" in Turkish. Which I suppose we are that for decent wines at a decent price! That is something of a unicorn in Turkey. Chamlija Müteşekkir Blend 2015 Tasting Notes The Müteşekkir red blend combined Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot aged for 12 months in French