Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eu nulla vehicula, sagittis tortor id, fermentum nunc. Donec gravida mi a condimentum rutrum. Praesent aliquet pellentesque nisi.

Red Wine

HomeRed Wine (Page 33)

  Despite its long history with wine, Turkey has little wine culture. A great many of the Turks who make or love wine developed this passion as a result of strong external influences. It was while studying Finance in France that Yunus Mermerci began his wine journey. One that eventually lead him back to Turkey to found his own winery, Kastro Tireli. Kastro Tireli’s Vineyards Located in Akhisar’s Pınarcık village, Kastro Tireli’s vineyards rise between 200-280 meters above the dusty north east Aegean sub-region of Manisa. The vineyards sit only 100 kilometers from the Aegean coast; close enough to still reap the benefits of coastal breezes. Winters here are generally cold

  The Alamos Malbec is one of the few readily available foreign wines at my Carrefour in Cihangir. One of the readily available, not French, wines that is. And at only about 45-50 TL it’s also one of the more reasonably priced imports. The various taxes that get piled on imports and alcohol often mean an outrageous markup on imported wines. Based in Mendoza, one of the most famous wine regions of Argentina, Alamos produces classic Argentine red and white wines. With more than 100 years of passion and research Alamos puts the very best of Argentina into every bottle. From their high-elevation vineyards at the foot of the Andes, they craft

  Chamlija Winery is a huge pioneer in Turkey. They experiment not only with various winemaking methods but also grape varieties. Chamlija is responsible for us having Turkish Riesling, Alvarino, Mavrud, and soon Assyrtiko. However, the winery does not ignore indigenous grape varieties. Öküzgözü and Boğazkere are two of Turkey’s most common black vinis vitifera grapes. They are more at home in their native areas of Turkey, Elazığ and Diyarbakır respectively. Very few wineries in Thrace make wine with these grapes at all. Even fewer actually grow the grapes themselves. Chamlija Öküzgözü Boğazkere 2015 Tasting Notes: Amongst Turkish varietals, Öküzgözü and Boğazkere are natural blending partners. Boğazkere, which translates as “throat burner” is an aptly named

  In Eastern Anatolia sits the city of Elazığ. Quite small by Turkey standards, the city is home to about 350,000 people with only about another 50,000 living outside the city but within the district. Like almost every other city or village in Turkey though, it is ancient, having been established as far back as 2000 BC. Elazığ is also home to one of Turkey’s most widely-known vitis vinifera grape varieties: Öküzgözü. [caption id="attachment_3711" align="alignleft" width="349"] map from World Atlas.com[/caption] Elazığ Province is situated at the northwestern corner of a 30-mile-long valley, Uluova (literally the Great Valley). It is surrounded by the Euphrates in the north and borders Tunceli to the North, Erzincan in the North-West, Bingöl to

  Öküzgözü Şarapçılık's name creates a bit of confusion. It is the only winery in Turkey named not after a family name or a vineyard but after a grape. Quite often when I see a wine with Öküzgözü written in big, bold letters across the label I can’t tell for a minute if it’s a new wine by Öküzgözü Winery or if another producer is just really excited about the grape variety. Öküzgözü Winery does produce Öküzgözü. In fact its flagship wine is a 100% Öküzgözü. However, the winery is also pioneering the return of another indigenous variety: Foça Karası. Rıfat Şekerdil, owner and winemaker of Öküzgözü Winery, has been a fixture in central

  Nestled in the Şarköy district of Tekirdağ (southern Thrace) is a small village called Uçmakdere. Prior to the population exchange of the 1920s this village, like many in district, was heavy populated by Greeks. It was the Greeks who established vineyards and winemaking in Turkey. With their departure villages like Uçmakdere went into decline. Without them most of the agricultural businesses, including wine, failed and villages died. Fast forward to 2012. Attracted to the history of winemaking in the region, the wine loving Bulutsuz and Gülbay families purchased a previously closed winery in Uçmakdere and modernize and revamp the facilities. Revitalizing Uçmakdere Firuze Winery does not boast any of its own vineyards. Consequently, they source grapes from local

  I am so pleased to say that I’ve had my first article on Culinary Backstreets published today! Culinary Backstreets does so much to bring attention to the stories of unsung food and drinks heroes who often get overlooked in favor of the fancy, trendy, and chain restaurants. They tell the stories of small family restaurants and hidden away gems known only to locals. By doing this, they highlight what many of us forget when we eat and drink out-the human element behind the magic. In my article, Grape Expectations: Finding Affordable (and Drinkable) Turkish Wine in Istanbul(click to follow the link!) I talk about some of the wine bars and restaurants

  Konstantinos Lazarakis MW describes Palivou Estate (Ktima Palivos) as “One of the more low-key Nemea producers, but one always striving to improve his existing wines or to create notable new ones…” My experience so far with Palivou Estate wines has been positive and this Ammos Terra Leone, one of the estate’s reserve wines, is no exception. Established by Giorgos Palivos in 1995, Palivou Estate includes 30 hectares of organically farmed vineyards. Vineyards include plantings of Rodites, Malagousia, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah but the main star here is Agiorgitiko. The winery sits in the heart of the Nemea PDO, home to one of Greece’s most commercially important grapes, Agiorgitiko. The grape name may

  Seyit Karagözoğlu’s path to becoming a winemaker began in the early 90s when he started importing wine and beer to Turkey. While his career as an importer has made him a successful man, his interest has always lain with wine. He figured since Turkey was the 5th largest grape producer; more wine should be made here and he should be doing it. Thus Paşaeli was born. In 2002 Karagözoğlu planted his first vineyards in Kaynaklar, 20 kilometers away from Izmir. Since then he has acquired or planted vineyards in four other locations and cultivates nearly a dozen grape varieties. Of those grapes about half are not only native Turkish varieties but extremely rare

  Cenap And founded Kavaklidere in 1929 in the Turkish capitol Ankara. What started as a winelover’s dream to promote Turkish grape varietals has grown to become one of Turkey’s largest wine producers and exporters. Kavaklidere vineyards  encompass more than 650 hectares in seven locations: Aykurt, Côtes d’Avanos, Pendore, Kirşehir, Elazığ, Güney, and Kalecik and with a production capacity of nearly 20 million liters annually, it is not surprising that the company requires multiple production facilities. The main winery is still located in Ankara with smaller facilities in the north Aegean (Pendore) and Cappadocia (Côtes d’Avanos). Nearly 90 years after Cenap And began his journey to promote indigenous Anatolian grape varieties the winery continues