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Rest of the World

HomeRest of the World

  Camilla from Culinary Cam has invited the #WorldWineTravel group to close out the year with celebration of sparkling wine and holiday nibbles! It's been a while since I've been able to participate in one of the group's blog events, but how could I possibly resist one featuring sparkling wine from literally anywhere in the world? [easy-image-collage id=20775] I jumped at the challenge and decided to go a slightly esoteric route with the wine and pulled out a Hungarian pezsgő, a German Sekt, and (thanks to a friend's contribution) a traditional method from Armenia. For the nibbles though I went simple with a tried and true cheeseboard and a crab rangoon twist

  The rarity of my posting about Australian wines the rarity of drinking them. Not necessarily by choice, but by lack of availability. Luckily for me, my good friend Roy, who splits his time between Istanbul and Melbourne, brought me a couple bottles on one of his last visits! I'd selected three bottles but he surprised me with three more that he'd picked out himself. One of those, Yarrh Wines Sangiovese, is not something I'd ever have selected for myself.  I don't love Sangiovese. The magnificence of Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano aside, it's a grape that on the surface I should like, but rarely ever do.

  My friend Roy lives in Australia, mostly in Melbourne, and visits Turkey regularly. Has been doing so for so long, in fact, that he owns several apartments here. We actually met when, two apartments ago for me, we were neighbors! I've teased him throughout our friendship about how I refuse to believe Australia has good wine* and wouldn't believe it until he brought me some. And yet, every year he's come without wine. He says that he wouldn't dare to choose wine for me since he's happy enough with whatever plonk is around.  Until this year, inspiration struck! I found a wine shop near him (not difficult given where

  This week's post is a little different than usual - it's a guest post by my friend Karin! I met Karin about a year and a half ago at the Women in Wine Expo in Georgia. Despite her living in Minnesota and me in Turkey, we realized we had a mutual acquaintance! The world is small and the wine lover world even more so. A wine educator herself, Karin has earned an impressive list of certifications and specialties. She's also a big supporter of others in the wine world and is a great write. But I'll leave you to find that out for yourself! Grape Spotlight: Areni Who's heard of it?

  On my last trip to Georgia, one of my favorite discoveries was Baia's Wine.  Baia Abuladze and her family are among those Georgian winemakers working to identify and classify local grape varieties. Baia and her siblings Gvantsa and Giorgi grew up watching their parents and grandparents make wine in their home village of Obcha in the western Georgian region of Imereti. The wine they made followed the local tradition of short maceration in qvevri with only a small proportion of skin contact. After Baia finished university she moved to Tbilisi but soon realized that wasn't where her heart was.  Baia's Wine In 2015 she established Baia's Wine with her family. Together

  If you've had only a few Georgian white wines, chances are pretty good that it was Rkatsiteli, that most ubiquitous of Georgian white grapes. I've never particularly enjoyed it, myself, and actively avoid it. Even through my infrequent trips to Georgia though, I've seen a rise in less common grapes (both white and red) and find many of them so much more enjoyable. Like Chinuri. Chinuri The Chinuri grape seems to originate in Kartli, which is very near Tbilisi. Greenish-yellow to amber when fully ripe, it is fairly disease resistant even to phylloxera and can often be found planted on its own roots. Berries are fleshy, juicy, and sweet with

  It's been absolute ages since I've been to Lebanon. Luckily for me, even though Lebanese wine is not available in Turkey, I still get to enjoy the wine. My boss is both Lebanese and a wine lover. She will often share with me or even bring me a bottle after a visit to Beirut. The only small downside: she loves red wine so I get red wine. Being the grape geek that I am though, I've been dying to try the native Lebanese grape, Obeidy, that everyone's been talking about! Low and behold! From someone passing through Beirut, some friends arranged a bottle of white wine for me as

  Semi-recently I took a trip to Georgia (the Republic of, not the peach state). I haven't been since before the pandemic hit and was happy for a chance to get back to the land of khatchapuri. This wasn't just an eating trip though. I actually went to attend the Women in Wine Expo. When I heard the woman behind the organization is Turkish, I had to go! You can read more about Senay and her work here.  How did I get from there to a primer on Tavkveri? Well because naturally I stayed an extra day to hit up a few of my favorite wine bars, restaurants, and shops

  A few months ago I finally got a chance to go back to Michigan. I want to say it's been about four years since I've been back. Eek. My trip started out a little rocky when I got to my parents to discover that the bottle of pomegranate syrup I'd brought had shattered in one of my suitcases. I've never lot a bottle of wine in transit (knock on wood) but apparently I have no luck with thick, sticky, red syrup. Before I even went into the house I had to unpack my suitcase in the garage then take the case and hose to to front lawn and clean