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Sparkling Wine

HomeSparkling Wine (Page 7)

  Emir, the lord of grapes and grape of lords! One of Turkey's premier white grape varieties, Emir is thought to have earned its name (which means "prince" or "lord") by being a favorite at the table of princes and lords during the Ottoman Empire. Or perhaps the name is meant to show how finicky and difficult the grape is to grow! Native to the Mid-Southern, Central Anatolia region, Emir (eh-meer) shares its home with Turkey's famous Cappadocia. While the grape does not exactly take advantage of the hot air balloon rides; being at home in this region means it's not afraid of heights! This region has a generally high

  It's Christmas Eve!!! Huzzah! Based in the Kalecik village outside Turkey's capitol Ankara, Vinkara owner Ardıç Gürsel laughingly described the winery as "the largest of the small or the smallest of the large". When the Gürsel family founded the winery in 2003, size was not her goal. Featuring Turkish grapes was her number one and that's what they do. Vinkara's efforts in making fine wine with native grapes extends to Gürsel's number goal: to be the first to make a traditional method sparkling wine with a native Turkish grape. And that's exactly what she did.  Vinkara's Yaşasın, made with the not only native but local Kalecik Karası comes in a blanc

  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

  Now one of the most widely known grapes in Turkey, Kalecik Karası was nearly lost to history.  This grape was nearly extinct until the 1970s when it was reborn. While studying for his Ph.D. in agriculture at Ankara University, Prof. Dr. Y. Sabit Ağaoğlu elected to form his thesis around clonal studies of dried Kalecik Karası vines. He finished his thesis and wound up with not only his doctorate but also a small vineyard. Rather than abandon it, and the grape he revived, he and wife decided to continue to work the vineyard and make wine. Sadly, his wife has since passed but the godfather of Kalecik Karası continues

  Every time I go to Tbilisi I look for new wines I haven't seen before. One of my favorite sources is g.Vino wine bar. Great wines, food, service, and you can buy all their wines to go. g.Vino sports a fantastic collection of quality Georgian wines and often has things that I cannot find easily elsewhere. Like this Gotsa Chinuri Pet-Nat! Gotsa Winery At Gotsa winery, wine is a family tradition that founder Beka Gotsadze is determined to preserve. Located 4200 feet above sea level in the hills of the Asureti Valley, in the Atenuri appellation, Gotsa is only about a 30 minute drive from the Georgian capital Tbilisi. If, that

  Last Saturday I hosted another Turkish wine Taste Along. In addition to having a wee handful of people physically present with me, tasters joined us online from Istanbul, Athens, London, DC, and Las Vegas. Cheers especially to those in Vegas who were easting breakfast and drinking their morning cuppas along with the wine! When I first started in Turkish wine there were really were only what I call the Big Six for grapes. Three white grapes and three black grapes; finding wine made from a seventh Turkish grape was like finding a unicorn. However, even though now winemakers here have greatly expanded both their and our horizon with more

  Continuing my COVID quarantine virtual traveling down memory lane with Austria. I've already (re)visited Austria with my post about Steiermark. This time around I'm focusing not on a region but on a grape: Grüner Veltliner. The closest I've come to Grüner Veltliner territory, or Gru-Ve (as it briefly became known) have been a few flying trips to Vienna. I first visited Vienna while I was in university. I'd just completed a German language summer program in Tübingen, Germany and was doing a two week, whirlwind tour of the "rest" of Europe. My second trip was eight years later. At that time I was a far more seasoned traveler although my

  As summer heats up Istanbul I remember with some fondness the bone chilling cold when I visited Graz a few years ago. I try to go somewhere in Europe every year for the Christmas markets. Sadly, this year I probably won't be able to go anywhere. Which makes me feel even more nostalgic for past trips such as this. Before this trip I'd never been to Graz. Austria, yes. Several times. But never Graz.  I chose Graz for this trip entirely based on one event the city holds during its Christmas market: the Krampus Lauf. Never heard of it? Not surprised. It's a pretty Austrian/Bavarian tradition. Krampus is the

  [caption id="attachment_14586" align="alignright" width="300"] At Cinque with Baby[/caption] For most people Greece, especially Athens, means ancient gods, lots of marble columns, islands, and maybe gyros. I've been to the ruins. I've been to an island (although just the one). And I must eat two or three pork gyros (seriously, go to Royal Souvlaki) every time I visit. But for me, Greece means friends and wine. E&M, two of my best friends, moved to Athens a few years ago. For a while I was visiting once every six to eight months. Then this last September they had a baby. Suddenly I'm tia Andrea to a baby who lives geographically much closer than my

  It has been so long since I've been to Moldova that I don't even remember what year it was. 2009? Maybe 2010? For a brief couple years I was in Moldova, mostly Chisinau, not infrequently visiting for work. Any free time I had was spent with my local colleagues touring churches and the like. While this was long before I became involved in wine, I was even then conscious of the wine industry there.  Unfortunately, the relatively quick in and out trips and only a passing interest in wine meant that I missed huge opportunities to experience more and learn more about Moldovan wine. Enter Jeff with Food Wine