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Sweet Wine

HomeSweet Wine

  It's November! The year is drawing closer and closer to a close. Are you ready for it? Or are you, like me, still enjoying being in the moment of crisp autumnal weather and searingly blue skies? I find it hard to care much about tomorrow when today is so beautiful. Really the only thing about tomorrow that I think about, is which wine I am going to open! What will you be opening in November? Read on to find out! Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) With chillier and greyer weather, we'll all feeling the desire to hermit up with blankets and to not do anything. This month won’t be about

  How is it October already?! I know that I for one wanted the heat and humidity of summer to be over, but I blinked and it's October?? Possibly I missed September while my power and water were out because this city can't get itself together to actually fix the infrastructure. Hopefully though, October will go better than did September.  Regardless, autumn is truly upon us! Calendarily in any case and if we're lucky, cooler weather and lower humidity will follow. Does this mean that it's time to break into all those big red wines again? Read on to find out! Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) October invites you to engage

  While actual autumn does not begin until later this month, the beginning of September heralds to many the end of summer. Summer vacation is over, people are getting back to work, school, to "normal" life. Even if you didn't have the whole summer off, there's always an intangible sense of freedom and ease during June, July, and August and a lot of people feel a little let down at the end of the summer season.  Don't dwell on the let down this month! Concentrate instead on the good things. In Istanbul, for example, the end of summer means the return of charity ice cream producer Soulful Scoops! It means

  Since shifting some of its focus to quality wines, Selçuk area-based Akberg Winery has sourced grapes from around the country.  Narince from its home in Tokat, Emir from Cappadocia, Papazkarası from Thrace, Çalkarası from Çal, and so on. The winery's decision to do so stems from its belief that a grape naturally grows in certain terroir for a reason. While a grape might happily grow elsewhere (Narince being a great example), not all react well to that (Emir). The winery then views the entirely of Turkey as one giant vineyard, ergo its label, Büyükbağ (large vineyard).  [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300"] Osmanca - photo from Wayana Wine Bar[/caption] But not all of Akberg's

  Summer is in full swing and it's just begun. It's hot, tempers are rising with the temperatures! We all need something to cool us down. This time of year, most people want to reach for white or rosé because they're cold, they're refreshing. But, don't forget, you don't have to give up red wine during the hot summer months! Check out these chillable reds to start. And, even if your tastes run to heavier, full-bodied reds, don't be afraid to chill them for a little bit before drinking, especially given how hot our current "room temperatures" are.  So, let's get to it! What are we all drinking this month?

  The Budapest airport forever confuses me, regardless of how many times I've been through. Duty free is before immigration which I continuously forget meaning I'm always almost going to miss my flight by the time I've browsed the couple shops I like then get in the loooong, slow line for immigration. It was on one of these "I forgot passport control was yet to come" trips that I found this Oremus Tokaji Aszú in Duty Free. Selling me a Tokaji Aszú is probably the easiest thing anyone could do. I did hesitate over the price, it was I think the single most expensive bottle of wine I'd ever bought.

  We've still got a couple weeks until spring is official by the calendar, but it seems to have arrived in Istanbul early. Although if past winter/spring seasons are prologue, then we could well see snow in the city in March. I'm hoping that is not our future this month, but it's difficult to know what the universe has in store! Slightly less murky than our weather forecast is our drinking forecast! So, which wines will we all be hunting down this month? Read on to find out.  Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Aquarius, this month brings a possibly unique opportunity to turn your creative ideas into passive income streams. We

  So, 2023 is now behind us. Not such a bad year, all things considered. Although there's always hope that the future will be better and brighter. Whether or not you make resolutions, take some time as we say goodbye to the year to reflect on the lessons you learned and how you might apply them and do and be better in 2024. Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) January's winter nights are cold and dark, the perfect place for shadows of the past to lurk and taunt you. Embrace the discomfort of facing them head-on. Remember that the wounds you carry are not your identity, but they way you deal

  This month, I am hosting the #WinePW group's exploration of heritage and traditional grapes. I will attempt to host a chat on Threads tomorrow, Saturday, November 11 at 8am PST / 11 am EST / 7 pm Istanbul. Well, I mean, I will be hosting one. How successfully I shall do so remains to be seen! Heritage grapes in Turkey Heritage, or traditional grape varieties are those that have been grown not in their native land for a long time. Think Zinfandel in America (or really any vitis vinifera in America!), Shiraz in Australia, Pinot Noir in Germany, etc. How long is a long time? Well

  This month, the #ItalianFWT group is exploring the wines of Piemonte and/or Valle d'Aosta. Culinary Cam will be hosting a Twitter (I refuse to call it X), on Saturday, November 4 at 8am Pacific/11am EST/6pm Istanbul. You can read her invitation to the event here.  Lacking any wine from the Valle d'Aosta, I chose a wine from Piemonte. I have several on hand at the moment but my overwhelming love for anything bubbly trumped all the other wines, and so I had to choose a Brachetto. Brachetto the grape and the wine Brachetto is both a grape and a wine, both of which hail from Piemonte. The berries are dense and firm