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.
vino@elated-themes.com

Travel

HomeTravel

By 2Articles, Travel, Turkish Wine

  The Lidya Antik Bağ Rotası, the newest of Turkey's wine route, has really come out of the gate at full speed with thoughtful branding, a slick website, an active social media presence, and special events. A couple weeks ago I attended a dinner hosted by the wine route. The guests were a quirky mix of winery owners and winemakers, marketing specialists, wine bar owners, social media wine influences, journalists, and somehow, me. [easy-image-collage id=22576] The evening began with an introduction to the wine route; its origin story, the inspiration, and the opportunity to taste some of the wines. We were then treated to a fantastic and not at all creepy puppet

By 0American Wines, Articles, Travel

  Another piece published on Food Wine Travel Magazine! How to Spend a Day in Michigan's Smallest AVA I’ve been a proud Michigangster my whole life. But it wasn’t until I left the U.S. over 12 years ago that I really began to explore the state. What changed? Maybe a little homesickness, but more than that, I discovered wine. Now, my annual visits to Michigan involve learning more about its wine scene. On my most recent visit, my favorite cousin and I spent a day getting to know Michigan’s smallest AVA (American Viticultural Area): the absolute gem, Fennville. Fennville AVA I’d heard of Fennville AVA, but I’d never visited. Not only is it one

By 0Articles, Travel, Turkish Wine

  I am so happy to have my first piece published in Winetraveler! Turkey Makes Wine? Here’s Why You’ve Probably Never Tried It Turkey elicits images of minarets, fezes, kebab, and endless glasses of tea. Visitors have long flocked to Istanbul and beyond to explore the country’s ancient ruins, sandy beaches, and stunning countryside. One thing that many people miss is its wine. Despite being one of the oldest wine producing countries on earth, few have discovered the wines or even had a chance to try them–here’s why. Turkey Doesn't Really Export Its Wine While many think Turkey might be too hot for vines, the truth is that heat is tempered by sometimes

By 0Articles, Travel, Turkish Wine

  I'm so excited that my first piece for Food Wine Travel Magazine was published today!  Discover Turkey's Unexplored Mediterranean Wine Region Beneath my feet lies an ancient wine press, carved deep into the mountain’s limestone bedrock countless centuries ago. Around me, gnarled bush vines twist out of the rocky soil, some 80 or more years old. From this high plateau, more than 5,000 feet above sea level, the air feels fresher. The sky stretches endlessly overhead, a burning blue. Not far to the south, the bright turquoise of the Mediterranean echoes the sky. While I could be in the vineyards of Priorat, Cinque Terre, or Provence, I’m not. I’m in a

By 1European Wines, Red Wine, Travel, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  This post contains affiliate links While I was only in Bulgaria a few short days last summer, its wine left a lasting impression on me. I did several great tastings, found some fantastic wine bars, had my first canned pét-nat! and brought home some great wine. It's time to dive back into Bulgarian wine and talk about one of those great tastings - in fact the first one I did - at Sofia's Coupage. Coupage Located just a few blocks off Sofia's Slaveykov Square, Coupage Wine and Cheese is the brainchild of Aleksander Angelov. As the shop's name promises, it is more than wine (although that's enough in my opinion!). He also

By 1Red Wine, Rose Wine, Travel, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Disclaimer: I received these wines as samples. All opinions are my own. This article contains affiliate links. A couple years ago, I stumbled across Sagavin's wines, maybe on Instagram. I ordered a few bottles to give them a go, but unfortunately, they soon after fell off my radar. Sagavin has wines in maybe a couple few restaurants in Istanbul, but not in shops. I'd contacted the owner, Uğur, a couple few months ago as I wanted to make sure to include them in edition 2 of The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine (coming soon! - I hope, I feel like I've been saying that for months). He reached back

By 0Rose Wine, Travel, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Label designs for wine is a big business. As with any company working on its marketing plan, a winery has to decide how it wants to present itself. Do they have an old-school Schloss or Chateau vibe? Do they want people to think of them as young, fresh, or unpretentious? Depending on the vibe they're going for, a winery might have a whole concept and their labels reflect one specific style. Or maybe they have (sometimes wildly) different styles for different wine series.  And then there are the times when a winery, with a very specific label style, releases a new line with entirely new branding. That's what happened

By 2European Wines, Rose Wine, Sparkling Wine, Travel, Wine Reviews

  This post contains affiliate links Last June I visited Sofia for the first time. What a charming little city! Which maybe sounds slightly condescending but a) I don't mean it that way at all and b) almost anywhere is little when you live in Istanbul. I had a marvelous time exploring the Bulgarian wine scene there. For people like me who don't like to drive, the city offers quite a few opportunities to learn about and experience the wine. One of the places where I got a great crash course was Tempus Vini.  Tempus Vini Kalin Kushev's passion for wine went from hobby to business when he opened Tempus Vini in

By 1Rose Wine, Travel, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  *this post contains affiliate links A couple weeks ago, I flew to Izmir to give a wine tasting for a group from Roots Adventure Travel. It's been years since I last visited the 7Bilgeler winery, so I felt pretty psyched about going for the tasting. Over the years, 7Bilgeler has slowly added native grape wines to its portfolio, which reminded me that I'd recently opened a bottle of one of its newer wines: the 7Bilgeler Vindemia Rüzgar Karasakız Rosé. Karasakız While there are many grapes in Turkey I like, some of which I like quite a lot, my favorite Turkish black grape is undoubtedly Karasakız.  More well-known as Karasakız ("black gum"), the

By 1Red Wine, Rose Wine, Sparkling Wine, Travel, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Since my last post had me mourning my inability to travel this spring and waxing lyrical about last year's March trip to Bologna, it seemed only fair I should also remember fondly a domestic trip from last March: Mudurnu.  Mudurnu is a deep-rooted historic town located in the western Black Sea, in the province of Bolu. A historic guild town situated on the Silk Road, it was an important center of trade, crafts, and culture in the early Ottoman period.  [easy-image-collage id=21175] Nestled in the Mudurnu Stream valley, the town stretches between the rocky and forested hills of the Abant Mountains to the northeast, the Kocaman Mountains in the southwest, and