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Turkish Wine

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  Spring has officially sprung! Sure, the temperature dropped a bit there in March, but (knock on wood) we seem firmly settled into spring now. I don't especially have a green thumb. That does not stop me from gardening though and I am full on into it. April showers bring May flowers and all that. I'm thinking of buying a grow lamp for the darker rooms in my apartment. Do you like to garden? What are your favorite things to do when that fresh smell of spring fills the air?  April can be a beautiful month, especially with the tulip festival coming soon! But spring is a harsh season. Rebirth

  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

  Turkey and Australia both being what they are, this will merely be the first of many Turkey vs Australia Shiraz taste offs! Shiraz (or Syrah, both names are used here) is massively popular in Turkey. Despite the preponderance of imitation Bordeaux blends, Shiraz is the most planted of any international grape. At least as of the last numbers I saw. Varietal Shiraz is the most common, but it also appears in blends. Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah blends have gained a lot of popularity here. It sneaks into what would otherwise be a Bordeaux blend. And one producer, Kayra, is even doing a traditional Côte Rôtie-style Syrah-Viognier blend. So, there's a lot of

  Disclaimer: This post includes wines received as a sample. All opinions are my own. This March, to celebrate International Women's Day, Camilla from Culinary Cam invited those of us in the Wine Pairing Weekend writers to look at women in wine. Turkey has a higher than average percent of women working in its wine industry. You can read a little bit about it, including a few featurettes of some of these women, in this piece I wrote for Vintner Project. The short story, is that more than one-third of Turkish wineries involve women in high-level positions, and almost all of them employ large numbers of women in the field.

  March brings any number of key days with which to mark the month. Fat Tuesday this year is the 4th. The 20th is the first day of spring. And on the 8th we celebrate International Women's Day. Turkey has a higher than average percent of women working in its wine industry. You can read a little bit about it, including a few featurettes of these women, in this piece I wrote for the Vintner Project. The short story, is that more than one-third of Turkish wineries involve women in high-level positions, and almost all of them employ large numbers of women in the field. To celebrate these remarkable women,

  I was lucky enough to recently be invited to a tasting of Nif Bağları wines at Foxy Nişantaşı. As my focus tends to land on the wineries that work more vigorously with native grapes, some wineries, like Nif, often fall to the fringes of my drinking and writing. I therefore especially enjoyed this opportunity of returning to Nif's wines.  It was somehow only at this tasting that I learned why the winery is called Nif. I certainly have wondered (!) and cannot believe I never thought to ask. The winery is located in Kemalpaşa, İzmir. But, as with many cities in Turkey, the area has a much older

  Disclaimer: This post includes wines received as a sample. All opinions are my own. None of us had ever heard of the Black Sea grape Merzifon Karası before Likya debuted it as part of the winery's Arkeo line.  It seems it took another winery being successful with the grape for Diren, actually based in the Black Sea, to take notice and start making its own (far less superior imo) version. Then last year, Quinientos Dos (502) Vineyards, a new Black Winery, debuted its wines, including a varietal and a blend Merzifon Karası.  When I tried it last year (which you can read about here), I found a wild riot of

  It might be the shortest month of the year, but you'd never guess with everything that February has in store! Of course there's pressure from many to make a big deal out of Valentine's Day for your partner. And then of course the pressure many singletons feel over having no one with whom to celebrate the day. We should all take a beat and remember the day commemorates a saint who was tortured then murdered as a martyr. So

  I've oft lamented the extent of international grapes used in Turkey. And, while I will always prefer native grapes, the international varieties have their place here. Especially the heritage varieties. Since the Syrahs and Chardonnays aren't going anywhere any time soon, I might as well start having fun with them. And so, welcome to the Taste Off! In this new series, I will feature a Turkish wine made with an international grape and pit it against a wine made with the same grape from a foreign country, either the grape's country of origin, or one well-known for its production. This week, I'm looking at Semillon. A heritage variety in

  Narince has an interesting story. While one can now find it in many places around Turkey, its home is the Black Sea region district of Tokat. A number of wineries own vineyards there but most contract with independent growers. This has become a problem though. While winemakers strive for quality wine, they are thwarted in their efforts by receiving damaged fruit from growers. The Narince leaf is traditionally used to make stuff grape leaves here and growers sell to both leaf wholesalers and wineries. A later-ripening variety, by the time the grapes reach peak ripeness, vines have already been denuded of leaves so a good chunk of the