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Turkish Wine

HomeTurkish Wine (Page 25)

  I started my wine bar reviews with the most recent wine bar I'd visited, Carafe Istanbul. Now, we go back to the beginning with Istanbul's best and, in my opinion, only true wine bar. Solera. Tucked into a narrow storefront on Yeni Çarşı, Solera’s small sign and deeply recessed space is are easy to miss if you’re not looking for them. This wine bar offers an intimate and cozy setting with squat tables, cushy low stools, and a retro playlist. The food menu is limited but eclectic, offering Turkish mezes, pizza, pasta and steak. But you didn’t come here for a meal, you came to drink your way through

  The Hasandede grape hails from Turkey's Central Anatolia region. It has historically not been shown a lot of love by the winemaking community. But hopefully, this is changing. Kalecik-based Vinkara first began using it some years ago and makes a varietal Hasandede as part of its Winehouse line. Gelveri, located between Cappadocia and Aksaray, uses it to make amphora-aged skin-contact wines. And now Polatlı winery Gordias has jumped on the fan wagon with its own Hasandede. 2020 was a big year for Gordias as owner and winemaker Canan Gerimli released three new wines made from: Hasandede, Fesleğen, and Narınç, the latter two about which I posted previously. Her wines

  Many of us have heard the old adage to pair white wine with chicken and fish and red wine with red meat (like beef and lamb). Happily, that advice has pretty much gone out the window over the last years. For one thing…where does pork live in this configuration? What happens when you put a cream sauce on red meat? White wine with delicate fish and seafood sure…but what about heavier (dare I say “meaty”) fish like swordfish or tuna steak? It’s called a “tuna steak” for a reason after all! The best pairing advice has nothing to do with your protein (or vegetable if you swing that way).

  Female owned and operated Tafali Bağcılık is one of Turkey's newest wineries. Based in Kalecik, join the ranks of wineries like Tomurcukbağ and Vinkara in focusing on the local grape, Kalecik Karası. So much focus in fact, that they make only two wines. Both 100% Kalecik Karası, one a rosé, the other a red. But before we get to the wines, a bit about the winery and the women behind it.  [caption id="attachment_16287" align="alignleft" width="225"] Me, in lieu of a label![/caption] Fatma Yiğit and Alime Cicerali are agricultural engineers who became friends while working together. They decided to explore a different side of agriculture and started a small vineyard in

  For August's #WinePW event, host Gwendolyn from The Wine Predator, has invited us to explore amphora aged wines from around the world. You can view her invitation here. If you're reading this early enough, whether you write about amphora-aged wines or not, please feel free to join our Twitter discussion on August 14 at 8am CST / 11am EST / 6pm GMT+3. Based on every archeological and history museum I've ever visited, pottery is the most commonly found, left behind by previous civilizations item. It's the old museum bait and switch

  In a somewhat recent wine tasting, Drink Pink!, I featured a series of rosé wines. I'd had many of them before. Two were go-to rosés for me. However, one was completely new to me. And I really rather liked it. Selefkia Blush. Starting right off with the blend, it combines Patkara (80%) and Gök (20%). The grapes were co-fermented with four hours of skin contact. These are both grapes that are slowly starting to emerge onto the market thanks to Mediterranean wineries like Selefkia. Patkara is a black grape and Gök white. Have you heard of Mersin? This is a pretty well-known coastal city on the Turkish Mediterranean. I've never

  Kerküş is not a grape we talk about a lot. In fact, I have written about it only once after visiting Shiluh in Mardin. A well-known Assyrian winery, Shiluh blends Kerküş with another grape native to south east Turkey, Mazrona. However, it's never been available before as a single varietal. Now, thanks to newly opened Assyrian winery Midin Şarapçılık, it is.   [caption id="attachment_16265" align="alignright" width="225"] 60+ year old Kerküş vine[/caption] Midin Şarapçılık sits closer to Şırnak than to Mardin. The family behind the winery, the Salibas, have inhabited the Midin village (or Öğündükköyü as it's known in Turkish) since the 1500s. Recently, the family decided to open their own winery

  I recently took a quick little holiday on the Urla Bağ Yolu with a friend. I've been before; frankly I cannot even remember how many times at this point. This time was less about business and getting information for the book (coming soon!) and more about just enjoying. So, I thought I would share a few observations and tips for anyone planning their own Urla trip (bağ yolu or no bağ yolu).  [caption id="attachment_11796" align="alignright" width="300"] Mozaik[/caption] Places worth the visit Let me start with the hotel. There are plenty of hotels in Urla itself and more and more wineries are opening hotels and/or guest rooms. Urla Bağ Evi, while not a

  Shortly before Christmas I saw that my local shop, La Cave, would soon be stocking a new wine from Kayra. Kayra might be one of the giant wineries here in Turkey but their wine, especially the mid range and top shelf, is solid. Then I saw it was a Semillon and I immediately contacted La Cave to ask him to put aside two bottles for me.  While Semillon may not have as long a history in Turkey as say, Merlot in northern Italy, it has grown here for close to 100 years now. Considered by many to be a traditional, if not native, variety, Semillon gained popularity here early