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Turkish Wine

HomeTurkish Wine (Page 69)

  It’s funny how I never notice that I rarely cook meat at home; until Lent comes and then every Friday it’s an absolute trial. Much like living in Turkey with limited access to pork. I’d cook up some bacon every once in a while in the States but it was pretty rare for me to make pork dishes; but now that it’s difficult to get it’s all I can think of. I’m using my meatless Fridays to experiment with new vegetarian dishes-and pairing wines with them, of course! I wanted to let the Suvla Syrah breathe a bit (I recommend one-ish hour) so I opened it while the onions

  Usually I write these posts later in the afternoon but my regularly scheduled activities are frustrated by the need to wait around for DHL to turn up with a package. Usually they arrive shortly after calling to see if I’m home but it’s been an hour already. At least the package I’m waiting for is really cute shoes. I heard about Chateau Nuzun recently and while La Cave in Cihangir carries four of this nearby winery’s wines, they range in price from 90 to 140 TL. And I haven’t been a good enough girl to merit that of late. So I was happy to discover that my new favorite

  A few weeks ago I finally made it to Comedus, a great little charcuterie deli nearish my place. In addition to going a little nuts buying a variety of cheeses and meats, I also picked up several bottles of really quite reasonably priced wine, including the 2012 Vino Dessera Öküzgözü. Comedus had a couple wines by Vino Dessera, the Öküzgözü I picked up (32TL) and a Cabernet Sauvingnon. Since I liked the Öküzgözü so well (spoiler), I’ll probably go back for the Cabernet and if even the nose is at all similar (beautiful, floral with red fruits) I think I’ll like that too. Initially on the palate the Vino Dessera Öküzgözü

  I feel like I don’t often see a Cabernet Franc here so when I found an Anfora Cabernet Franc (new from Anfora) at Le Cave I grabbed it. Especially since the nice guy who helps me choose wine there pointed out that it was far more “ekonomik” at 28TL than the 140TL bottle I was also buying. In the glass, the deep ruby color gave way to an intriguing nose of (sour) cherry and smoke. I almost thought I was going to once more start waxing poetic; but no. It was a good wine, and at 28TL something I might buy again, but not good enough for the poetic

  Two of my best friends have just moved to Istanbul and I haven’t had time to take them through the do’s and don’ts of Turkish wine yet; so I wasn’t really shocked when I turned up for dinner and found them with a bottle of Sava Premium. “Premium”. Snort. I love them but they are very much ‘wine tastes like wine’ people; at least they sprang for the premium. I’m always game to try a new wine though so here we go. Perhaps I was predisposed to give it bad notes but for me the Sava Premium was awful right from the start with a vinegary nose; or maybe

  Despite living in Istanbul for two years; one of them right next to the famous French Street which high volume live music keeps me awake many nights until 2-3 AM; I had never actually gone to the street until a few weeks ago. Restaurant selection is very much like that in Sultanahmet; you walk through, brushing off touts until you’re ready to give in and sit somewhere. We ended up in a pretty decent place with a pretty excellent (if over priced) wine from the Shiluh winery in Mardin. Sadly on looking for Shiluh wines at Cihangir’s Le Cave I was told they neither have any nor expect to

  I was in the Suvla shop the other day looking for gifts for friends moving here. I thought they should have some nice wine before the harsh realities of the overall wine situation here came crashing down on them. The shop recommended the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc (at I think 28TL) Suvla blend and since I hadn’t tried it yet myself I got one for them and one for me; and am so glad I did. The pretty garnet red (and the fact that this came from Suvla) gave me high hopes for what was to come. Now, I must warn you, I am about to wax tipsily

  Since my Carrefour has remodeled and renamed itself a Carrefour Gourmet (which as far as I can tell means that it simply has a less well designed interior and higher prices) I have found a few new wine labels. I was thrilled when I saw this Büyülübağ Vedat Milor (30-ish TL if I recall) was one of the new options. When asked which country I think produces the best wine I will always say Spain first (Italy second and Argentina third) so seeing a Turkish wine blend that includes Tempranillo and Grenache made me do a little happy dance right there in the Carrefour Gourmet wine section. Unfortunately the

  Whenever I go into Carrefour I take a quick look at the wine section to see if I can find red wines at a) I haven’t tried yet, b) aren’t massively over priced, and c) aren’t Merlots. My options are dwindling. I did manage to find something from Sevilen’s Majestik line that I haven’t tried yet; its 2013 Syrah/Kalecik Karasi blend. I find that I tend to enjoy the flavor of a wine more if I feel it has a pleasing color. This must be some sot of subconscious something but holds true in this case. I thought the dark purply-red color was lovely. I’d love a dress in

  This week we’re talking about the 2013 Suvla Kabatepe white. Sadly, they’re not producing any more of this so what is in stock is what is left. Kabatepe is Suvla’s lowest-price wine range and the best wines you can get in Turkey for under 25TL. Like the red, the white is a super blend: Kınalı Yapıncak 47%, Chardonnay 17%, Sauvignon Blanc 15%, Semillon 10%, and a blend of Roussanne and Marsanne makes up the last 11%. Right out of the bottle it was interesting with its bright straw yellow color and green hues. The nose was dry and little floral. I was really surprised by the flavor which was sweeter