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Turkish Wine

HomeTurkish Wine (Page 8)

  I don't write much about Kutman wines (anymore). While the winery continues to put out new vintages, it hasn't released a "new" wine of late so it's fallen a bit off my radar. However, I happened to have a bottle of the Kutman Kalecik Karası gathering dust in my wine room. I bought it years ago when we visited for the book interview. At first it just got shuffled around and then it started to get older and I wanted to see how much longer I could age it.   Finally curiosity got the better of me and I opened my Adnan Kutman Kalecik Karası 2010. But before we get

  When you hear the grape "Sultaniye", what comes to mind? Table grapes or raisins probably. If you live in Turkey likely also pekmez or rakı. Maybe wine. But fine wine? Probably not. Heraki is going to change that for you. There's some pretty crap Sultaniye out there. There's good Sultaniye as well (I'm looking at you, Paşaeli). But my first sip of the Heraki Akuarela was life changing.  But before we get there. Heraki is the new label from Fulya Akinci and José Hernandez-Gonzalez. This Wife-husband winemaking duo (she's Turkish, he's Spanish) have worked as consulting winemakers in Turkey for years. They're behind some great wines from places like Karnas, Vinolus,

  I don't know about you all, but the beginning of 2023 did not treat me well! Despite vowing to not participate in dry January, circumstances forced a two week fast on me. So, I feel quite happy to see the end of the month. Hopefully February will treat me better! Given my lack of drinking last month, I have many plans for February. What will you be drinking? Read on to find out! Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Aquarius, brace yourself for frustrating drama. This is going to be a roller coaster month for you with ups and downs and swells of turmoil. The part that really sucks is that

  Several years ago, when I interviewed people from Asmadan winery for the book, they mentioned they were growing Macabeo. But then there was nothing, and still nothing so I thought maybe I heard wrong. Last fall I learned that I had not heard wrong! Asmadan brought a new wine to one of GustoBar's big tasting events, Vals Macabeo Narince. We know that my whole raison d'être is native grapes. But that doesn't mean I still don't get excited when a new, weird international grape shows up here. And with this wine, I get the best of both worlds! Macabeo (aka Viura) comes from the Pyrenees in north and east Spain

  Foça Karası is a grape we still don't know a lot about in Turkey. In Greece, where it's known as Fokiano, it's grown mostly on two or three of the Aegean islands where they use it in red, rosé, and sweet wines. In Turkey, Foça Karası grows in the Aegean region in the (surprise) Foça district outside Izmir. Two of the Urla wineries include small amounts in red blends and Öküzgözü Şarapçılık has been the only winery making varietal wines with the grape.  Until now.  I don't write about Yazgan a lot. Partially because I've had cause several times to be highly annoyed with them but also because, aside from the

  Wine trends may come late to Turkey, but when they comes they do it with a vengeance. One of the most recent to sink its teeth in has been that of "natural" wine. And we all know how I feel about that. The next person who emails me to say they're coming to Turkey and want wine recommendations but "I/we  only drink natural or at least biodynamic wine" I will hunt down this person and punch them in the face. So, please, don't send me that email. Small rant aside, let's talk about the Kastro Tireli Hermos line. Kastro Tireli's wines have always been "natural" adjacent as the winery

  Akberg winery is off and running since its addition of "real" vs fruit wine (for more on that check out this post). While it puts a heavy emphasis on native grapes with wines from Narince, Bornova Misketi, Papazkarası, and lesser known varieties like Osmanca; the winery also makes a few international grape-based wines. I first tried their Shiraz, which they source from vineyards in Denizli in the inner Aegean, at one of GustoBar's tasting events. It wasn't my favorite (spoiler) but I found it

  Every year - well every year that I remember - I like to do a quick review of the wines I posted about during the year that I most enjoyed, that most surprised me, etc. So with no further ado, let's jump into my favorite Turkish wines of 2022! My Favorite Sparkling Wines Sparkling wines are always going to be at the tippy top of my list! Not many new sparkling wines were released this year but, even if it were the only one, the Arcadia Pét-Nat Sauvignon Gris would still sit at the top of the tippy top.  Yaşasın is not new but it still makes my list. This year, I

  Happy 2023 to everyone! Who's made a resolution for the new year? Share in the comments below!  I'm not one for resolutions generally but I can tell you one I shall NOT be making and that's dry January. Dry January?! Obviously that's not happening here. Start the year the way you intend to end it; pickled. I already have a few wines lined up for myself for this month. What will you be drinking? Read on to find out! Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Does anyone else silently sing the Aquarius song from Hair when they hear the word? No? Just me

  If a Cabernet Shiraz blend from Akın Gürbüz has a hint of deja vous about it for you, you wouldn't be wrong. The Gürbüz Blend #1 also contains both Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. If I recall correctly the story (which I hope I do!). Blend #1 was, as the name might indicate, the first blend he made. Later, after completing and bottling the blend, Akın repeated the blend. However, it was a separate batch from the first blend. As such, he did not feel comfortable bottling it under the same name because, to him, it was not the same thing and he didn't want to deceive anyone. If