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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews

By 0European Wines, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Grape providence can be a tricky thing, particularly where there are shifting borders involved. When researching background on the grape Pinela (or Pinella or Pinello), I found no less than three origin claims. All generally within the same-ish area, but different nonetheless. Wine-Searcher and Wine Grapes have the grape hailing from Veneto while all the Slovenian sites I checked claimed it is from Vipava Valley where it grows exclusively (which could be true if they mean not elsewhere in Slovenia). Finally, Wien Plus diplomatically places it in what is probably the most likely place: the general Goricia/Gorizia region that Slovenia and Italy share.  Whatever the case, today in Slovenia,

By 0European Wines, Rest of the World, Rose Wine, Sparkling Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Camilla from Culinary Cam has invited the #WorldWineTravel group to close out the year with celebration of sparkling wine and holiday nibbles! It's been a while since I've been able to participate in one of the group's blog events, but how could I possibly resist one featuring sparkling wine from literally anywhere in the world? [easy-image-collage id=20775] I jumped at the challenge and decided to go a slightly esoteric route with the wine and pulled out a Hungarian pezsgő, a German Sekt, and (thanks to a friend's contribution) a traditional method from Armenia. For the nibbles though I went simple with a tried and true cheeseboard and a crab rangoon twist

By 1Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

Ali and Fatma Ay were enticed into moving to the Mersin area in their retirement. What enticed them, you might ask. The heat? The beaches? The beautiful Mediterranean water? Nope. Patkara. Local wine made with this little heard of grape seduced them into not only moving to the region, but opening a winery. And, largely thanks to their efforts, Patkara has re-emerged onto the Turkish wine market. [easy-image-collage id=20798] Patkara’s home vineyards sit high in the Taurus Mountains at a minimum of 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) with some vineyards reaching even greater heights. Limestone bedrock is studded with marine fossils and, in many places, has given way to karstic landscapes.

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Disclaimer: This post includes wines received as a sample. All opinions are my own. Saudade (sauw-dad) is one of those great words that has no direct translation in English. It's a Portuguese and Galician word derived from the Latin for solitude, but means so much more. Described often as a "Portuguese way of life", saudade encapsulates a "constant feeling of absence, the sadness of something that's missing, wistful longing for completeness or wholeness and the yearning for the return of what is now gone, a desire for presence as opposed to absence

By 0Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Disclaimer: This post includes wines received as a sample. All opinions are my own. Located in the Şırnak Province, Midin Vineyards established itself, in part to save the region's ancient vines, in part to preserve the local Assyrian community's wine culture. It was with this connection to their history and culture in mind that the winery launched its new Cudi wines this year. From the label: Our village was established right in the middle of the valley known as the heaven valley of the Adam and Eve since more than 5000 years. Cudi, Gabar and Bagok mountains are the symbols of our geography. Mount Cudi is known as Kardu in

By 0Red Wine, Rest of the World, Wine Reviews

  The rarity of my posting about Australian wines the rarity of drinking them. Not necessarily by choice, but by lack of availability. Luckily for me, my good friend Roy, who splits his time between Istanbul and Melbourne, brought me a couple bottles on one of his last visits! I'd selected three bottles but he surprised me with three more that he'd picked out himself. One of those, Yarrh Wines Sangiovese, is not something I'd ever have selected for myself.  I don't love Sangiovese. The magnificence of Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano aside, it's a grape that on the surface I should like, but rarely ever do.

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  With a view of living a life closer to nature, Can and Duygu Kırış bought some land in Bayramiç in 2017, with the view to starting an eco-tourism-related business. The land they bought came ready planted with olive trees, a local nectarine variety, a vegetable garden, and a small plot of Karasakız vines. Becoming winemakers was not part of their initial plan. In 2019, Can, out of curiosity, asked the original planter of the vineyard to show him how to make wine with the grapes…” being 100% it was going to taste awful.” It might very well have turned out exactly as he expected. Being new to wine and

By 1Amber Wine, Orange Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  It's been quite a few years since Kastro Tireli debuted its first "natural" Hermos wine, a blend of Narince and Viognier. The line takes Kastro Tireli's clean winemaking practices one step further. The winery has always used organically-grown grapes and, when possible, native yeast fermentation. Hermos goes another level by using skin contact for the white wines, no filtration, and adds the barest hint of sulfur before bottling. What started with one wine is now five: the original Narince-Viognier blend, a Bornova Misketi (one of my favorite wines), varietal Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. I have not tried any of the reds, but very much enjoyed the two

By 0European Wines, Red Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This past summer, I took a trip I've been wanting to make for a few years now: Sofia. Bulgaria may not be on the top of everyone's travel wish list (although it should be, it's beautiful!) but it's been on mine for a while now. Why? Wine, naturally! I've heard great things about Bulgarian wine and two years ago, Shoyu Sugar brought back an amazing Riesling pét-nat that cemented my desire to explore the country's wine scene.  [easy-image-collage id=20618] As I've only been to Bulgaria once before and wanted to do at least one non wine activity. In the end, I settled on a day

By 0Articles, European Wines, Red Wine, Rose Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  For my birthday in August, my friend Malia of Shoyu Sugar made SPAM musubis for me!! I remember eating SPAM a bit when I was a kid. My mom mixed ground SPAM with American cheese and white onions and we made hot sandwiches with it. I actually really kind of liked it. But it wasn't until I had Malia's musubis that I understood what kind of magic you can make with this meat.  I won't go into the history of SPAM or how deeply embedded it is in Hawaiian culture. Suffice to say, SPAM musubis are a common snack food in Hawaii. When she can get the ingredients, Malia