It's December 4 - you know that that means! #CabFrancDay! I wouldn't miss a chance to celebrate this wine holiday. Not only because my friend Lori Budd of Exploring the Wineglass and Dracaena Wines founded it
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It's December! The winter solstice is around the corner but, even more exciting, Christmas! My tree is up! Is yours? Especially in light of the tragedy we all faced in Istanbul last month, it's more important than ever that we embrace this season of kindness, generosity, and giving. Those three wise mandates (haha see what I did there?) should most certainly be how we act towards others, but also to ourselves. Be kind to yourself
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Over the winter I met some of the family behind new Çal-based winery, Kuzubağ. Historically, the wineries located on the Denizli-Çal plateau have produced more bulk, lower-quality wines. Kuzubağ is one of the new wineries here that want to change that image. One of the ways they're doing it is to emphasize the local grape, Çalkarası. The winery's vineyards sit at an elevation of 850 meters in clay-loam and calcareous soil. Given the elevation, there's a great difference between day and night temperatures allowing grapes to ripen over a longer period while retaining their freshness. Here they grow not only Çalkarası, but also Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü, Narince, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The
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Lucien Arkas began his path to winery ownership as a wine lover with a dream. And a lot of money. In 2010 when the floundering İdol Wines company went for sale, he snapped it up and began to turn it into a successful business. LA Wines (or LA Şarapçılık or Lucien Arkas Bağları or LA Mahzen you'll see it all ways) sits within the boundaries of the city of Izmir in Torbalı. Despite being surrounded by industrial complexes, Arkas managed to get organic certification for his 29 hectares from Ecocert. He also built a beautiful restaurant and event space overlooking the vineyards which helped solidify the new winery's
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Canan's wines often fly under the radar, but the Gordias Oğan wasn't even on mine. Until I happened to spot a bottle of it at Solera. Located in Central Anatolia in Polatlı, a bit south-west of Ankara, Gordias winery works with a wide range of native and international grapes. Of course Kalecik Karası features heavily in the wines as do Narince, Fesleğen, Hasandede, Öküzgözü, and Boğazkere. On the international side, the winery produces Sauvingon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Merlot. Usually the wines involve one grape or sometimes blends of native and international grapes like the Cabernet Franc - Kalecik Karası and the Kalecik Karası - Boğazkere - Merlot. The Oğan
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Semi-recently I took a trip to Georgia (the Republic of, not the peach state). I haven't been since before the pandemic hit and was happy for a chance to get back to the land of khatchapuri. This wasn't just an eating trip though. I actually went to attend the Women in Wine Expo. When I heard the woman behind the organization is Turkish, I had to go! You can read more about Senay and her work here. How did I get from there to a primer on Tavkveri? Well because naturally I stayed an extra day to hit up a few of my favorite wine bars, restaurants, and shops
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We don't give Yapıncak a lot of love. Largely because it's not especially common. Paşaeli, Sevilen, and Suvla are the only wineries I know that work with it.And yet, despite the fact that only three wineries use it, there are a lot of Yapıncak wines out there! Suvla makes three wines, Sevilen one, and Paşaeli
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Kayra Buzbağ and Kayra Buzbağ Rezerv have been around since forever. By which I mean at least the 10 years I've been knocking around Istanbul and many years prior to that. Kayra's facility in Elazığ has been there for so long that they city grew up around it. Kayra has two wineries, but the Elazığ location is dedicated to the production of its wines made from regional grapes Öküzgözü and Boğazkere. Which are the grapes that have always gone into the Buzbağ blends. Which means also that Buzbağ Rezerv has also always been a red wine. There's not been a Rezerv white until now. Hello Kayra Buzbağ Rezerv White
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Last Sunday, I wrote about my experience with the rosé wines from Kuzubağ. Now it's time to tackle the whites! Over the winter I met some of the family behind new Çal-based winery, Kuzubağ. Historically, the wineries located on the Denizli-Çal plateau have produced more bulk, lower-quality wines. Kuzubağ is one of the new wineries here that want to change that image. One of the ways they're doing it is to emphasize the local grape, Çalkarası. The winery's vineyards sit at an elevation of 850 meters in clay-loam and calcareous soil. Given the elevation, there's a great difference between day and night temperatures allowing grapes to ripen over a longer period while
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I bought this Carpinus Tokaj Hárslevelű during my last trip to Budapest this June. In a way, this one bottle brought the last year full circle for me. Last year, I participated in (and won! thanks to all you who voted) a wine writing competition organized by Hungarian Wines.EU. This year, during that trip in June, the organizer asked me if I would judge the entries for this summer's competition. My task, to judge the submissions in the "Hárslevelű - More Than "The Other" Grape" category. Owned by Edit and Istaván Bai, Carpinus Winery sits in Hungary's famed Tokaj region. Here the Bais cultivate their grapes with environmentally friendly practices
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