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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 23)

By 1Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  If you know me, you probably know that I don't like Kavaklidere. My dislike has nothing to do with its size; it being one of the largest (the largest?) wineries in Turkey. I don't like the attitude. Then last autumn, the winery released a new wine: Kavaklidere Cotes d'Avanos Emir. And darn it all, it's really good. Cappadocia and Emir   Emir is THE grape of Cappadocia. While now found in pockets around Denizli in the Aegean, the purity and linear quality of Emir requires the high elevations and volcanic soils of Cappadocia. You can read more about the grape itself in my Get to Know the Grape: Emir post. Also

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Nearly extinct until the 1970s, Kalecik Karası has become of of Turkey's most popular and widely planted grapes. While red wines remain the most common, the grape shows great flexibility and makes blanc de noir, rosé, and traditional method sparkling wines. Below are my picks for top Turkish Kalecik Karası wines (well the red ones anyway!). It originates in the Central Anatolian region, near Ankara, in Kalecik. Fairly adaptable, the grape grows across the country now and very often gives nuances of terroir. Known for its distinctive cotton candy aroma, Kalecik Karası at its worst is a simple fresh and fruity wine without complexity but with enjoyable fruit and

By 0Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Last year I received a tasting set of Riedel Winewings from their Turkish importer KTD. One glass each for Sauvingon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I use one every time I open one of those grapes, or a Turkish grape with similar properties. But it was not until I opened a bottle of Umurbey Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay that I really put them to the test! An experiment in glassware Georg Riedel created the Riedel Winewings collection in order to maximize the qualities of these particular grapes. From the Riedel website: We chose a flat and stretched bottom, with a wing-like shape to increase the surface area between wine and

By 0Sweet Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  What do you get when a popular wine bar and a great winery form a partnership? A whole mess of new wines, that's what! New wines like the Arda Kuşlu Solera Misket. Arda and Solera Solera is one of the longest-lived and successful wine bars in Istanbul. It also happens to be my local! So I have a soft spot for it and for owner Süleyman Er. Imagine my delight to learn that that for some years now he's been cultivating his own vineyards. Süleyman has made some progress towards renovating a 100 year winery on the shores of the Sea of Marmara as well. But for the time being,

By 0Red Wine, South American Wines, Wine Reviews

  Several months back I met a lovely new wine friend. Here in Turkey on vacation with her (equally lovely) mother, she got in touch with me on Instagram. I love wine Instagram! We got together so I could show her some of my favorite Turkish wines. In turn, she, from Argentina where she's an up and coming winemaker, brought me three beautiful Argentinean Malbecs. I have had and enjoyed not a few Argentinean Malbecs in my life. But this was the first time I was able to compare three wines from three regions and three completely different elevations. Such fun. Zuccardi Q Malbec, 2019 Perhaps one of the most famous Argentinean

By 0Sparkling Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Last year, we thrilled at Paşaeli's release of four pét-nats. This year, one more joins Paşaeli's - the Arcadia Sauvingon Gris Pét-Nat. I've seen it in several shops now, but the first place (with so far the best price to boot) was at Casa Botti in Göztepe.  Sauvignon Gris Sauvignon Gris is a pink-berried mutation of Sauvignon Blanc. It is not, if you wondered, a common grape in Turkey. Of Sauvignon Blanc we have a seemingly never ending supply. But only the Thrace-based winery Arcadia grows Sauvignon Gris. Arcadia produces several wines with this grape including a blend with Sauvignon Blanc and a blend with Pinot Gris. Arcadia Sauvignon Gris Pét-Nat

By 0White Wine, Wine Reviews

  I recently-ish wrote a post about some of the Malagousia wines I've enjoyed. I somehow left out the Ktima Zafeirakis Malagousia. Which is crazy since this is quickly becoming one of my favorite Greek wineries with things like its Limnioa, and "Little Bear" white blend. Making wine in the PGI Tyrnavos area of Thessaly, Ktmia Zafeirakis is a Biohellas-certified organic farming, family-run winery. The winery makes several wines with Malagousia grown in sandy0clay soils with lots of flint. Malagousia appears in varietal and blends for Zafeirakis and this was one of the winery's varietal bottlings, aged three to four months in the tank before bottling. Ktima Zafeirakis Malagousia, 2019 Warm,

By 0Red Wine, Rose Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Recently I wrote a post about (some of) the best Turkish Pinot Noirs. I left out two wines on purpose, the Ayda Bağları Pinot Noir and Rosé. These two deserved to be tackled separately. Ayda Bağları  After a few years of hobby winemaking, Ayda Kargılı Kalelioğlu and her husband Uğur Kalelioğlu decided to go commercial. Ayda, a dentist by training, had been making wine with the trial and error method. But when the pair decided to ramp up their operations, she pursued an oenology certification in France which she received in 2008. Now, Ayda and Uğur are proud to be a boutique winery. Their capacity is roughly 14,400 bottles a