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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 3)

  My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. And it's taking ever so much longer to write about these visits than it took to make them! After two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda and Gürbüz Winery we headed for the Aegean. In this region, our first stop was Kuzubağ, and then we were on to Heraki. And buckle up, this post turned out much longer than I anticipated! [caption id="attachment_22367" align="alignright" width="500"] Çal vineyards by Rob İçsezen[/caption] Heraki Heraki Wines is, at its heart, a love story. First between its founders,

  My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. And it's taking ever so much longer to write about these visits than it took to make them! After two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda and Gürbüz Winery we headed for the Aegean.  First stop, Kuzubağ! Kuzubağ  Kuzubağ Şaraphane is one of the new generation wineries working to raise the profile of the Çal region. More than just a member of the Çal Bağ Yolu, Kuzubağ is (in my considerable opinion), the best of them. A family-run affair, the Kuzu family

  My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. We spent two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda before venturing onto Gürbüz Winery. A visit to Gürbüz Winery is never short! Akın's enthusiasm and energy hold you captive as wine after wine (especially when you're with an importer) get opened and tanks and barrels are tapped to try new vintages.  Gürbüz Winery Akın Gürbüz grew up among grape vines. His family owned five hectares of vineyards planted to Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Yapıncak, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They did not make wine but sold the

  In a strange twist, I knew Acıkara almost before I knew Likya. Or it is perhaps more accurate to say, that I knew the grape/wine before I knew Likya well. I don't remember how exactly I found it or even knew then how special it was, this was closer to the beginning of my Turkish wine journey. But in many ways, it was my gateway into not only this winery, but the realm of rare, Turkish grapes. [caption id="attachment_22238" align="alignleft" width="275"] Göknur Gündogan PhD introducing the Likya Arkeo Project[/caption] I was invited to a recent event, Likya Antique Grapes Masterclass, hosted by Göknur Gündogan PhD and Burak Özkan. The event invited

  I recently had the chance to re-visit Arda Bağları in Thrace with US importer, Fine Turkish Wine. If only I had a car, I would certainly be at this winery more often. Arda has long been a favorite winery of mine. Not only because the wine is great (and price conscious!) but because the family behind it is lovely. [caption id="attachment_22197" align="alignright" width="445"] Rob İçsezen of Fine Turkish Wine, Andrea Lemieux, Yavuz Saç[/caption] Arda Bağları & Şarapçılık Located near the historic town of Edirne, a mere stone’s throw from the Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria border, lies Arda Bağları. Founded in 2007 by Ilyas Saç, this winery is a family affair tended to by Saç’s

  Paşaeli, that great pioneer and champion of rare native Turkish grapes has done it again. The winery, never content to rescue a grape and make just one wine before moving onto the next, often does small batch experiments to see what some of these grapes can, and cannot, do.  Years ago, the winery debuted its first wine with Çakal. The grape's character is such that, black grape though it technically is, even extended maceration gives only a dark-ish rosé. Paşaeli made two wines with the grape, one pale, and one dark rosé. Now, the winery that brought pét-nats to the Turkish market, has added one more: the Paşaeli Çakal

  It's been an age since I've done one of these! Weirdly, I have a bunch of Turkish candidates for various wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, Merlot, and more) but can't source the international versions. Thanks to a recent visit to the US and a gift from my cousin, Ginger, I am finally able to pair up a Turkish Zinfandel! Zinfandel If Shakespeare was right about "

  I recently had the chance to re-visit Arcadia Bağları in Thrace with US importer, Fine Turkish Wine. Not that I don't always enjoy visiting Arcadia (or any other winery), but when you're with a buyer, wow does the carpet get rolled out for you! After breakfast, we did a marathon tasting with Arcadia founder Zeynep who generously opened so many wines for us to try. I'll post reviews for everything eventually (especially the new Mahiada wines!), but first, lets dive into the Arcadia Odrysia line.  Arcadia Bağları  Arcadia Vineyards is a father–daughter dream brought to life in Lüleburgaz, once known as Arcadiapolis—an apt setting for their “earthly paradise.” Inspired by

  Quite some time ago (again, I drink faster than I can type) I received an exciting invitation to a wine masterclass in Istanbul: Georgian Wine in Focus. Organized by Sabiha Apaydın in coordination with the Georgian Wine Association, the masterclass introduced participants to some of the Georgian wines available in Turkey.  Yes! Before you ignore this post because it talks about wine not available here, these wines are! Am I 100% sure where? Sadly, no. Because the shop that did have them, doesn't seem to anymore. But, the usual suspects to check would be La Cave, Mensis Mahzen, maybe Gözde Tekel, it's possible you might even see these at

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