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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 35)

  Uçmakdere Winery, based in the village of the same name along the Sea of Marmara, is one of the most exciting wineries for me right now. Entirely because of the winemaker, Işıl Bulutsuz. Işıl Bulutsuz is not only the daughter of one of Firuze’s founding families, she is also the winemaker. Prior to becoming Firuze’s winemaker Işıl studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris where she received a diploma in Wine and Management and graduated from the Professional Culinary Arts Program from Turkey's Mutfak Sanatları Akademisi (MSA) Culinary Arts Academy. She sat down with me (virtually of course!) this week to talk about her work in wine. Don't forget to

  This month Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla has invited the #Winophiles group to explore French grown around the world. You can view her original invite here. France is home to what are probably the world's most famous and widespread grape varieties. Grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay can be found in almost every winemaking country from France to the Italy, the UK, the US, Argentina, Australia, China, and Tunisia. And pretty much everywhere in between! Turkey likewise is not immune to the charms of French grapes. They enjoy an overwhelming popularity here. Few wineries (in fact only four or five come to mind) do not feature a

  I thought I'd had all of Gordias's wines. The I stumbled across a picture of this blend on the winery's Instagram feed. A wine I hadn't had?! Clearly, I had to rectify this situation. Not only had I never had this particular wine from Gordias but I'd never had this wine from anyone. The blend was something entirely new to me. Not only is a blend of Turkish grapes Kalecik Karası and Boğazkere extremely uncommon, Gordias owner and winemaker Canan Gerimli then threw in some Merlot. Because, why not? Gerimli pulled grapes for this wine from several locations around Turkey. The Boğazkere came from its 'home' in Diyarbakır, the Kalecik Karası

  In December I looked at several Turkish Cabernet Franc wines as part of #CabFrancDay (December 4), that month's #WinePW food and wine pairing event, and my Advent wine calendar.  However, those are not the only Cabernet Franc wines Turkey has to offer! The below wines in now way cover all the Cabernet Franc here. They just happen to be the ones I've enjoyed in the last year (give or take). Gürbüz Cabernet Franc, 2018 Late 2019 marked Akın Gürbüz's first Cabernet Franc. Grapes sourced from Solera's Gazıköy vineyards, fermented in open vats then aged for 13 months in new oak. The result: one of the most stunning Cabernet Francs in

  Owned and operated by the Romero Marcuzzi family, Bodega El Porvenir sits on the top of the world. Sort of. Located in Salta in Argentina's Valle de Cayafate, the winery shares vineyard space with some of the world's highest vineyards. The family chose this extreme location to pay homage to the region's extraordinary character. Their commitment involves more than making high-quality wines that emphasize that character. It extends to protecting the land and environment through sustainable farming practices. Bodega El Porvenir represents more than the pinnacle of the winery's production. The family's icon, it stands for their promise and commitment. "El Porvenir" means "the future." From the website: "El Porvenir is the

  Foça Karası has slowly and quietly snuck its way into the Turkish wine scene. This Aegean grape, like many in Turkey, takes its name from its local place of origin. In this case, the Foça district of İzmir. However, it goes by another name too. This is one of the few grapes Turkey shares with Greece where it is known as Fokiano and planted mostly on Ilkaria, an island near Turkey.  We don't see a lot of this grape in Turkey. While championed by Can Ortabaş of Urla Şarapçılık, he himself doesn't use it. The winery really putting Foça Karası through its paces is Öküzgözü Şarapçılık. Urla-based winery Urlice

  This month Linda of My Full Wine Glass has invited the #ItalianFWT group to explore Italian grapes grown outside of Italy. You can view her original invite here. Italy is home to some of the world's most iconic wines. It's long and storied history with the vine spans multiple civilizations such as the Etruscans, Romans, and Greeks. All of which have left their stamp on the wines we drink today.  Currently, researchers believe that Italy has anywhere from 350 to 600 unique grape varieties. Even if the number is "only" around the 350 mark, that still represents a quarter of the world's total cultivated grape varieties. More than France

  Vin Amoris is a very special wine from Vino Dessera. Winery owner Doğan Dönmez, in partnership with his oenological consultant Xavier Vignon, created this blend for his wife. I was able to try the 2015 vintage during a tasting on my first visit to the winery a few years ago. At the time, Vino Dessera had not released it commercially. Since then however, Dönmez released the 2016 vintage. The wine has two labels: one a deep blue, the other burgundy in color. The same wine resides behind both labels. It seems that they couldn't decide what they wanted to do for a label and put out a poll with a

  For our February #WorldWineTravel event, Susannah Gold of Avvinare has invited us to explore Catalunya - Emporda, Alella, Pla de Bages, Penedès, Conca de Barbera, Priorat, Montsant and More. You can view her invitation here. As you can tell from the event title, there is a lot going on with wine in Catalunya! [caption id="attachment_15621" align="alignright" width="498"] Image from https://cava.wine.com[/caption] D.O. Penedès and Cava Penedès is in northeastern Spain in Catalunya. Within the D.O. Penedès lies the D.O. Cava. Cava is one of those interesting regions that is actually larger than the demarcated D.O. It's like the Tardis. While it originated in San Sadurní de Noya in Catalunya, Cava can be made

  Yanık‌ ‌Ülke‌ Bağları translates as “vineyards of the burnt land.” Located at 924 meters above sea level on the rocky‌ ‌volcanic‌ ‌slopes‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ dormant ‌Divlit‌ ‌Volcano, the winery prides itself on its black volcanic soil. It likes to compare itself to the vineyards and wines of Mount Etna, Sicily. To further this association, the winery cultivates several Sicilian grape varieties including Cataratto, Nerello‌ ‌Cappuccio,‌ ‌‌and Nerello‌ ‌Mascalese.  I've never had the Nerello Cappuccio. It's not something I see often on the shelf. The other two though are generally much easier to find. Yanık Ülke Nerello Mascalese, 2018 Bright ruby in the glass with aromas of mulberry, black raspberry, cherry, vanilla, and