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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 36)

  Yusta Bursa is one of Turkey's newest wineries which debuted its first vintage (2017) last year. With vineyards and the winery based in Bursa-"just" across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul it is the first winery to put down roots in Bursa. A family run winery n the business side, it is one of the many here to use Turkey-based French wine making consultant Jean Luc Colin. Bursa generally has a reputation for being a very conservative city. Tourism (both domestic and international) centers around Ulu Cami (the Great Mosque) and several religious tombs. However, more recently, the city has garnered a reputation as a foodie haven. Dinner and

  The Renčel family has always had a homestead in in Karst. Each generation added to the homestead somehow. And while the family produced wine from the beginning (along with crops and animals), their wines were simple: a Terrano and a white blend. Until Joško Renčel. The transformation of this small farm into a dedicated and well-respected winery began slowly. First by abandoning other agriculture in favor of vines. Next, Renčel deviated from the classic Karst grapes. He planted and experimented with a variety of grapes to see what else would work in the fertile red "terra rossa" soils of Karst. Located in Slovenia's Primorska on a limestone plateau that

  Syrah is the most popular international grape planted in Turkey. Not only is it the most popular international grape, it's one of the top three planted grapes overall here. Therefore, finding a Syrah-based wine (varietal or otherwise) does not present a huge challenge here. Turkish winemakers produce outstanding Syrahs in both Old and New World styles (although the latter feels more prevalent). I've had some really beautiful Syrah wines from Turkey over the last few years. I've also had some really bad ones. But we're not going to talk about those! Prodom Reserve Syrah, 2014 Based in Aydın towards the east of the Aegean growing region, Prodom uses Syrah in many

  Even before I visited one of Estate Gai'a's wineries I was a fan. While I went to the winery in the Nemea, Gai'a also has a winery in Santorini and it was the Assyrtiko from this winery that began my love affair with them. In addition to the winery's Thalassitis, a more traditionally made Assyrtiko wine, Gai'a also crafts a wild ferment Assyrtiko. The grapes for the wild ferment come from the winery's Pyrgos vineyards, part of the PDO Santorini. Here vines grow in the traditional ‘kouloura’ (basket) in the island's low nutrient pumice soils. Water is often scarce but humidity is retained by and fed back into the

  While not the most widely planted native variety, Kalecik Karası holds a firm position as one of Turkey's Big Three black grapes. However, in the early 1970s, Kalecik Karası was very nearly extinct. Enter Prof. Dr. Y. Sabit Ağaoğlu. At the time, Prof. Dr. Ağaoğlu was working on a Ph.D. in agriculture at Ankara University. For his thesis project he decided to make a clonal study of the Kalecik Karası grape. From a few dried vines he not only earned his Ph.D. but also created a vineyard. And since he already had the vineyard, he and his wife decided to go ahead and make wine. They named their winery

  It's Christmas Eve!!! Huzzah! Based in the Kalecik village outside Turkey's capitol Ankara, Vinkara owner Ardıç Gürsel laughingly described the winery as "the largest of the small or the smallest of the large". When the Gürsel family founded the winery in 2003, size was not her goal. Featuring Turkish grapes was her number one and that's what they do. Vinkara's efforts in making fine wine with native grapes extends to Gürsel's number goal: to be the first to make a traditional method sparkling wine with a native Turkish grape. And that's exactly what she did.  Vinkara's Yaşasın, made with the not only native but local Kalecik Karası comes in a blanc

  It's almost Christmas! Really really almost Christmas! This was the second to last bottle of wine in my Advent box 'o wines. This was also the final disguised for blind tasting bottle. Of course I would end on a blind tasting. But, let's see if I manage to go out with dignity. Energetic and mouthwatering with distinctive sea spray salinity that made me think: hmmm, I know you! High, lively acidity, medium-bodied, guessing moderate alcohol. Citrus and sea water

  Much like I couldn't not include a sparkling wine in the Advent boxes 'o wine; I had to also include a sweet wine. I have stacks of sweet wine. As greatly as I love it; I treat it far too preciously and need an 'occasion' for which to open one. The occasion ought to be simply that I want one! Perhaps I will make doing that my new year's resolution! Along with buckling down to study for my Italian Wine Scholar exam, studying my Greek homework more, finding a publisher for my book. Sigh. The new year is starting to look overwhelming! Of all the sweet wines I have, I