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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 4)

By 0American Wines, Rose Wine, Wine Reviews

  Each one of America's 50 states produces wine. You don't have to be a wine aficionado to have heard of wine from California, Oregon, Washington, or New York. The more adventurous drinker of American wine may also be familiar with wine from Michigan, Virginia, Texas, or even New Mexico. But even the more 'unusual suspects' states produce wine, such as Idaho, Hawaii, and Florida. And yes, even that most northern of states, sitting on the 60th parallel, Alaska. Certainly it is not the first state that comes to mind when one thinks about winemaking! The climate is largely subarctic with pockets here and there of dry-summer subarctic and

By 1Sweet Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Since shifting some of its focus to quality wines, Selçuk area-based Akberg Winery has sourced grapes from around the country.  Narince from its home in Tokat, Emir from Cappadocia, Papazkarası from Thrace, Çalkarası from Çal, and so on. The winery's decision to do so stems from its belief that a grape naturally grows in certain terroir for a reason. While a grape might happily grow elsewhere (Narince being a great example), not all react well to that (Emir). The winery then views the entirely of Turkey as one giant vineyard, ergo its label, Büyükbağ (large vineyard).  [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300"] Osmanca - photo from Wayana Wine Bar[/caption] But not all of Akberg's

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  The Urla district of İzmir in Turkey's Aegean region has become a hotbed of trendy wineries. Many belong to the Urla Bağ Yolu (the easiest, if not the most interesting wine route to navigate). But not all wineries in the area belong to the wine route. Personally, I find those few to be the more interesting wineries. Like Hus Şarapçılık. Founded in 2017 by Ceylan Ertörer Diaz Leon and Juan Pablo Diaz Leon, Hus Şarapçılık is a family venture that blends the Chilean wine background of Juan Pablo's family, and the agricultural history belong to Ceylan's family. Sadly, in 2021, Juan Pablo passed away. Ceylan has bravely continued the

By 2Amber Wine, Amphora, European Wines, Orange Wine, Red Wine, Rose Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Used to be that Markogianni was not a winery with which I was familiar. A friend recommended their Vorias and Helios amber Assyrtiko to me some time ago. That one wine was all it took really to sell me on the whole winery. Subsequent trips have seen me tracking down more and more of their wines and I am dying to visit them.  Located to the far west of the country, near the Ionian sea and ancient Olympia,  Markogianni Winery is a family-run winery launched in 1982. They soon converted to organic cultivation and in 2001 were certified by DIO. Between their own vineyards and the growers with whom

By 0Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Even if you're not a wine geek, you've heard about ageing wine. I get the question from time to time; people asking if they should age this or that bottle of Turkish wine. Oe expects to age bottles from many established wine regions, like Barolo, Brunello, Mosel, Bordeaux, Champagne, Rioja, etc. We also know that grapes like Riesling, Assyrtiko, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo and so forth generally do better with a couple years under their belt. But ageing Turkish wine? Grey area.  For why? you might ask. Doesn't Turkey have a wine industry essentially as old as grapes? Indeed it does. For 8000 plus years various peoples have made wine

By 0European Wines, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  If I feel like I have a hard time selling the concept of Turkish wine, how must the Baltic countries feel? This question came up recently when Goda, owner of Vines & Pearls, shared with me a bottle of Geri Metai rowan wine.  I knew a number of northern countries made wine, so I was not overly surprised when Goda offered to share a bottle of wine from her home country. Up until the early 20th century, Lithuania was more of a beer and mead producing kind of country. Many of us would hear that and think, well yes obviously. As far north as it sits, Lithuania enjoys neither

By 0Amber Wine, European Wines, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  My little brother (by which I mean younger in that he stands something like 6'6" or 6'7") and I have a tradition going back to when I lived in DC. He's always the one to pick me up from the airport when I visit. Then we go to Wendy's, then Meijer (a MI/regional superstore). It's changed a little over the years. Now he picks me up in Chicago instead of Grand Rapids and rather than Meijer (which I hit later for major shopping) we go to Siciliano's. It may sound like an Italian restaurant, but it is in fact a gourmet drinks shop. I first encountered it back in

By 1Red Wine, Rose Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Çalkarası is what I like to call Turkey's 'Cinderella' grape. For a long time, winery's have used this grape as a work horse to make up table wines and cheap red and rosé blends. And yet, the grape has great capacity to make high-quality wines. How do we know that? To begin, because we know that we share this grape with Greece where it does make high-quality wines. In Greece, Liatiko (as they call it) is the 5th most planted grape and the star of Crete's robust wine industry. How did it get from Crete to the inner Aegean in Turkey (or vice versa)? Dunno. Nor do I

By 0Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Kuzubağ, part of the Çal Bağ Yolu, is located in the Çal district of Denizli in Turkey's inner Aegean. 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 a range of native and international grapes, including of course the local Çal Karası. [easy-image-collage id=20320]   Recently, I had the pleasure of finally visiting Kuzubağ! I can say without a doubt that it is one of the most beautiful wineries in the country. No surprise they've won several architectural

By 0Amber Wine, Amphora, European Wines, Orange Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Of the hundreds and thousands of grapes the world has, my three favorite are white varieties. One of which is Assyrtiko. I am lucky enough to be in the position that I can visit Greece often. And, thanks to my writing work, have even been to Santorini. For several years, I spent those trips drinking mostly Assyrtiko. And almost exclusively Santorini Assyrtiko. I didn't like mainland Assyrtiko, felt almost offended by its softness compared the acid powerhouses offered by the Cycladic Islands. A quick note about those powerhouses. I recently learned, during a lecture by Dr. Yiannis Paraskevopoulos from Gai'a winery how different the mineral levels are in