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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 49)

  Over the last couple years I've visited Greece once or twice a year. However, I have to make it to Santorini. The most famous of Greece's islands definitely has a place on my bucket list but I am waiting for a convenient off-season time to visit. As much as I'd love to see the picturesque views most people associate with the island; what I really want to see are the vineyards. Assyrtiko is easily one of my favorite grapes. I very much want to pilgrimage to its home to visit producers large and small alike. Like Art Space Winery. Art Space is a unique art gallery, museum, and winery

  As my wine tastings wind down, sometimes a few of my regulars stick around for a chat. More often than not when that happens, I'll take a break from cleaning and open another bottle to share. One night, I reached for a bottle of Shiraz made by a new winery none of us knew much of anything about, Bodrum Winery. I've written about Bodrum Winery a couple few times already, but never about my first experience with their wine. The very first of their wines I tried was the VinBodrum 2014 Shiraz and it was one of those wines I wish I'd saved for myself! Bodrum Winery VinBodrum 2014 Shiraz

  As close as I am to Armenia, living in Turkey, I still haven't visited. A pity as I hear Yeravan is nice. And of course I'd love to check out the wine scene in Armenia. We certainly don't see any here. Relations between Armenia and Turkey being what they are, Armenian wine isn't exactly thick on the ground here. It's not even thin on the ground. Luckily, thanks to some well-traveled friends, the wine came to me. Karas Wines, founded in 2002, is a relatively new winery by anyone's standards, let alone by a country that measures years making wine by the thousands. Yet the winery has already managed

  Vinolus Winery makes possibly my favorite Kalecik Karası wine. Therefore, it came as a great surprise to me whenI realized that I hadn't posted about it yet! A boutique producer in Kayseri, near Cappadocia, Vinolus makes unique wines from organically grown grapes. Oluş Molu and her brother Aziz took over the family farm in the early aughts to create the first ecological farm in Turkey. The project includes 50 acres (20 ha) planted to  native Kalecik Karası and Narince as well as international varieties: Chardonnay, Roussanne, Shiraz, and Tempranillo. Here grapes planted on native rootstock grow on a combination of head and trellis trained vines. Oluş keeps production

  Barel Vineyards was founded in 1997 with the aim of adding a little bit more taste to the life by the Akın family. While Barel’s name comes from the names of two siblings Elif and Barkın Akın brothers; the winery is in the hands of youngest of the Akıns, Barkın. The Akın family was making wine on their land for family and friends years before the winery was officially founded. Barkın, who always had a dream to open a restaurant in his home town, studied gastronomy before settling on his family’s land in Trakya. As a wine lover he believes that you should be able to put a bottle

  Nestled in the sunny slopes of Megara, just 60 km from bustling Athens, lies Ktima Evharis. In 1992, owners Eva-Maria Boehme and Harry Antony began planting Assyrtiko, Malagouzia, Sauvignon Blanc, Roditis, Chardonnay, Agiorgitiko, Syrah, Merlot, and Grenache. Part of PGI Gerania, the vineyards cover about 12 hectares between the Gulfs of Salamis and Corinth, surrounded by tall pine trees and old olive groves. Vines here, many of them traditional goblet, are interspersed with rosemary, lavender, colorful roses and fragrant mimosas, lustrous almond trees and pomegranates; lending the vineyards a Garden of Eden atmosphere. With its limestone soils rich in lava, sand, and fossil shells, cool summer and mild winters, the

  There's some argument here whether or not the grape Karalahna means 'black pumpkin' (per Wine Grapes) or if it's a derivative of the Turkish word for 'kale', karalahana (with an extra 'a'). Regardless, this native Turkish grape a variety rarely seen of its home island Bozcaada. Even on the island only two producers really feature it, Corvus and Çamlıbağ. Bozcaada based winery Corvus is one of the most recognized names in wine in Turkey. When Reşit Söley decided to give up architecture for winemaking, he did it with a meticulousness and considerable energy. Söley threw himself into regenerating old island vineyards and planting new plots. Now, nearly 20 years after

  At the end of November during Turkey's annual Sommeliers' Selection event, I had the chance to participate in a vertical tasting of two wines from Doluca: the Karma Cabernet Sauvignon Öküzgözü and the Karma Shiraz Boğazkere presented by the winery's Education and International Marketing Manager, Ebru Günaçan.  Circa 2000, Doluca owner Ahmet Kutman decided to make the Karma line to show that Turkish grapes could blend well with recognized, European varieties. Blending Turkish and international varieties isn't new (well maybe it was in 2000, that was before I got here).  Now, at least, such blends are not uncommon as a) many of the grapes really do work well together; and

  At Gotsa winery, wine is a family tradition that founder Beka Gotsadze is determined to preserve. Located 4200 feet above sea level in the hills of the Asureti Valley, in the Atenuri appellation, Gotsa is only about a 30 minute drive from the Georgian capital Tbilisi. If, that is, one wishes to attempt nearly impassible dirt roads to get there!  Gotsadze makes his wine in the traditional Georgian method, meaning with large clay qvevri. More than simply burying his qvevri in the ground though, his creativity and innovation are evident in his gravity flow qvevri winery. Built high in the mountains, the Gotsa winery and cellar comprises two levels, the first