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Aegean Tag

HomePosts tagged "Aegean" (Page 10)

  I recently took a quick little holiday on the Urla Bağ Yolu with a friend. I've been before; frankly I cannot even remember how many times at this point. This time was less about business and getting information for the book (coming soon!) and more about just enjoying. So, I thought I would share a few observations and tips for anyone planning their own Urla trip (bağ yolu or no bağ yolu).  [caption id="attachment_11796" align="alignright" width="300"] Mozaik[/caption] Places worth the visit Let me start with the hotel. There are plenty of hotels in Urla itself and more and more wineries are opening hotels and/or guest rooms. Urla Bağ Evi, while not a

  [caption id="attachment_16139" align="alignleft" width="225"] Pürneşe red label[/caption] Pürneşe is a semi-new series from Vino Dessera. Occupying a place in the winery's mid-range line up, the Pürneşe series includes a red blend and a blush. I have had them both but it was the blush that really stood out for me. Vino Dessera brings in grapes from vineyards across Turkey. For the Pürneşe Blush, they used Çalkarası and Kalecik Karası from Denizli in the western Aegean. Kalecik Karası we frequently see as both varietal and blended rosés. Very few wineries really work with Çalkarası though. The exception to that has been Paşaeli and it's nice to see other wineries, like Vino Dessera,

  7Bilgeler (or Yedi Bilgeler as you prefer) has long produced wines I've liked and admired. My one issue was that all the wines were international grape-based. No longer! The southern Aegean-based winery has released two* new varietal native grape wines under a new 'Vindemia' label: an Emir and Kalecik Karası. *7Bilgeler has used small amounts of Kalecik Karası for a while in blends and has now also released a Chardonnay-Emir blend under different labels. 7Bilgeler Vindemia Defne Emir, 2020 While I don't particularly love it when wineries drag grapes across the country, I must admit that Emir planted outside of Central Anatolia's Cappadocia region just doesn't work. At least not so

  If Turkey has a workhorse grape, this is it. Grown in the abundant vineyards of Denizli in Turkey's Aegean region, Çalkarası (chal-car-as-ser) has often been used to support red blends. In blends, it lends some acidity to flabby grapes and fills out a wine if the preferred grapes didn't do so well that year. Meaning the "black from Çal" this grape prefers the clay loam and chalky soils of, you guessed it, Çal (a district in the Denizli province). The dark purple have a slightly elongated shape, are small to medium in size, and don't have especially thin skins. They retain acidity well and when vinified as a red wine,

  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 wine route to navigate). Even those that do not though are not so far off the path. The newest winery to open its doors is Hus Şarapçılık. Founded in 2017 by Juan Pablo Diaz Leon and Ceylan Ertörer 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. When I talk about the Turkish-Greek population exchange of the 1920s, it's usually about the Greeks leaving Turkey (as that directly

  To kick off summer, I recently hosted an online wine tasting of some of Turkey's island wines. Turkey has several islands which boast great seafood, nice beaches, old forts, beautiful scenery, and yes, wine! Many of the grapes grown on these island grow only on these islands. Happily for those of us in Turkey, we needn't trek to the islands for the wines as they're widely available on the mainland. For the tasting, I selected five wines from four different wineries. Four grapes are native Turkish but one is a Croatian transplant. Yes. Croatian. You'll have to read on to find out which grape! Çamlıbağ AyaPetro Erken Hasat, 2020 We began

  Yapıncak (ya-pin-juck) is one of Turkey's great, underappreciated grapes. Capable of producing a wide range of wine styles, from simple and refreshing to traditional method sparkling, I for one really don't understand why so few wineries use it. Especially for all those wineries located in the Marmara region that told me "well there really are no native grapes here;" ahem. Yapıncak. Granted, the Yapıncak grape can be tricky to work with. In the vineyard it's prone to low yields even in good years however, while the grapes are very thin-skinned they have good disease resistance. Grown in the Marmara and Aegean regions around the Gallipoli Peninsula, Yapıncak grapes are

  This is a semi sponsored post but all opinions are my own.  While Paşaeli has built a reputation for its wines made from rescued and little-known Turkish grapes, the winery does produce a handful of wines using international grapes. In the past, these wines have all utilized black grapes. For example the Kaynaklar and K2 Bordeaux blends. Not anymore! Released last year, the Paşaeli Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş (once upon a time) marks the winery's first single-varietal white wine made with an international grape. Specifically, Chardonnay. Paşaeli Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş, 2019  Harvested from vineyards in Çal, the Chardonnay came from the vast expanse of Turkey's Aegean region. The wine is 100%

  On Bozcaada, Turkey’s third largest island, winds are so strong that only a limited variety of vegetation can withstand them. Olive trees look gnarled and bent and appear to be forever hunched over in an attempt to protect themselves from the battering winds. Poppies, one of the island’s biggest crops, survive only due to their proximity to the ground. And yet it is from this inhospitable and windswept environment that Turkish island wines are born. Perhaps you know Bozcaada by its old name, Tenedos. Under this moniker, the island (and its wines!) rated mentions in both the Iliad and the Aeneid. It is, after all, just a hop, skip,