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Aegean Tag

HomePosts tagged "Aegean" (Page 14)

  Based in the coastal town of Alaçatı south of Izmir, Gemici Family Wines/Alaçatı Şarapçılık makes wine on a small scale. In this charming little city along the Aegean Sea, the equally charming Olçay Gemici carefully vinifies his grapes in older traditional ways. For him this means anything from spontaneous fermentation to blending in small measures of sakız in his wine. Olçay uses both native and international grapes for his wine. With Sultaniye and Öküzgözü to Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Merlot to play with, he creates both varietals and blends.  When I visited his shop in Alaçatı a couple years ago, one of the wines I purchased was the Aya Katrina

  This month the #WinePW group is taking advantage of October being #MerlotMe month. See the original invitation from Jeff at Food Wine Click! here. I have been unaccountably excited about this theme. For years I maintained a strong 'no Merlot' policy but have really come to appreciate this grape. And understand my previous prejudice for what it was: experience with bad wine. This theme also makes it easy for me to participate in the discussion with my usual raison d'être: Turkish wine. We have a lot of Merlot in Turkey due to the general popularity of the Bordeaux varieties. Like every other wine producing country, we have really good Merlot,

  Summer is waning away here in Istanbul. While the forecast promises warmer days again, we're currently experiencing temperature drops and overcast skies. So while we still have intermittent sun I will continue to enjoy summer white wines. For me, the best Turkish summer wines often come from the Bornova Misketi grape. For a while I thought I'd exhausted all the examples of Bornova Misketi. But then I found Perdix. Perdix is a newly opened winery in the Aegean growing region and a newcomer to the Urla Bağ Yolu (Urla Wine Route). I have not yet had the chance to visit but going by the winery's Instagram page, they have

  Nestled in a bowl-like cradle in mountainous Bodrum and nearly lost in the riotous greenery of the surrounding agriculture grow vines of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Shiraz, and Zinfandel. This is Garova Vineyards. Despite being wheelchair-bound, owner Mehmet Vuran manages his 2.3 hectares himself. He's also the winemaker. Vuran turns out between 10,000 and 15,000 bottles a year. Some grapes he cultivates himself on his property (the Shiraz and Petit Verdot in question here included). He also brings in Öküzgözü grapes from the Denizli Plateau. In 2016 he converted to spontaneous fermentation for all the grapes from his vineyards; trusting that the care he gives the grapes on the

  Last Saturday I hosted another Turkish wine Taste Along. In addition to having a wee handful of people physically present with me, tasters joined us online from Istanbul, Athens, London, DC, and Las Vegas. Cheers especially to those in Vegas who were easting breakfast and drinking their morning cuppas along with the wine! When I first started in Turkish wine there were really were only what I call the Big Six for grapes. Three white grapes and three black grapes; finding wine made from a seventh Turkish grape was like finding a unicorn. However, even though now winemakers here have greatly expanded both their and our horizon with more

  Hailing from some of Turkey's most easterly vineyards in Elazığ, Öküzgözü is the number one planted wine grape in Turkey. As demonstrated in my online Öküzgözü taste along, there is no shortage to wines made with this grape. Commonly found as a varietal wine but blends are also popular. Öküzgözü traditional blending partner has been the ultra tannic Boğazkere. However, we're seeing more and more blends that include more than Boğazkere or that don't include it at all. Öküzgözü's naturally high acidity makes it a great foil for any number of grapes, both domestic and international.  Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere, 2017 Diren, the only Black Sea region winery in Turkey, sources its Öküzgözü

  This month the #winophiles are exploring the Côtes du Rhône. You can view the preview here. Originally I was going to pass on this one. The imported cost of quality Côtes du Rhône wines generally being out of my price range. However, by invitation of this month's host Camilla etc etc, I'm taking a slightly different approach to the topic. While the others look at the Côtes du Rhône in France; I'm looking at its influence on Turkish wine. When the modern Turkish wine industry kicked off in the 1930's and 40's it looked to Europe for inspiration, know-how, and grapes. As a result we have a lot of

  Located in the northern reaches of Turkey's Aegean region, Selendi Şarapları prides itself on its many red wines. I, however, vastly prefer their whites. The vast expanses of dry land in Akhısar where the winery is located don't look look like they should produce lushly flavored wines. And yet both Selendi and neighboring winery Kastro Tireli do just that. Selendi's Moralı Narince remains one of my favorite Narince wines. You have to really want this wine though to find it. Luckily, Selendi makes more than just the one white wine. I've had two others from this winery, both blends, that are more easily available. Selendi Sarnıç Chardonnay Viognier, 2017 Pale straw

  My journey to rosé progresses slowly. I still approach most pink wines with trepidation and distrust. However, last summer during a visit to Amadeus MMX winery on Bozcaada, owner Oliver Gareis introduced me to his Dark Rosé made with Zinfandel. And I was hooked. Unfortunately for me, Gareis hadn't bottled the wine yet so I couldn't buy any. Luckily though, I live pretty close to a wine shop that often carries the full range of his wines. Well, carries them until they sell out! I managed to find a bottle of Amadeus MMX Dark Rosé Zinfandel there. In fact, I think I got one of the last bottles! So was

  About an hour's drive outside Izmir, arriving at Nif Bağları gives you the feeling of having found a desert oasis. Located off an unmarked, dirt road turnoff from the main highway, visitors navigate the narrow, dirt road, sometimes pulling off to the shoulder to allow large trucks and tractors to pass. Just when you think you've made the wrong turn, the winery appears. From the front parking area it looks not especially remarkable. But follow the signs around the back to entrance to find one of Turkey's sleekest wineries. A giant wall of gleaming glass separates the vineyards from the production area letting you see everything at once.