If you haven't heard already, I'm collaborating with a fabulous new agency that is focusing on wine tourism in Turkey! Vines & Pearls offers wine bar walking tours, wine picnics, day and overnight vineyard visits, and yacht board tastings! Although please no one book the yacht tasting. Goda will kill me for saying that
Read More
When the Oenotrian wine club was still active in Istanbul*, one of the wines I received from them was a varietal Narince from Selendi. It blew me away (you can read my notes here). I drank the bottle from the club then ran out to buy more
Read More
Metro (think Costco) has a
Read More
I was so excited go see this new (well, not new anymore) Narince from Prodom last summer. For years I've enjoyed Prodom's wines but my prevailing complaint has been that they don't work with enough native grapes. Previously really only Bornova Misketi, Kalecik Karası, and Öküzgözü . Turkey seems to think it is a red wine country. Granted, it can do a great job with light to medium bodied red wines. Even if that's not the style focused on here. But that's a different discussion. Especially as my personal preference is for white wines, I am always happy to see a new (native) white on the market. Prodom generally
Read More
Papazkarası has been staging a quiet take over. When I first discovered the grape, maybe you could find two or three wines. Now, this ancient blue-black grape variety native to Turkey's upper Thrace abounds and wineries are releasing not just red wines, but also rosés and blanc de noir wines. The name Papazkarası roughly translates to "black of the priest (or) pope". In Greece, the variety is registered as "Kara Papas", although little, if any, Papazkarası wine is produced there. In Turkey, the spelling varies between Papazkarası (with a 'z') and Papaskarası (with an 's'). You can read more about the here! Now that there are so many of these wines
Read More
Granted we're going through a weird warm streak at the moment in Istanbul, but that's doesn't mean winter is over. It often makes itself know again at an inopportune time. When that happens, reach for one of these top cozy Turkish red wines that feel like a hug to keep you warm! Gordias Boğazkere, 2012 Hands down, Gordias's is one of my favorite Boğazkere wines. Canan brings her grapes for this in from Diyarbakır and ages the wine little, if at all, oak. One would think that might be walking on the edge with a tannic grape like Boğazkere, but it works! Medium opaque ruby, not as deeply colored as one would usually
Read More
Pamukkale really want to you to know that the Pamukkale YT Boğazkere is a special wine. Not only was it bottled in an overly heavy format bottle, it also came wrapped in paper, resting in its own padded box. That's a lot of fanfare. Did the wine live up to it? Boğazkere isn't a grape we see a lot from Pamukkale in its premium wines. Mostly the winery focuses on international grapes for its top tier wines. However, it went native for this one which came out as a special, limited edition bottling celebrating winemaker Yasin Tokat's 50th harvest. I don't generally go in for Pamukkale's wines. But, seeing
Read More
When you hear the grape "Sultaniye", what comes to mind? Table grapes or raisins probably. If you live in Turkey likely also pekmez or rakı. Maybe wine. But fine wine? Probably not. Heraki is going to change that for you. There's some pretty crap Sultaniye out there. There's good Sultaniye as well (I'm looking at you, Paşaeli). But my first sip of the Heraki Akuarela was life changing. But before we get there. Heraki is the new label from Fulya Akinci and José Hernandez-Gonzalez. This Wife-husband winemaking duo (she's Turkish, he's Spanish) have worked as consulting winemakers in Turkey for years. They're behind some great wines from places like Karnas, Vinolus,
Read More
Several years ago, when I interviewed people from Asmadan winery for the book, they mentioned they were growing Macabeo. But then there was nothing, and still nothing so I thought maybe I heard wrong. Last fall I learned that I had not heard wrong! Asmadan brought a new wine to one of GustoBar's big tasting events, Vals Macabeo Narince. We know that my whole raison d'être is native grapes. But that doesn't mean I still don't get excited when a new, weird international grape shows up here. And with this wine, I get the best of both worlds! Macabeo (aka Viura) comes from the Pyrenees in north and east Spain
Read More
