The Gordias Kalecik Karası Beyazı was one of the standout wine surprises I found this spring. I think it's been around for a while but Canan's wines aren't always easy to find. The first time I tried it was this past May's CMC event and it was love at first sip. She's billing the wine as "Beyazı" (white) but it's really a very very pale rosé. Kayra also makes a similar wine, the Allure Kalecik Karası Beyaz. White, pink, purple, blue
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Over the last two vintages, the Vino Dessera Entrika line has expanded both its offerings and its reach across Turkey. For the 2020 vintage, Vino Dessera debuted its Entrika Emir and the Entrika Narince for the 2021 vintage. Itself based in Kırklareli in Thrace, Vino Dessera's own vineyards grow a variety of (mostly international) grapes. The winery has long sourced native varieties from their respective "homelands": Öküzgözü from Elazığ, Çalkarası from Denizli, etc. With a combination of grape sources, how do you know where they're from? Check the graphic on the back label! Vino Dessera's wines include a small map of Turkey that pinpoints the grapes' origin. Vino Dessera
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Back in the day when we were researching my book, E and I were invited to stay at Argos in Cappadocia. This fascinating hotel's story began in 1996 when Gökşin Ilıcalı bought some land in Uçhisar on which to build his own house. However, while digging to set the building's foundations, he unearthed the remains of an ancient neighborhood (mahalle). From that moment, his plans changed. Under the supervision of expert architects, historians, and the cultural and natural heritage preservation board, he spent years excavating and restoring the neighborhood. Now the hotel occupies 13,500 square meters with expertly restored and decorated rooms, event halls, restaurant, and a wine cellar. And if
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If you love Kalecik Karası then you may know the name Prof. Dr. Sabit Ağaoğlu. If you don't know his name, I'm willing to bet you know Tomurcukbağ. While preparing his agriculture PhD thesis, Prof. Dr. Ağaoğlu literally brought back to life what is now the second most popular black grape. When his research finished he had both a PhD and a vineyard. He and his wife decided they may as well use it and the Tomurcukbağ Trajan label was born. While he dabbles in Boğazkere, Kalecik Karası is the winery's star. But we're not talking about Kalecik Karası today, but the Trajan Narince. When I say that he dabbles
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It's summer. It's hot. Unless of course you live in the southern hemisphere but, if you do, you're probably dreaming of summer now! These days, most of us are probably reaching for a cold white or rosé wine or even a light-bodied, chilled red wine. But pairing wine with a meal? Cooking?! What's that in this heat. Forget about it! This weekend, the #WinePW crew will be talking about their favorite way to beat the heat: Linda from My Full Wine Glass has invited us to share our favorite summertime wine and easy bites. You can read her invitation here. Whether or not you wrote a blog post for
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Keeping true to its brand, last year when 7Bilgeler released a new white blend, the winery named it for an ancient philosopher. The 7Bilgeler Herakleitas is a little east meets west including as it does Chardonnay usually used in the winery's Anaxagoras wines and Emir from the winery's Vindemia series. I used to really love 7Bilgeler and its wines. Despite the fact that all the wines involved international grapes. Then the winery released the Vindemia series with native grapes and I got so excited! But then I drank them. I'm sorry to say that I think the winery's overall quality has fallen over the last couple years. A sad
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If you know me, you probably know that I don't like Kavaklidere. My dislike has nothing to do with its size; it being one of the largest (the largest?) wineries in Turkey. I don't like the attitude. Then last autumn, the winery released a new wine: Kavaklidere Cotes d'Avanos Emir. And darn it all, it's really good. Cappadocia and Emir Emir is THE grape of Cappadocia. While now found in pockets around Denizli in the Aegean, the purity and linear quality of Emir requires the high elevations and volcanic soils of Cappadocia. You can read more about the grape itself in my Get to Know the Grape: Emir post. Also
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Nearly extinct until the 1970s, Kalecik Karası has become of of Turkey's most popular and widely planted grapes. While red wines remain the most common, the grape shows great flexibility and makes blanc de noir, rosé, and traditional method sparkling wines. Below are my picks for top Turkish Kalecik Karası wines (well the red ones anyway!). It originates in the Central Anatolian region, near Ankara, in Kalecik. Fairly adaptable, the grape grows across the country now and very often gives nuances of terroir. Known for its distinctive cotton candy aroma, Kalecik Karası at its worst is a simple fresh and fruity wine without complexity but with enjoyable fruit and
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While 2020 was straight-up awful, 2021 had a few more ups. Certainly there were downs! But the slowly slowly back to normal life certainly made the downs more bearable. Oh and my book finally came out! So that was a huge highlight for me! Of course I drank a ton of wine in 2021! I haven't actually posted reviews of all of them yet (I drink faster than I write); so just a quick look at some of my favorite wines from 2021. The Whites I won't lie, I vastly prefer white wine to red wine. Sadly for me, Turkey seems to think that it's a red wine country so there
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Quick, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about sparkling wine? I could take a few guesses. But I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that none of those things are: Turkey, Central Anatolia, or Kalecik Karası. Unless you happen to be a fan of my blog. In which case, hi mom! Whether or not these are things that pop into your mind when you think about sparkling wine, all three things are related to it. And for this month's #WinePW Bubbles From Around the World conversation, they're what I'm talking about. If anyone thought of those three things, it was Ardıç
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