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Mediterranean Tag

HomePosts tagged "Mediterranean" (Page 4)

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Every year I'm envious of friends in the States who get wine Advent calendars. When I was a kid I found those little chocolate Advent calendars absolutely delightful. Occasionally I still send them to my siblings for the nostalgia. As an adult - and a wine lover! - a wine Advent calendar speaks to every part of me! But clearly we don't have those in Turkey. So I made my own! Well to be totally honest, two months ago I selected 26 bottles and moved them to a different part of my wine room. Some I covered in hopes that I might be able to make a blind tasting

By 1Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Mersin, along Turkey's southern Mediterranean coast, brings to mind beaches and resorts. Not so much wine. And to be fair, only a very few commercial wineries operate in this area. One, Selefkia Wines, has long been more of a nebulous idea in my mind rather than a reality. However, just this summer, the winery began selling its wines in Istanbul and they are the hot new thing for a lot of wine lovers here. My interest in Selefkia stems from its work with two underappreciated Turkish grapes: Patkara and Ak Üzüm. Ak Üzüm doesn't pop up in a lot of wines here. The first time I heard about it was

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Just because the weather has turned hot and summery does not mean red wine lovers should despair of not comfortably drinking red wines! Many light-bodied red wines do well with a little chilling. Often, these are brilliant wines to pair with grilled foods, barbecue sauces, and general outdoor summer revelry! Summer Red Wines Turkey offers several light-bodied red wines appropriate for both chilling and grilling. A perfect opportunity to try out a few of these came up recently when Istanbites suggested a cook out at her place on the largest of Istanbul's Princes Islands: Büyükada. A weekend with the girls poolside with wine and burgers? Yes please! Empathia Creative and

By 2American Wines, Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  For this month's Wine Pairing Weekend, Nicole at Somm's Table invited us to write about wines from the ancient world. People often forget to include Turkey, which in fact is the home of the vitis vinifera grape, when talking about ancient and old world wine cultures. In fact though, it has one of the most ancient of wine cultures. When Christians hear the name, Antioch, it evokes images if Saints Peter and Paul preaching the Good News to early Christians. Historians may muse on the lives of early civilizations like the Hittites and those that came before. Modern Turks (and the rest of us who live here!) think of

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Based in Elmalı, Antalya, Likya is one of Turkey's few Mediterranean wineries. Run by brothers Burak and Doruk Özkan, Likya's vineyards sit at an average of 1,100 meters giving the grapes cooling relief from the otherwise hot climate of Antalya. The Özkan family cultivates a wide variety of grapes including both domestic and international varieties. Likya is currently one of the country's leaders in resurrecting lost grape varieties like Acıkara, Fersun, and Merzifon Karası. These aren't the only native varieties the winery cultivates though. Likya's Narince has been one of my favorite wines from this grape. Boğazkere, Kalecik Karası, and Öküzgözü can also be found in their vineyards. Today,

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Early in the twentieth century Turkish winemakers looked to Europe for pretty much everything. Not only were machines, corks, barrels, and even bottles coming from Europe, but so were the vines. Especially for those who had no previous experience with winemaking, Europe was where they could visit established vineyards to learn and taste. So as the Turkish wine industry began to dust itself off from Ottoman imposed dormancy, many (if not most) winemakers emulated European wines. French grapes and wines remain the most popular. One winery owner here told me that, while he himself had no interest in making Bordeaux-style wine, he knew making one was the best way

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Merlot. That grape that, for good or bad, everyone knows. I have largely avoided Merlot for years. Not because Sideways turned me off of it. More because I'd never been "on" it. The New World style made from late(r) harvested grapes resulting in high alcohol, plummy fruit, and fruitcake flavors has never been my jam.  But not even in Turkey can one avoid this grape. It might not achieve the same amount of plantings as the more popular international varieties of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon; but that is not to say it's hard to find. Quite the opposite. It is, oddly enough perhaps, Turkish Merlots that have started to

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  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. Wineries in Turkey have plenty of obstacles to overcome. Much of them, like the high alcohol and "luxury goods" taxes and ban on advertising come from the industry's biggest impediment, the current government. Pair that with a failing economy and general lack of wine culture and you get an industry riddled with stumbling blocks. With this many issues facing a new winemaker, who would enter this life with road blocks of his own? Garova Vineyards' founder

By 1Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Unless you're a serious student of history and/or a fan of the Roman Empire, chances are if you've heard of the city of Antioch it was in church. I know that's where I first heard the name uttered. Mostly I associated it with all the preachy letters from Saint Paul (never my favorite evangalist). Until I moved to Turkey.  [caption id="attachment_13300" align="alignleft" width="300"] Saint Pierre church in Hatay-one of the oldest Christian churches in the world[/caption] I feel every time I turn around I discover an ancient city (most of them from the Bible no less) that either has a new, Turkish name (for example Smyrna is now Izmir and Nicaea

By 3Amber Wine, Orange Wine, Sparkling Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Narince is perhaps the most ubiquitous of the native white Turkish vitis vinifera. Its native home is in the alluvial soils of the Black Sea region, specifically Tokat; but it is cultivated across Turkey including in the Aegean and Thracian regions. Winemakers are using Narince for everything from still white to traditional method sparkling wines and even skin contact amber. What is it though that makes this grape so great? Meet Narince A somewhat late ripening berry, Narince is harvested in the second half of September, which provides a unique challenge to many winemakers. Third party growers rather than wineries own the vast majority of Narince vineyards in Tokat. They