It's December 4 - you know that that means! #CabFrancDay! I wouldn't miss a chance to celebrate this wine holiday. Not only because my friend Lori Budd of Exploring the Wineglass and Dracaena Wines founded it
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Over the winter I met some of the family behind new Çal-based winery, Kuzubağ. Historically, the wineries located on the Denizli-Çal plateau have produced more bulk, lower-quality wines. Kuzubağ is one of the new wineries here that want to change that image. One of the ways they're doing it is to emphasize the local grape, Çalkarası. The winery's vineyards sit at an elevation of 850 meters in clay-loam and calcareous soil. Given the elevation, there's a great difference between day and night temperatures allowing grapes to ripen over a longer period while retaining their freshness. Here they grow not only Çalkarası, but also Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü, Narince, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The
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Sagavın Winery's wines still reside totally under the radar. I've seen them at the odd shop here in Istanbul but not widely. Which is a shame. I'm not going to pretend that they're the greatest wines or even anything above mediocre because they're not. And yet. They're pricing their wines exactly as they should - not always a guarantee anywhere, especially not here! For that reason alone I think it's a winery worth supporting. Wine can improve. Egos and price inflation rarely do. I've tried a number of Sagavın's wines so far, the rosé was a nice surprise! And now that temperatures have cooled off a bit, I can
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August is just about over meaning summer is winding down
Read MoreAkberg Büyük Bağ I learned about last autumn at the Gustobar Sommelier Selection and was then happy to see them back in the spring at CMC (Istanbul's two big wine events). We know how much I love a new winery so I was excited at both events to try their wines. Even after I learned where the winery is based. Akberg winery has its base in Şirince, Izmir. Something that makes most of us in Turkey instinctually wince. Why you might ask? Should you come to Turkey and do a tour of Ephesus, the famous Greco-Roman ruins south of Izmir along the Aegean, your tour inevitably includes a trip
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Several months ago, Midin Şarapçılık sent me a selection of wines from their new 2020 vintage. A friend introduced me to Midin last year. Since then, I visited them in May of 2021, got try try most of their 2019 wines, and wrote about them for last summer's Jancis Robinson writing competition. The winery is only on its second commercial vintage but, comparing the new wines they sent me to my 2019 notes, I can already see an improvement. Now I look forward to 2021 which they predict will be their best year yet. They admit they've made a few mistakes and stumbles along the way, but who doesn't
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For several years Ma'Adra's Öküzgözü rosé has been one of my go-to rosés. But I've always wondered why they don't make a red. I don't have to wonder anymore because now they do! At November's Sommeliers Selection event in Istanbul, Ma'Adra debuted its new carbonic maceration Öküzgözü. We don't talk about carbonic maceration a lot in Turkey. While Ma'Adra may not be the first winery here to use the technique, it is the first to proudly put it on the label. But, what is it? Carbonic Maceration, the Internal Combustion of Winemaking Carbonic maceration is probably how early wine got made
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Assyrian winery Midin sits farther east than any other winery in Turkey, practically at Syria’s doorstep. Located in the Şırnak province, the winery faces a number of unique hurdles. The climate is hot (so very hot) and dry. Not so friendly super conservative Muslim communities surround their small Assyrian Christian village. And they face having their village's vineyards ripped out for more profitable crops. [caption id="attachment_17458" align="alignright" width="300"] Raşe Gurnık - courtesy of Midin Wines[/caption] However, all is not bad! One excellent unique aspect of this winery is the grapes it works with. Few have ever heard of like Bilbilzeki, Gavdoni, Midin Karası, Kittil Nafs, or Raşe Gurnık. The latter
Read MoreOne of the newer additions to the Turkish wine scene, Kayraklı Şarapçılık is based in the Muğla district of the Aegean. Founder Orhan Kayraklı planted his organically farmed vines in the Asarcık valley between the Bozdurun and Selimiye villages. The vines, completely surrounded by mountainous terrain, grow at 250 meters. Continuous winds cool the valley making it 4-5 Celsius degrees cooler than the areas around it and contribute to significant diurnal temperature swings. Slate and gravel overlay layers of limestone and clay and the vines grow without irrigation. The wines have been available in regional wine shops for a year or more but only recently have migrated to Istanbul.
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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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