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
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Despite the ever growing number of native white grape varieties in Turkey, Chardonnay along with Sauvignon Blanc remain very popular. Chardonnay here went through quite a journey. For many years the wines displayed excessive oak influence that drowned out any possible fruit or freshness. However, the last few years have seen the rise of Chardonnay wines that express fruit and vibrancy as well as those with complexity from responsible oak ageing. Over the last few months I have enjoyed a number of Chardonnays from the young and fresh all the way to sparkling. Sevilen İsa Bey Chardonnay, 2019 One of Sevilen's most successful lines, the İsa Bey series includes varietal
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Porta Caeli, on the Gallipoli Peninsula, is a luxury wine brand that tries to model itself after Bordeaux. The winery produces several series including Ament (all red), Pacem (whites), Felici (pink), and their entry series, Porta Diverti (all the colors). Previously I reviewed the Porta Caeli Ament Bordeaux blend. This post we're tackling the Ament Cabernet Franc. Porta Caeli Ament Cabernet Franc 2014 Tasting Notes Porta Caeli uses the heaviest blasted bottles I have ever hefted. Even after we finished the wine I kept trying to pour more because empty it felt like it should be full. It would make for a great weapon. The Cabernet Franc here spent 18 months in
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I have chosen to tackle the Trakya Bağ Rotası (Thrace Wine Route) last because I find it the most frustrating. [caption id="attachment_11330" align="alignleft" width="267"] Please note the map is old; couldn't find an updated version[/caption] The Trakya Bağ Rotası was the first of all the established wine routes in Turkey. Membership includes wineries Like Arda in upper Thrace in Edirne (near the Bulgarian/Greek borders) all the way to Suvla at the tippy tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Technically, all these wineries are indeed in Thrace. Geographically anyway. And yet. Edirne and neighboring districts Kırklareli and Tekirdağ are significantly more northerly, colder, and snowier. While Tekirdağ based wineries (such as Chateau
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I've always wondered who has the fantastic job of naming colors. The big Crayola crayon box had not only an amazing array of color, but a dizzying number of color names. My favorite color was the deeply unPC "Indian Red", that rich, reddish-brown color. Nail polish! Nail polishes have crazy names. I'm currently wearing one called "Famous" which is a bronzey tan and another called "Valuable Petroleum" which is a shimmery marine blue. How do you get this job? Once in high school chemistry we did an experiment that was supposed to turn a bunch of vials of something certain colors. Then we had to describe the colors. I
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It feels like forever since my last post! While I try to post every Wednesday and Sunday, I missed the previous two weeks due to travel. My day job occasionally pulls me back to DC so I can reconnect with the mother ship. Since I’d already crossed an ocean to get there I decided to go even farther west to Las Vegas. Not to visit any casinos though! Rather, to meet my bff’s new baby. Even though my trip did include some wine in both DC and Vegas (and a split of Champagne at the Denver airport I drank with Egg McMuffins-true story); I am happy to be
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Porta Caeli came about as the result of a wine-loving Turkish family’s quest to prove that Turkish wine can compete with established Old World wine. The winery and spa hotel are located in the village of Ecebat where Thrace meets the Aegean. While the majority of Turkey experiences a hot and continental climate, this region is very different. The harmony of a maritime climate, surrounding forests, and breezes has attracted many winemakers including Porta Caeli, Suvla, Ergenekon, Doluca, Chateau Kalpak, and more. With the notable exception of Suvla, most winemakers in the region, Porta Caeli included, work exclusively with international grape varieties. In the case of Porta Caeli, specifically Bordeaux varieties. They believe that their terroir
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2017 was a crazy year. It began with a last minute trip to Iceland where wine is even more expensive than it is in Turkey. Spring was full of whirlwind wine trips to Israel, Georgia, and Greece. This summer after a two-year lapse I went back to the States to see my family in Michigan and Vegas. In the fall I went to Elmali, Turkey to visit a great winery and in December I visited Graz, Austria for the Krampuslauf, Christmas markets, and wine shopping. In addition to the travel I attended or led a couple dozen wine tastings. Including one on a private yacht on the Bosphorus where
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Porta Caeli is one of my favorite new wineries here in Turkey and its Ament Bordeaux is as hefty as the bottle is. But more on that later. Recreating Bordeaux in Gallipoli Porta Caeli is a relatively new winery. Based in Eceabat on the Gallipoli peninsula, it has only recently released its first vintage (2013). The idea for Porta Caeli came from a wine loving family. Knowing that Turkey is capable of producing wines to rival those from anywhere in the world they established their winery in 2002. After traveling across Turkey and testing soils in various regions they settled in Ecebat where they have 170 hectares. They implement Good Agricultural Practices and GLOBALGAP
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