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Thrace Tag

HomePosts tagged "Thrace"

  My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. We spent two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda before venturing onto Gürbüz Winery. A visit to Gürbüz Winery is never short! Akın's enthusiasm and energy hold you captive as wine after wine (especially when you're with an importer) get opened and tanks and barrels are tapped to try new vintages.  Gürbüz Winery Akın Gürbüz grew up among grape vines. His family owned five hectares of vineyards planted to Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Yapıncak, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They did not make wine but sold the

  I recently had the chance to re-visit Arda Bağları in Thrace with US importer, Fine Turkish Wine. If only I had a car, I would certainly be at this winery more often. Arda has long been a favorite winery of mine. Not only because the wine is great (and price conscious!) but because the family behind it is lovely. [caption id="attachment_22197" align="alignright" width="445"] Rob İçsezen of Fine Turkish Wine, Andrea Lemieux, Yavuz Saç[/caption] Arda Bağları & Şarapçılık Located near the historic town of Edirne, a mere stone’s throw from the Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria border, lies Arda Bağları. Founded in 2007 by Ilyas Saç, this winery is a family affair tended to by Saç’s

  It's been an age since I've done one of these! Weirdly, I have a bunch of Turkish candidates for various wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, Merlot, and more) but can't source the international versions. Thanks to a recent visit to the US and a gift from my cousin, Ginger, I am finally able to pair up a Turkish Zinfandel! Zinfandel If Shakespeare was right about "

  I recently had the chance to re-visit Arcadia Bağları in Thrace with US importer, Fine Turkish Wine. Not that I don't always enjoy visiting Arcadia (or any other winery), but when you're with a buyer, wow does the carpet get rolled out for you! After breakfast, we did a marathon tasting with Arcadia founder Zeynep who generously opened so many wines for us to try. I'll post reviews for everything eventually (especially the new Mahiada wines!), but first, lets dive into the Arcadia Odrysia line.  Arcadia Bağları  Arcadia Vineyards is a father–daughter dream brought to life in Lüleburgaz, once known as Arcadiapolis—an apt setting for their “earthly paradise.” Inspired by

  Disclaimer: I received these wines as samples but all opinions are my own. While I've seen them on social media, I have yet to try any wines from the relatively new winery: Sarı Vadi Bağları. I was therefore delighted when the winery reached out to me and sent me samples of two of their wines.  Sarı Vadi Bağları  What began as a journey to California to source rice lead to a life in wine. Turgay Yetis business life revolved around rice. Surprisingly to many, rice is a large part of the agricultural sector in Turkey's upper Thrace. Turgay established a business in Sacramento, establishing paddies and cultivating rice. All the while, nearby

  Despite the massive expense and roadblocks thrown up by the current government, wine production in Turkey continues to expand. Each regions grows a little more every year - be it a new winery, a new grape, new wine offerings, or expanded vineyards. Over the last couple years, Thrace has seen a boom in most of those areas (excepting the new grapes), with Prius Winery becoming one of the region's newest wineries. It came on the scene maybe two years ago. But, I only recently was able to get my hands on some of their wine.  Prius Winery Does Prius Winery need this whole section with a big 'heading 2' sub-title?

  Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample but all opinions are my own. Narince is such a fantastically flexible grape. We've seen it in on its own, in blends, no oak ages, too much oak aging, skin contact, sparkling, and semi-sweet. It makes a wine for every palate.  For years, Arda has made a Reserv Narince. It's a beautiful wine, one of my favorites. But, I've always wondered why the grape wasn't a regular part of its Kuşlu lineup. I am thrilled that now there IS an Arda Kuşlu Narince! And, after an email exchange with Arda's winemaker Şeniz, while I still don't know the answer to why it

  For my birthday in August, my friend Malia of Shoyu Sugar made SPAM musubis for me!! I remember eating SPAM a bit when I was a kid. My mom mixed ground SPAM with American cheese and white onions and we made hot sandwiches with it. I actually really kind of liked it. But it wasn't until I had Malia's musubis that I understood what kind of magic you can make with this meat.  I won't go into the history of SPAM or how deeply embedded it is in Hawaiian culture. Suffice to say, SPAM musubis are a common snack food in Hawaii. When she can get the ingredients, Malia

  Chamlija winery is known to many in Turkey for its enthusiasm for planting grapes not native to Turkey. In addition to grapes that have become so common as to be passé (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay), Chamlija likes to stretch things by planting uncommon grapes. It is, for example, one of the few wineries cultivating Riesling. It is the only winery growing Albariño, Assyrtiko, Mavrud, Kadarka, and Xinomavro.  All of these wine are good, because Chamlija undeniably makes good wines. Some of them are even interesting. But they wouldn't always jump out of a blind tasting lineup as what they are. Regardless, it is always exciting to

  This particular wine is another review long in coming. I opened it last winter for Open That Bottle night. I bought this when I visited Barbare to interview the owner for my book. That must have been six years ago now? Barbare wines are generally fairly easy to access, but these premiere varietal wines less so which is why I'd been holding onto it.  Worth. The. Wait! Advent day 15 Barbare Premiere Mourvedre, 2012 This 100% Mourvedre aged for 36 months in French oak. Knowing that it would be tight out of the bottle, I opened it, decanted it, then went to Saturday evening Mass before coming home to make dinner and