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 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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This month, Cam from Culinary Adventures with Cam has invited the #Winophiles group to explore French Grapes that Crossed Continents. You can read her invitation here. Often I cannot participate in the winophiles events because I don't have access to most of the French wine. But French grapes in Turkey we have in spades! [caption id="attachment_18233" align="alignleft" width="299"] Arcadia PetNat w/rendang & chili corn[/caption] Whether you've written a post for the theme or not, join the #Winophiles conversation on Saturday, September 17 at 11 am EST by following the hashtag on Twitter. French influences on Turkish wine When the modern Turkish wine industry got started in the late 30s and early 40s,
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While Narince appears most commonly as a varietal wine, blending it is not uncommon. Sometimes we see Narince Emir, Chardonnay Narince seemed popular for a while and a few other blends pop up from time to time. Sauvignon Blanc Narince is less common. Ayda Bağları started making one a couple years ago, the VinAida 2. But the original, I think, is the Arcadia Finesse Sauvignon Blanc Narince. I've started drinking this wine a lot lately and I realized that I hadn't ever written about it before! I've had it a few times over the years, loved it every time, every vintage. However, sadly for drinkers, finding it isn't easy.
Read MoreIf you're looking for the perfect wine for this summer, I've got it for you: Gürbüz Mood (the white one!). Trakya-based winemaker Akın Gürbüz offers the Mood series (white, rosé, and red) as his entry level wines. Uncomplicated but delicious, these are fantastic and fruity wines that won't break the bank. For the Gürbüz Mood white, he blended together Sauvignon Blanc and Misket for a delightful fruity and easy wine to enjoy on its own or pair with your favorite light summer meals. I first came across this wine last year and have already enjoyed it again this summer. Regardless of which vintage you might come across, you're
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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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Last year I received a tasting set of Riedel Winewings from their Turkish importer KTD. One glass each for Sauvingon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I use one every time I open one of those grapes, or a Turkish grape with similar properties. But it was not until I opened a bottle of Umurbey Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay that I really put them to the test! An experiment in glassware Georg Riedel created the Riedel Winewings collection in order to maximize the qualities of these particular grapes. From the Riedel website: We chose a flat and stretched bottom, with a wing-like shape to increase the surface area between wine and
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What do you get when a popular wine bar and a great winery form a partnership? A whole mess of new wines, that's what! New wines like the Arda Kuşlu Solera Misket. Arda and Solera Solera is one of the longest-lived and successful wine bars in Istanbul. It also happens to be my local! So I have a soft spot for it and for owner Süleyman Er. Imagine my delight to learn that that for some years now he's been cultivating his own vineyards. Süleyman has made some progress towards renovating a 100 year winery on the shores of the Sea of Marmara as well. But for the time being,
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Last year, we thrilled at Paşaeli's release of four pét-nats. This year, one more joins Paşaeli's - the Arcadia Sauvingon Gris Pét-Nat. I've seen it in several shops now, but the first place (with so far the best price to boot) was at Casa Botti in Göztepe. Sauvignon Gris Sauvignon Gris is a pink-berried mutation of Sauvignon Blanc. It is not, if you wondered, a common grape in Turkey. Of Sauvignon Blanc we have a seemingly never ending supply. But only the Thrace-based winery Arcadia grows Sauvignon Gris. Arcadia produces several wines with this grape including a blend with Sauvignon Blanc and a blend with Pinot Gris. Arcadia Sauvignon Gris Pét-Nat
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Cab Franc day is long over but my love for the grape goes year 'round! I've had the Arcadia A Cabernet Franc before but thought it was time to revisit it. In recent years, Cabernet Franc has exploded in popularity in Turkey. Initially it started making an appearance in a few more blends here and there. Then the wineries that had those blends released single varietal Cabernet Franc. And yet a few wineries, like Kayra, Suvla, Vino Dessera, Chamlija, and Arcadia featured it right from the off. If you visit Arcadia's website, you'll even see that the winery features the grape in the "special grapes" section. Arcadia A Cabernet Franc,
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