Bubbles bubbles everywhere! This month, Deanna from Wineivore has invited the #WinePW crew to explore Cava. Join us for a brief chat on Twitter
Read MoreA friend of mine drives back and forth from Istanbul to Austria and back every summer. Last year she drove through Romania on the
Read More
Well we had a nice three-day spring before summer dropped on us like a ton of bricks. Hopefully none of us have anything serious
Read More
We don't talk a great deal about the ageability (or not) of white wine in Turkey. Frankly we don't talk a great deal about
Read More
It's been absolutely ages since I did a wine bar review! A few months ago, a friend brought 316 Meze & Wine to my
Read More
Some years ago, when I visited Ma'Adra, they told me that they were growing Bornova Misketi. It would not be until a few years
Read More
This June, Camilla from Culinary Cam has invited the #WinePW crew to explore wine and cheese pairings. Any cheese, any wine, any region our
Read More
As the Italian Food Wine Travel group continues its exploration of Italian wines this year, Katarina from Grapevine Adventures has invited us to look
Read More
Hello spring! You have finally graced us with your presence. Huzzah! This month I say Happy Birthday to several very good Gemini and Cancer friends,
Read More
Disclaimer: This post includes wines received as a sample. All opinions are my own. It's that time of the year again when wineries have begun
Read More
When the Oenotrian wine club was still active in Istanbul*, one of the wines I received from them was a varietal Narince from Selendi.
Read MoreI've had a few wines before from Szászi Birtok and now they're one of the wineries I routinely try to find when I'm in
Read More
For May's #ItalianFWT topic, Linda of My Full Wine Glass has invited us to explore the wines of Abruzzo and Le Marche. You can
Read More
If you've had only a few Georgian white wines, chances are pretty good that it was Rkatsiteli, that most ubiquitous of Georgian white grapes.
Read More
Well April was kind of miserable, wasn't it? Hopefully it's true about April showers bringing May flowers. Given the amount of rain we got,
Read More
Of all the Turkish wineries producing wine with French grapes, Barbare has distinguished itself by leaning not towards Bordeaux, but the Rhône. Rather than
Read More
Moldovan wine has been quietly moving into the Turkish wine market for a few years. Unsurprisingly, a fair amount from Purcari. The story of
Read More
I was so excited go see this new (well, not new anymore) Narince from Prodom last summer. For years I've enjoyed Prodom's wines but
Read More
It's been some time since Chamlija debuted its Teruar Serisi with rare white grapes Ten Göynek, Ak Üzüm, Hüyük Ak Üzüm, and Kuyucak Ak
Read More
How many times have I said that I'm not a pink fan? I think for five times I say that, at least two wines
Read More
Even if the weather doesn't know it, we are barreling toward spring's warmer weather. That means it's time to ease into cheerful and easy
Read More
Well March was all miserable and depressing weather. Here's to hoping April remembers that it is an entirely spring month. A few showers here
Read More
This month, Katarina of Grapevine Adventures has invited the #ItalianFWT group to explore the wines of Calabria and Sardegna. Check out her invitation here. Of
Read More
I can't believe my visit to Crete was so long ago now. I went a few Decembers ago for a friend's 40th birthday. According
Read More
Papazkarası has been staging a quiet take over. When I first discovered the grape, maybe you could find two or three wines. Now, this
Read More
Amber wine has quietly existed in Turkey for a number of years with previously off the radar, small producers like Gelveri. Then, a few
Read More
Markogianni was not a winery with which I was familiar. A friend recommended this wine and, really, as soon as I saw the label,
Read More
It's been absolute ages since I've been to Lebanon. Luckily for me, even though Lebanese wine is not available in Turkey, I still get
Read More
Arcadia, based in upper Thrace in Kırklareli, has long prided itself on its winemaking techniques. Including a crazy looking machine that very gently filters
Read More
With woman still being marginalized in the wine world (although oddly enough not in Turkey which you can read about here!), it continues to
Read More
I briefly mentioned the Yaban Kolektif during a previous post about Patkara. Since that collaboration with the Asmadan winery, Yaban Kolektif has partnered with
Read More
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image created by https://mycupofwine.com/[/caption] For March's #ItalianFWT chat, Jennifer of Vino Travels has invited us all to explore the wines of
Read More
It sure felt like spring had sprung during the second half of February. Even my crocuses are blooming! But my experience both here and
Read More
Granted we're going through a weird warm streak at the moment in Istanbul, but that's doesn't mean winter is over. It often makes itself
Read More
Pamukkale really want to you to know that the Pamukkale YT Boğazkere is a special wine. Not only was it bottled in an overly
Read More
I don't write much about Kutman wines (anymore). While the winery continues to put out new vintages, it hasn't released a "new" wine of
Read More
When you hear the grape "Sultaniye", what comes to mind? Table grapes or raisins probably. If you live in Turkey likely also pekmez or
Read More
Two years ago, I won a writing contest about Hungarian wine run by Hungarian Wine.EU. You can read my winning piece here! Part of
Read More
I didn't have a horizontal picture of this wine so I hope you enjoy this picture of Sherlock lounging in one of my serving
Read More
I don't know about you all, but the beginning of 2023 did not treat me well! Despite vowing to not participate in dry January,
Read More
Several years ago, when I interviewed people from Asmadan winery for the book, they mentioned they were growing Macabeo. But then there was nothing,
Read More
Foça Karası is a grape we still don't know a lot about in Turkey. In Greece, where it's known as Fokiano, it's grown mostly
Read More
Wine trends may come late to Turkey, but when they comes they do it with a vengeance. One of the most recent to sink
Read More
Akberg winery is off and running since its addition of "real" vs fruit wine (for more on that check out this post). While it
Read More
Every year - well every year that I remember - I like to do a quick review of the wines I posted about during
Read More
Have you ever heard of Kabar? If you know wine from Tokaj or from Hungary at all, you've probably had some Furmint and Hárslevelű.
Read More
Happy 2023 to everyone! Who's made a resolution for the new year? Share in the comments below! I'm not one for resolutions generally but I
Read More
If a Cabernet Shiraz blend from Akın Gürbüz has a hint of deja vous about it for you, you wouldn't be wrong. The Gürbüz
Read More
When possible, I like to visit a Christmas market somewhere in Europe during Advent. We don't get a lot of Christmas in Turkey as
Read More
While I've written about it a number of times now, Patkara is still something of an emerging grape in Turkey. The first glimpse we
Read More
I'm not going to go into my rant about "natural" wine and why it offends me. Been there, done that. So if I've already
Read More
[caption id="attachment_18442" align="alignleft" width="300"] As it first looked[/caption] I first learned about the Sobran Bağları Emir at one of the Gusto Bar wine events in
Read More
For the capital city of an Amazing wine country, Athens airport duty free wine selection sucks. Maybe if you've only gone through the airport
Read More
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
Read More
It's December! The winter solstice is around the corner but, even more exciting, Christmas! My tree is up! Is yours? Especially in light of
Read More
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
Read More
Lucien Arkas began his path to winery ownership as a wine lover with a dream. And a lot of money. In 2010 when the
Read More
Canan's wines often fly under the radar, but the Gordias Oğan wasn't even on mine. Until I happened to spot a bottle of it
Read More
Semi-recently I took a trip to Georgia (the Republic of, not the peach state). I haven't been since before the pandemic hit and was
Read More
We don't give Yapıncak a lot of love. Largely because it's not especially common. Paşaeli, Sevilen, and Suvla are the only wineries I know
Read More
Kayra Buzbağ and Kayra Buzbağ Rezerv have been around since forever. By which I mean at least the 10 years I've been knocking around
Read More
Last Sunday, I wrote about my experience with the rosé wines from Kuzubağ. Now it's time to tackle the whites! Over the winter I met
Read More
I bought this Carpinus Tokaj Hárslevelű during my last trip to Budapest this June. In a way, this one bottle brought the last year
Read More
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
Read More
[caption id="attachment_18341" align="alignright" width="428"] map from Nif Bağları click for larger image[/caption] Viognier Narince is not an unpopular blend in Turkey. I feel like the
Read More
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
Read More
The Gordias Kalecik Karası Beyazı was one of the standout wine surprises I found this spring. I think it's been around for a while
Read More
Do you love sparkling wine? I do. I'm always happy to try any of them (and generally even happier to drink them). Finding new
Read More
For years, Kastro Tireli has made one white wine: a Viognier Narince blend. Then they added a skin contact version of the same blend.
Read MoreHave you had wine from Kefalonia? If the answer is 'no' then you should try to change that ASAP! I haven't yet been to
Read More
Büyülübağ owner Alp Törüner experimented with micro vinifications of wild fermentations for a few years before releasing his first commercial bottling in 2015. While
Read More
Some time ago, I wrote a little compilation of Moschofilero tasting notes. My great friend Anna Maria of Unravelling Wine not so subtly commented
Read More
Over the last two vintages, the Vino Dessera Entrika line has expanded both its offerings and its reach across Turkey. For the 2020 vintage,
Read More
Summer isn't over quite yet! We're having some cooler days (which I quite appreciate!) but also still seeing spikes into the 30s. On those
Read More
Last fall when I visited Likya, they told me about a new rosé they were trying to release: Fox. Made from a new (for
Read More
This month, Cam from Culinary Adventures with Cam has invited the #Winophiles group to explore French Grapes that Crossed Continents. You can read her
Read More
Back in the day when we were researching my book, E and I were invited to stay at Argos in Cappadocia. This fascinating hotel's story
Read More
With school bells tolling the end of summer, Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles has invited the #winepw group to a "back to school" themed
Read More
If you love Kalecik Karası then you may know the name Prof. Dr. Sabit Ağaoğlu. If you don't know his name, I'm willing to
Read More
The first place I saw the Shiluh Mazrona was, of course, Instagram and I felt giddy with excitement. A Mazrona! All on it's own
Read More
In May at Gusto Bar's CMC, I connected with Erdem Yılmaz from Tasheli. Then, after drinking the winery's Göküzüm Aküzüm, I reached out to
Read More
While Narince appears most commonly as a varietal wine, blending it is not uncommon. Sometimes we see Narince Emir, Chardonnay Narince seemed popular for
Read More
On Crete, the largest of the Greek islands, Lyrarakis Estate has spearheaded the movement to revive one of the island's oldest and rarest grapes:
Read More
Many of us know Grüner Veltliner, or "green Veltliner" Austria's premier white grape; but what do we know about its "red" counterpart, Roter Veltliner? I
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
Read More
This month, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla issued a CSA challenge to the #WinePW group. You can read her invitation here. The challenge
Read More
We are well and truly in the depths of summer now. Whether you're hiding inside with the AC or toughing it out, hoping for
Read More
In 1997, the Tsimbidis family founded Monemvasia Winery in Monemvasia, Laconia, Peleponnese. Their goal: to reinvigorate little-known grapes lost in time. The Tsimdibis family
Read More
Located in the Çömelek village in the Mut district of Mersin along Turkey's Mediterranean coast, Tasheli is a family-run winery that has had a
Read MoreOkay, well new-ish anyway. I first tried the İkidenizarası Bornova Misketi last fall when I saw their wines at La Cave in Cihangir. İkidenizarası is
Read More
Several months ago, Midin Şarapçılık sent me a selection of wines from their new 2020 vintage. A friend introduced me to Midin last year.
Read More
Finding Hungarian sparkling wine in Budapest is as easy as hopping in a cab! Located along the Danube on the Buda side of the
Read More
In 2021, Diren Winery celebrated the centennial of founder Mustafa Vasfi Diren's birth. It did it the only way this winery could; by releasing
Read More
This March at Oenorama in Athens, my friend Anna Maria of Unravelling Wine and Chania Wine Tours introduced me to the best Vidiano not
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
Read More
It's summer. It's hot. Unless of course you live in the southern hemisphere but, if you do, you're probably dreaming of summer now! These
Read More
The Nif Bağları Aegean beyaz is not a new wine from Nif. They've been producing the Aegean series for several years now with white,
Read MoreWay back when I first visited Antioche in Hatay, they told me that one of the grapes they grew was Barburi Blanc. I was
Read More
