DLC Moskado 2008

If you'd like to drink an aromatic wine that smells like a sweet, flowery perfume, you may try Doluca Moskado, which is a medium dry wine made of Muscat grapes. As soon as you pour the wine into the glass, it smells so aromatic that you want to taste it immediately.

May be because of the sweetness, the acidity of this wine doesn't bother me at all. It flows through the throat with a sweet and chilly softness. Its a orange like sweet smell won't leave you while you drink it.

Kayra, Terra Italia Barbera D'asti 2006

I was going to meet with a friend and with my husband after work. Since I was the one, who was expected to leave work latest and whose office was the farest, the others were waiting for my call to get organized. Following a series of surprising developments, I was surprisingly done with work at 4 p.m. I was as happy as a highschool student whose afternoon classes were cancelled in the last minute.

I organized everyone immediately and we were sitting on a restaurant near to Bagdat Caddesi around 5 p.m. I took a quick glance at the wines in the menu and chose Kayra Italia Barbera D'asti 2006. For those who don't remember what is special in Terra, I suggest to read here. For those who are surprized that Italian wines are mentioned in this blog, I suggest to read here.

Barbera is the second most widely produced grape in Italy after Sangiovese and the second most significant grape in Piemonte after Nebbiolo. You may see here were Piemonte is. Asti is the name of the area where the grape is grown. There is also Barbera D'alba, produced in Alba, but it is not the subject of this post. Our subject here is Barbera D'asti.

Terra Italia Barbera D'asti 2006 is a fairly nice wine with a relatively light red color, intense fruity aromas and full body. I have previously tasted a few wines of Terra and I liked them all. I liked this one too, but this is not one of the best Terra wines that I've tasted. On the other hand, I believe Barbera will climb up in the list of grapes in my mind in time. We'll see it together.

Sevilen Syrah 2009

A few days ago, I felt like shoping for the kitchen when I was on my way home. So, I went to Migros (a supermarket chain). After I put a few onions and kiwis to the basket, I thought that it was enough for healthy food and I grabbed the beauity in the picture :)

I tasted Sevilen's wines in Kanyon Wine Tasting Days in November for the first time. I loved them all. The wines that I tasted there were surely more special wines made of high quality grapes, compared to the one in the above picture.

Sevilen Syrah 2009 has a dark burgundy color, medium-full body and a solid, round taste. As I drank it for three consecutive days at dinner with no complaints, I don't want to be unfair, but I would expect more fruity smells and a more complex beauty from this wine.

In fact, this was my mistake. It is better not to expect too much from the wines that can be bought from supermarkets around $10. There can be suprisingly nice wines sometimes, but as I just mentioned, those are just surprises.

Kocabag Emir

Emir is a local grape growed in Kapadokya. It is a white grape with intense flavor. Kocabag, on the other hand, is a wine producer located in Kapadokya. 

I didn't have any idea about Kocabag when I saw the wine on the shelf for the first time. It was the name of Emir, which caught may attention. I also found the bottle and the label very beautiful.  

I guess as the sun shows itself more and more in these days, I started to incline towards more refreshing wines. I chosed Kocabag Emir with this expectation and it proved to be a good choise. I did not pay attention to its age, but I noticed later that it was produced in 2005 and bottled in 2008. It has a light yellow, golden color and a very intense flavor. Its acidity is not very high, which is ideal for me.

I ate chickpeas cooked with veal and macaroni with cheese alongside this local wine. All these being local, it sound like a national anthem but I did not mean it. I just thought that there was not need to Italian macaroni just because there is wine to drink. It was just fine with Turkish foods I mentioned..

2. Kanyon Wine Tasting Days

This event was organized in November for the first time. I enjoyed it and also wrote about it here. The second organization of the same event will be on 13, 14 and 15th of May, again in Kanyon Shopping Mall, Istanbul.

This is an event where Turkish wine producers offer their wines for tasting. You may taste wines, attend wine conversations and enjoy your time however you like. You may find the schedule of the event here.

Sensi Cupido Toscana Sangiovese 2006

The subject of today's post is probably the first Italian wine that I have ever bought. I bought it since my husband wanted to buy an Italian wine.

I know that Italy is number one in wine production in the world. However, whenever I read something about Italian wines, the emphasis is on their lively acidity, which reminds me white and rose wines. Since I like red wines with less acidity, I have always approached Italian wines with a little prejudice before. I admit that this was surely a mistake.

So, I want to write about this wine which I tried giving up any foolissh prejudices. This wine is made of Sangiovese, which is a significant grape type in Italy and contributes many kinds of red blends produced in Italy. It is stated on the producer's website that this particular wine is made of 100% Sangiovese, which is interesting to me since most of varietal wines include a small portion of a second type of grape. 

I guess the length of the wine's name has attracked your attention, too. Sensi is the name of the producer firm. Sangiovese is the grape and Toscana is one of the most important wine growing areas in Italy. Cupido is a reference to the Cupid, God of Love. 2006 means that the wine is made of the grapes harvested in 2006.

I noticed the pale and transparent tily red color of the wine when I poured it into the glass. I tasted it immediately of course as usual. I think this wine did not need much decantation.

Cupido Toscana Sangiovese 2006 was a really nice wine with a medium body, a little spicy and fruity aromas, less acidity than I expected and more tannins than I expected. Vanilla and tobacco are mentioned on the label of the bottle, but unfortunately I couldn't notice them.

Gallo Turning Leaf Zinfandel 2003

Zinfandel is a red grape that is widely produced in California. It can grow in other regions too, but California is the first place that comes to the minds when Zinfandel is in question. I just learned from Garova Gunlugu that it also grows in Karaova, Bordum - Turkey.

I tried Zinfandel before once, but it was my first time and I ordered it in glass in a restaurant. Therefore, I did not want to make strong judgements about it. This time, I was sure that there is a taste in wines of Zinfandel; a taste that I don't really like. I can't describe exactly how it is, but I can tell that it tastes like caramelized onion, is also a little salty and is rather felt around the outer end of the tongue.

Specifically for Gallo Turning Leaf Zinfandel 2003, I can add that it is a little fruity, moderately acidic wine with a strong body. I don't want to lead anyone to a positive or negative conclusion. Let's just say that I did not like it for now, but this doesn't mean that I would not give another chance to Zinfandel.