Nenad Trifunović is the blogger behind vinopija.com, a leading Croatian wine blog. In the winter of 2016, Nenad was introduced to us as “the blogger guy”. Right after meeting him, we proceeded to a tasting of Georgian qvevri wine. That was when we quickly noticed Nenad’s fiercely independent and sharp palate. He is also assiduously thoughtful when describing wine. But perhaps what we appreciate most about him is his earnestness for quirky wines and open-mindedness towards unconventional flavors.

Nenad Trifunović of Dnevnik Vinopije

Clockwise: Krešimir Ivančić, Nenad Trifunović, Matthew Horkey, and Charine Tan

As a Creative Director for an advertising and marketing agency, why did you decide to start a wine blog?

I wanted to give meanings to the bottles that I bought or consumed, regardless of their prices. It was supposed to be a diary that documented the perspectives of a Croatian wine drinker. Back then, it never occurred to me that the blog would become so much bigger than myself.

Sometimes, in our private conversations, we refer to you as “Vinopija” instead of your name. After all, there are quite a few Nenad’s around and Vinopija is one of a kind. Even though Vinopija’s focus is on Croatian wine, you’re well-traveled and have extensive experience with the finest wines of the world. Have you observed any differences between a Croatian palate and a foreign palate?

The only significant difference is in the acquired taste. Many Croatians are accustomed to Plavac Mali. These tannic, high-alcohol wines can be difficult for non-Croatians. However, I do not like broad generalizations. In my opinion, there are greater differences between ‘an indifferent palate’ and ‘a seasoned wine drinker’, regardless of nationality.

What are the current trends in the Croatian wine industry? What has changed since you started your involvement with wine?

I have been involved as a consumer since childhood. When I was a child, my family was a regular, middle-class family living in the city. It was quite normal to have a decent bottle of wine at least once a week for Sunday’s lunch. Back then, wine was not considered a luxury. Two decades later, wine became an elitist drink. That may be the most piteous change. Things are looking better now, but many wine drinkers are still drawn by status symbols or famous labels. A good proportion of the other consumers drinks industrial, bulk wines. Mass production accepts almost anything to pass off as wine and be sold in supermarkets.

Internationally, I think Croatia’s food and wine culture is moving into the spotlight and has some interesting stuff to show.

We agree. Croatia has a formidable gastronomic identity. What are your favorite local varieties and styles of wine?

I appreciate a good wine. A wine should make sense in relation to its origin and variety. As such, I am predisposed to like varieties like Teran from Istria or Vugava from Vis. Ultimately, I look for a balance between the man, place, and variety. The winemaker, grower, and cellar master are connected to their origin. They must have knowledge of tradition and their place, terroir, soil, and climate. The vintage variance and the nobleness and characteristics of the varieties should be important to them as well.

Radan Vugava from Vis is a wine that Nenad recommended to us.

Thanks to your recommendations, we did discover several interesting examples of Vugava from Vis. In your opinion, which Croatian wine region holds the most promise, and which is the most under-the-radar?

It’s difficult to say what is under-the-radar to me, considering I’m a Croatian wine blogger. I think the island of Vis is the most interesting place for the local wine lovers at the moment. The wines are unknown even to many Croatians. So by that definition, I guess Vis holds that “under the radar” status.

 

A post shared by Exotic Wine Travel (@exoticwinetravel) on May 29, 2017 at 12:35pm PDT

Indeed. We spent a week in Vis and were thrilled by what we found (above is a video that we took in Vis). Vis is an enigma because it is rather isolated, and there are a few excellent wineries there. But with their minuscule production, the wines hardly ever make it out of the island.  What do you foresee happening to the Croatian wine industry in the near future? 

I foresee more people will appreciate wine as part of everyday table culture. I predict many of the finest examples not being recognized by the domestic market and thus being sold abroad. This is already happening and I’ve tasted a fair share of these excellent Croatian wines that are exported—which brings me back to my previous point about ‘an indifferent palate’ and ‘a seasoned wine drinker’, regardless of their nationality.

Besides Croatia, which wine country or wine region do you like to drink from, and why?

There are many wine countries that interest me. I believe I am too young to focus on just one or a few. I am still exploring wine and probably always will. I would like to explore more of Greece, especially Crete and Santorini. the dry Tokaj from Hungary, the wines from some Loire appellations, and Portuguese wine also come to the top of my mind. I really enjoy Schioppettino from one of my favorite winemakers, Ronchi di Cialla in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Since the selection of foreign wine is limited in Croatia, many wines that I would like to try can be difficult to obtain.

Do you have a favorite wine writer, wine blogger, or wine personality?

I appreciate the work of Andrew Jefford. I also recognize the positive influence of Terry Theise. Matt Kramer is certainly another person who stands out to me. I also find Chris Kissack’s stuff worthy and useful. There are too many to mention. There are so many interesting bloggers and writers out there producing great content.

Hey, we can definitely see Terry Theise’s influence on you! Thank you for your time, Nenad.

The finest selection of

Croatian wines

available at:

Shipping is available EU-wide and to the UK.

Check out Croatian Wines Available in the USA.

************

    Do you want to try Croatian wines?    

If you’re looking to savor the exquisite flavor of Croatian wines, look no further than wineandmore.com. With an abundance of options from different winemakers, it’s easy to find exactly what your palate desires. Not sure which bottle is best for you? Try out one of their curated wine cases and discover the perfect vintage for any occasion!

************

Want to learn more about wine?

Are you ready to discover the wonderful world of wines? Come join us at wineandmore.com and let’s explore the incredible selection of delicious wines together! We can’t wait to share our passion for wine with you!

Check out our video “Plavac Mali from Vis, Croatia”.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are unsolicited and have not been paid for in any way by governmental bodies, enterprises, or individuals. We do not sell editorial content as that would destroy the legitimacy of our reviews and the trust between Exotic Wine Travel and its readers. On occasion, we extend the option of purchasing the wines we review or/and the products we spotlight. Some of these product links are set up through affiliate programs, which means Exotic Wine Travel gets referral credits if you choose to purchase these items via the links we provide.

The post Nenad Trifunović: Connecting Taste with Heart appeared first on Wine Travel.

Jo Ahearne is an academically trained winemaker and a Master of Wine. She is currently producing Croatian wine under her namesake winery on the island of Hvar in South Dalmatia. In this interview, she sheds some light on the Croatian wine industry and what it’s like to make wine in Croatia.

You can find Jo Ahearne wines at wineandmore.com

JO AHEARNE, AN EDUCATED GUEST

• Jo, thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Let’s start off by getting to know you, as a wine lover, a little better. Do you have an epiphany wine?

Wine wasn’t a huge part of my life growing up. We [my family] did have wine occasionally, but it was only as I got a bit older, also when wine became more accessible in the UK with supermarkets selling it, that it was more of a thing. I suppose my ‘come to Jesus’ moment was during a holiday in France with my parents, sister, aunt, uncle, and my cousins. My dad and uncle decided to treat themselves to a half-bottle of Pommard, but since they were surrounded by seven women who were having none of that ‘not sharing’ lark, we all ended up with a sip each!

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“It [Plavac Mali] is a grape that you can get that Nebbiolo-esque perfume and refined tannin backbone, but make it another way and it will have the burly Amarone or Barossa Valley richness.”

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• A Pommard sounds like a fine way to start the journey. How has your preference in wine evolved over time?

I think in wine, like in many areas in life, there can sometimes be an obsession with the ‘next new thing’, and we can forget what made us love something in the first place. But I do think your palate is your palate. I’m a bit of an acid freak with white wines, and I don’t think that has changed. But with red, I was more of a Bordeaux girl to start, and that has definitely changed.

I remember the first ‘serious’ bottle of Australian wine I bought when I started working at Oddbins: it was a Charles Melton’s Shiraz. It cost £8; but considering I was earning £2.50 an hour, it was a huge purchase for me. The ripeness of the fruit and the seductive tannins were a revelation for me. The weird thing was that years later, Charlie gave me my first vintage job, which started me on the path to becoming a winemaker. 10 years in Australia made my palate more New Worldy.

Coming back to Europe, I worked a lot in Italy and enjoyed bolder southern reds but really fell in love with Piedmont and Nebbiolo; I started to ignore those lovely bold Australian flavors. This was what made me want to make Plavac Mali. It is a grape that you can get that Nebbiolo-esque perfume and refined tannin backbone, but make it another way and it will have the burly Amarone or Barossa Valley richness. So I’ve started to embrace the richness once more.

• What makes Hvar so special?

Ah! I could go on forever. When I decided that I’d make my own wine in Croatia, I looked at what was considered the ‘grand cru’ sites, and the south side of Hvar was one of them. In a country that is ridiculously beautiful, Hvar is even more beautiful. When I travel to another region, I think about how lovely it is, and then I come back ‘home’ and realize that Hvar is on another level.

A view of Hvar, Croatia. © August Dominus, CC BY-SA 4.0

• We agree. Hvar is a stunning-looking place with great food, great wine, and fantastic people. What are the challenges of being a foreigner making wine in Croatia?

I think they are the same challenges that you would have anywhere else. As a Londoner, I am always going to be an outsider making wine in Croatia. The Croatian language is hard, but so many people speak great English here. The main challenge is probably just finding out who sells what, like the capsules, bottles, and corks. I still can’t find someone who is able to print the cartons I want for my wine. I know it sounds daft, but I can’t find a likable bottle that is the same for the standard, magnum, and jeroboam formats. Another challenge is finding growers who understand yield and quality. I tend to let the vineyards do the quality control for me; good sites can control the excess vegetation and excess yield naturally.

• Tell us about the Dalmatian grape varieties, especially the ones you work with.

I started with Plavac Mali, which is related to Zinfandel (known in Croatia as Crljenak Kaštelanski and Tribidrag) and has that same part-raisin flavor profile. This comes not from a desire for extended ‘hang time’ but because it ripens unevenly. So a proportion of the fruit has to be raisined for the rest of the berries to have a chance at ripening. Vineyard selection is paramount because there are some places, even on the south side of Hvar, where the tannins never get ripe and the acidity is too low and pH too high. However, if you get it right, Plavac Mali can produce such fine tannins that imbue even the biggest wine with elegance.

Then I found the Darnekuša for my rosé, which is the opposite of Plavac Mali. It never ripens to more than about 11.5% potential alcohol and has very little color. But it has concentration, structure, and fantastic acidity.

I found some great Pošip this vintage. I think it’s akin to Pinot Bianco with a twist of Viognier. And then I work with Bogdanuša and Kuć as well, which can be quite neutral.

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“Wine production isn’t cheap here, so the prices of Croatian wine come as a surprise to a lot of people. When I tell my friends in Spain how much Plavac Mali and Darnekuša cost, they get a heart attack.”

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A vineyard on the island of Hvar.

• We’re big fans of both your Plavac Mali and Darnekuša. Please share with us more about your wines.

I choose the Plavac Mali based on vineyards and scientific analyses. The fruit has to have concentration and freshness to start. Then if the tannins are ripe and the pH is low enough, I will buy the fruit. I have a cutoff point of pH 3.7 in the vineyard, and many of the parcels I buy have much lower pH than that. I’ve seen fruit that has another month till it’s ripe and already at pH 3.8. Making wine from grapes with a pH over four is not fun.

For Pošip, I pick at three different sugar levels to get the flavors of lime and lemon, then peach and melon, and finally tropical guava and pineapple.

For Bogdanuša and Kuć, I ferment them on skins to get more flavors from these neutral varieties and also some refreshing phenolics. It’s mostly about texture for me; so for the whites, I do a lot of bâttonage. I spend hours removing stalks and seeds from the red wines to get rid of green tannins. Everything is fermented in open-tops. Pushing the cap down is done by hand for gentle extraction and to make sure the wine is getting enough oxygen.

Jo Ahearne Rosina, a rosé made from Croatia’s indigenous variety called Darnekuša.

• Are there any Croatian wines that have really caught your eye?

The wine that inspired me to make my own Plavac Mali was Miloš Stagnum, with its perfume and refined tannic tension. The Tomić Caplar is a perfect combination of international and indigenous varieties. I adore La Sin, the Lasina from Bibich, which is known as the ‘Dalmatian Pinot Noir’ because of its amazing silky texture. Vina Cattunar from Istria is doing some interesting things with soil types; its Malvazija, which I tasted at the Vinart Grand Tasting in Zagreb, had this amazing white pepper spice and fabulous texture. There are some great Sauvignon Blancs coming out of Slavonia. But to be honest, I need to spend a few months traveling around and visiting more wineries.

• What are the cultural obstacles you face in Dalmatia?

No more than in any other places where you are an outsider. The Dalmatians are famous for being quite stubborn, but so can I!

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“The notion that Eastern Europe equals cheap wine is a hard one to work against.”

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• Is Croatian wine ready for the international stage? What are the obstacles that the Croatian wine industry might face moving forward?

There is a thirst – excuse the pun – for exploring different regions and grape varieties, and that’s more widespread than just among us wine geeks. Five years ago, people were less adventurous. This plays nicely into the hands of the Croatian wine industry with its wealth of indigenous varieties.

Wine production isn’t cheap here, so the prices of Croatian wine come as a surprise to a lot of people. When I tell my friends in Spain how much Plavac Mali and Darnekuša cost, they get a heart attack. The notion that Eastern Europe equals cheap wine is a hard one to work against. There are no large vineyard holdings to make ‘entry point’ wine; with the demise of the co-operative system, there isn’t the focus on that end of the market as you’d find in France, Spain, and Italy.

For me, one of the biggest obstacles is that the majority of tourists who visit Croatia sample wine in konobas. The quality of the wine in those places is varied, to say the least. It is also totally unregulated. When I first visited Croatia in 2003, I stopped drinking wine after the second day.

I now know that the wine I was drinking in the local restaurants was made from the owner’s or family’s grapes and in the garage. Economically, I understand why they would encourage you to drink their ‘homemade’ wine. I thought the use of that word was a quaint translation, but it’s quite literal. If you are selling this wine for 80 Kuna (~USD 11.50) a liter with no costs accumulated from bottling, label, cork, or carton, that is the equivalent to an ex-cellar price for some Premier Cru Chablis or even Brunello.

Often, this wine is kept in a hot place, and it gets oxidized, volatile, mousey, and sometimes all three at once! Sometimes it’s nice, but other times, the tourists think this is what Croatian wine is all about. And they will go back home and never ask their local wine shops for Croatian wine because, based on their experiences, Croatian wine is okay at best.

We need to work on getting the tourists to take home the message that Croatian wine is great, and also spend time in export markets pouring wines and talking to potential customers. The lack of a ‘Wines of Croatia’ association holds the country back. For example, each year at Prowein, there is a large stand full of Macedonian wine. The wineries do not pay the huge cost of that stand on their own, as they have government support. There is a stand for Slovenia, Greece, Moldova, Bulgaria, but Croatia is absent and therefore absent from the minds of the international buyers who are searching for new things.

Thank you so much for your insights, Jo. We look forward to enjoying more Ahearne Vino!

The finest selection of

Croatian wines

available at:

Shipping is available EU-wide and to the UK.

Check out Croatian Wines Available in the USA.

************

    Do you want to try Croatian wines?    

If you’re looking to savor the exquisite flavor of Croatian wines, look no further than wineandmore.com. With an abundance of options from different winemakers, it’s easy to find exactly what your palate desires. Not sure which bottle is best for you? Try out one of their curated wine cases and discover the perfect vintage for any occasion!

************

Want to learn more about wine?

Are you ready to discover the wonderful world of wines? Come join us at wineandmore.com and let’s explore the incredible selection of delicious wines together! We can’t wait to share our passion for wine with you!

You May Also Enjoy

• 10 Plavac Mali Wines To Try (Besides Dingač And Postup)
• Nenad Trifunović: Connecting Taste with Heart
• Understanding Croatian Wine with Cliff Rames

Varietal wines made from the native grapes of Hvar island, Croatia:

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are unsolicited and have not been paid for in any way by governmental bodies, enterprises, or individuals. We do not sell editorial content as that would destroy the legitimacy of our reviews and the trust between Exotic Wine Travel and its readers. On occasion, we extend the option of purchasing the wines we review or/and the products we spotlight. Some of these product links are set up through affiliate programs, which means Exotic Wine Travel gets referral credits if you choose to purchase these items via the links we provide.

The post Trendsetter: Jo Ahearne MW, Winemaker appeared first on Wine Travel.

George Kassianos is the president of the Cyprus Sommelier Association and the operations manager at Annabelle Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus. In February, together with Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Mr Kassianos put together a two-week long wine trip for us to research Cypriot wine and explore the culture of his motherland. In this interview, he shares with us about the past, present, and future of the wine from this special Aphrodite’s island.

• Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Can you tell us about your background pertaining to wine?

It started in London when I was studying the oenology part of a Hotel Management course. I decided to learn more about wine by participating in Master Sommelier courses. I started working as a sommelier in 92 Park Lane, a two Michelin-starred restaurant in London. My hotel career began at Annabelle Hotel as an Assistant Food & Beverage Manager. The wine culture started there back in the 90s. Although I left Annabelle in 2005, I came back as the Operations Manager in 2012, a position I still hold today. In 2008, I became the President of the Cyprus Sommelier Association. We currently have the opportunity to host the ASI “Best Sommelier of Europe” competition.

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“Wineries need to move toward maintaining their own vineyards. Investing in young, educated winemakers and viticulturists should be a priority.”

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• Tell us more about the history of Cypriot wine.

The history of winemaking in Cyprus can be traced back to 6,000 years ago. In 2005, a team of archaeologists concluded that the wine jars that were discovered in Erimi in the 1930s were the oldest of their kind in the world dating back to 3,500 BC. This suggests that the first wines of the Mediterranean area were produced in Cyprus, long before the existence of the Paphos mosaics that depicts Dionysus, the god of wine. It is believed that the Egyptians and Phoenicians brought wine to Cyprus, but it was the Greeks that developed winemaking on the island. The sweet wine of Cyprus called Nama was praised by Homer and Hesiod.  The wine was popular during the Roman period too with references from visitors and historians.

In the past, there were not many references to winemaking in Cyprus. This all changed when the Crusaders came to Cyprus in the 12^th century. They increased the production of Nama and renamed it ‘Commandaria’. It became the most sought-after wine in Europe and a valuable export commodity for the island.  It flourished under the Lusignan and Venetian rule and was heavily exported.

Wine production suffered under the Ottomans. Heavy taxation to vineyard owners and wine production resulted in the destruction of many vineyards. British occupation in 1878 brought a revival to the winemaking industry. The largest wineries of the island—EKTO, KEO, SODAP, and LOEL—were founded after this time.

Cyprus was never affected by phylloxera, Consequently, the demand for Cyprus’s grapes and wines combined with the relatively high prices resulted in a mini boom for the industry. Further demand in the early 20th century came from local consumption and from the regional forces of Britain and France in the Middle East. Cyprus was producing good-quality cheap wine and brandy, and the big four companies prospered as a result. The next big export product came in the form of Cyprus Sherry. Cyprus was exporting millions of liters to the UK and the Soviet Union during this time.

The 20th century brought the protection of the Sherry name and the collapse of the Soviet Union. This devastated the local wine industry in the 1990’s. In response to the challenges faced by the industry, the Cyprus Vine Products Commission began its efforts to overhaul the sector in order to help it survive. Reforms were intended to improve the quality rather than quantity of wine. Three initiatives were launched:

1. New international varieties of grapes were introduced and financial incentives were given for their cultivation. The varieties introduced were considered more suitable for quality wine production and more palatable to overseas markets. This led to the pulling of many local grapevines.
2. Incentives were given to create small regional wineries with a production capacity of 50,000 to 300,000 bottles per year.  This was intended to promote better quality wines by reducing the distance grapes have to travel from vineyards to wineries. The big four wineries were located in the large port cities of Limassol and Paphos, so vine growers were forced to transport their grapes for miles in the summer heat. Often, the fermentation process had already begun during transport. This also helped maintain the village population in the vine-cultivating regions.
3. A new Appellation of Origin system was launched in 2007.

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“Euripides called it the ‘Cyprus Nama,’ the nectar of gods.”

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• Cyprus wine industry has come a long way. What does it need in order to move forward?

The future lies on Cyprus’s indigenous varieties.  Cyprus needs more white wine varieties like Spourtiko, Promara, and Morokanella. The reds Maratheftiko and Yiannoudi show promise. We need to aim more in the €5 to €15 bracket and avoid the low-cost wines. Wineries need to move toward maintaining their own vineyards. Investing in young, educated winemakers and viticulturists should be a priority.

• And what inhibits the progress of the Cyprus wine industry?   

Here are a few things that I’ve noticed. The imported wines are better and cheaper in some cases. The vineyard situation; many vines have been uprooted. Existing vineyards required high cost to maintain and there are too many owners due to inheritance laws. On top of these, no one wishes to work in the vineyards anymore. The high cost of production and labor is a concern. This affects the competitiveness of Cyprus wines abroad. In addition to these, many wineries have no successors and are sold to foreign entrepreneurs. This obviously doesn’t contribute to the development of winemaking tradition.

• What is the most famous wine of Cyprus?

It is Commandaria, a delicious dessert wine with natural amber-honey color. It is the oldest wine in Cyprus and—thankfully—still in production today. This unique wine is produced from mature, sun-dried grapes of the varieties called Xinisteri and Mavro, and then aged in oak for a minimum of two years. Commandaria is produced in only 14 villages located on the slopes of the Troodos Mountains. The beginning of this wine is said to date back to the time of the ancient Greeks, 4,000 years ago, when it was a popular drink at festivals that celebrated the goddess of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite. Euripides called it the ‘Cyprus Nama,’ the nectar of gods. The name ‘Commandaria’ however dates back to the crusades in the 12^th century. It was greatly enjoyed at the wedding of Richard the Lionheart and he pronounced it as “the Wine of Kings and the King of Wines”.

• What was your first Cypriot wine? 

Of course, it was Commandaria. It was the only Cypriot wine I was proud of in the early 80s. When I came back to Cyprus in 1989, the KEO Heritage (the first Maratheftiko) and Ayios Andronicos (the first Xynisteri/Xinisteri from high-altitude vines) drew my attention. After tasting those wines, I knew that Cyprus wine has a great future.

• We love Xynisteri wine made from high-altitude grapes too. What is your favorite food and wine pairing?

My favorite of recent memory was grilled sea bass with red wine sauce and aubergines paired with a Peter Lehmann Shiraz 2001 from Barossa (Australia) and a Makkas Syrah 2007 (Cyprus) in a Riedel Riesling glass at 16°C.

• That’s a great pairing! It must be interesting to see how the Cypriot Syrah shows up next to a big-name Shiraz from Barossa. What can Cyprus offer that other wine countries can’t?

The uniqueness of its indigenous grapes and excellent sweet wines.

Annabelle Hotel, Paphos, Cyprus

Play the video below to check out some of the highlights of the evening:

Related
Vouni Panayia: Confidence in the Cypriot Wine Grapes
Your Cheat Sheet to the Wines of Cyprus, Part I
Facing Our Fears: Cypriot Wine

Stay tuned to our website for more in-depth articles and videos on the Cypriot wine scene.

Disclaimer: Our trip was partially sponsored by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, The Annabelle Hotel (Paphos), and Saint Elena Hotel (Larnaca). A few wineries provided us tasting samples, but most of them simply gave us their time. The opinions expressed in this article are our own and we are under no obligation to give favorable reviews.

The post George Kassianos: The Godfather of Cypriot Wine appeared first on Wine Travel.

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Sarah Abbott is a Master of Wine who comes from a food-loving family. After working in the IT software industry for several years, she decided to change her career trajectory and immerse in wine in 1996. Her first foray into wine was as a sales and marketing representative at an importing company of domaine-bottled Burgundy. She describes the pay as meager but she “drank like a stockbroker”.

After working with many inspiring people in the wine world and encouraged by them to further her expertise, Sarah enrolled in the Masters of Wine program. In 2008, she earned the academic title MW and off she went with following her heart and working her tail off. She founded Swirl, a wine education and events company that works with customers of different levels — from end-consumers, to corporate clients, importers, and producers. Regardless the setup, her goals are to empower consumers, celebrate the stories of wine, and harness the power of wine to unite people.

Conversation with Sarah Abbott, Master of Wine
& Champion for Lesser-known Wine Regions

• What is the difference between a Master Sommelier (MS) and a Master of Wine (MW)? 

They are two different exams run and awarded by two different organisations. Both require the highest levels of wine knowledge and insight, but they have different emphases and the style of exam is different too. Master Sommeliers have demonstrated their ability and excellence with wine in an on-trade environment. That means verbally showing their knowledge, and displaying physical skill and dexterity when it comes to actually serving wine. The MW exam is all written, there’s no spoken element, and I suppose it’s more theoretical. The syllabus for MW is broader. We don’t go into the depth of wine service that MS does.

• What’s the most valuable lesson you have learned as a Master of Wine?

Cultivate cheerful humility and relentless curiosity. Get organised. Allow yourself to be helped. Be ready to help others. Being a Master of Wine isn’t about proving how great you are. Rather, it is about surrendering yourself to understanding a natural and cultural way in which the world is expressed. During the course of my study, I’ve received first-hand experience of depending on those who came before me, the generosity of producers, and my fellow classmates.

• What does wine mean to you?

Wine is an ambassador for civilisation. It is a symbol of hope, stability, and cultural refinement. More importantly, it represents hospitality and togetherness. It’s a way of understanding our beautiful world. Wine is a way of connecting with friends, soon-to-be friends, and humanity. And it’s really great fun to drink.

• That’s a beautiful way to put it. It’s one of the many reasons why we always enjoy talking to you: we can feel the romance and tenderness in your words. But how do you keep your love for wine from becoming too technical and work related? Is it challenging to have what’s predominantly a hobby and passion to most people as your everyday work?

No, I’m inherently frivolous so keeping fun in my work is really easy for me. I did have ‘if a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing well’ drummed into me as a kid. I’m very lucky to be working with something I love and find so endlessly interesting.

• You’re known to champion lesser-known wine regions. When we traveled through Georgia and Turkey, many winemakers spoke fondly of you. So let’s talk about Turkish wine. Can you tell us a few of your favourite Turkish grape varieties and how they perform next to international, well-known grapes?

Öküzgözü is great fun. It is fleshy, sumptuous, and aromatic. It reminds me a bit of Syrah, but with the aromatics and lift of Sangiovese. Bogazkere is a moody but potentially great variety. I guess you could compare it to Tannat or Nebbiolo because of its tannic structure. But the fruit is darker and less floral. Kalecik Karası is a gorgeously alluring red wine grape. Some people compare it to Pinot Noir, but if so it’s like Pinot Noir on holiday –  very relaxed and not at all neurotic. Narince is like what Pinot Grigio would be if it was more interesting – delicate and sneakily aromatic. Emir is steely – a bit like Manseng but with more aromatics. Sultaniye is really good fun and very drinkable – reminds me of good Pinot Blanc, which I think is a variety much underestimated for uncomplicated pleasure.

• Yes, we are fans of those grapes that you mentioned. There are many distinguished Turkish wine grapes that show a lot of potential. What would you like wine lovers to think or feel when they drink Turkish wine?

Be open, be bold, be hopeful.

• Let’s move on to Georgian wine and specifically, Georgian wine made in the qvevri. What do wine lovers need to know and how can they enjoy it?

Qvevri is one of the oldest winemaking methods in the world, but in Georgia it is an unbroken tradition that exists in both traditional and modern forms. Qvevri are buried clay vessels in which freshly harvested grape bunches are placed and then fermented. Qvevri solve a lot of winemaking problems, so are popular among producers who favour a ‘less is more’ approach when it comes to intervention and additions.

Grapes getting fermented in a buried qvevri at the Pheasant’s Tears winery in Georgia.

• What is the next stage for you? What ambition do you have for your own development and for these lesser-known wine regions that you work with? 

I want to continue to help lesser known and underestimated wines secure their future and find their market. I know that sometimes ‘selling’ is seen as something that is less poetic than the creation of the wines or the tradition of these unique varieties and places. But nothing happens until something is sold. We need to match these quirky, beautiful wines with people who love them and are delighted to buy them. That’s how we keep this sort of wine biodiversity, and link to the past, and give to the future. And create memories. Life is short, and we’re here to enjoy it.

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Trendsetter: Burcak Desombre, Turkish Wine Maestro
Trendsetter: Oliver Gareis From Amadeus Winery, Turkey

The post Trendsetter: Sarah Abbott, Master of Wine appeared first on Wine Travel.

Based in New York City, Cliff Rames is a freelance writer and sommelier. We first heard about him in an episode of Wine Library TV many years ago. Between 2016 and 2017, we spent eight months traveling through Croatia and tasted thousands of wines in preparation for our book Cracking Croatian Wine. During that period of travel and research, Cliff’s website Wines of Croatia was an indispensable resource for us.

EXPLORE THE WINES OF CROATIA WITH CLIFF RAMES

•  How did you get into wine?

When I was a kid, I found an interest in food and had a dream of owning a cafe in an exotic place, where I could cook and make people happy. In culinary school, I started learning about food and wine pairing. The more I explored, read, and learned, the more I became profoundly interested in wine. I still love to cook but would much rather serve cool wine than cook in a hot kitchen.

Eventually, it got to the point where every time I stepped into a wine shop, it’d take me three hours to emerge because I had to read nearly every single label in the shop in order to choose one wine for the evening. I still harbor the dream of owning a cafe, although it will probably be in Croatia and have more of a wine-bar theme.

• Food and wine are a pair that seems to partake in a higher order of inevitability. We know you as the Wines of Croatia guy. What other wine regions do you enjoy drinking from?

I’m a wine lover – first. I’m fascinated by the product of a place. When I taste a specific wine, I taste a certain place – which appeals to my sense of wanderlust. I was in France last year and fell in love with Chablis. I love the Finger Lakes region in New York, the Umpqua Valley in Oregon, Mosel, the Mount Etna wine region in Sicily, and Tokaj. I could go on and on. Every region has its unique nuances and charm that make wine so fascinating and appealing. It’s an endless journey.

“Tasting places through your glass is the wine experience.”

– Cliff Rames, founder of Wines of Croatia

• The more you learn, the less you know. We can relate to that, especially when it comes to wine. What turned you on to Croatian wine?

My father is originally from a tiny island off the coast of Croatia. When I was 16, he asked if I wanted to see where he was from. Of course I said yes. A few years later, he took me there, and I had my first glass of Dingač – a 1983 vintage no less. I fell in love instantly and proceeded to ask a ton of questions about Dingač. But back then, people in Croatia simply told me: it’s a wine, or it’s a grape, or that’s where the wine is from – nobody could give me a concise answer. Years later, I found out that Dingač is a place on the Pelješac peninsula, and it became a mythical place to me.

After getting certified as a sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers, I decided to specialize in what I had a natural inclination towards: Croatian wine. I was looking around and found that there was no information on Croatian wine. I thought, “Well somebody has to do something about that!” I took it on as a crusade, a personal mission, and at times I felt like John the Baptist screaming into the desert.

• And now “Cliff Rames” is almost a synonym for Croatian wine! What can Croatian wine offer to the world?

So often, well-made wines can transport you to a place; Croatian wines do that for me. There are about 130 indigenous varieties in Croatia, although perhaps only three dozen exist in commercial production. These grapes have funky names and make wines that taste like nothing else on earth. The trend in the wine world today is authenticity. People want food, wine, and stories that are real. Croatia can offer that. It is a magical place with some great stories to tell.

• The movement towards authenticity has certainly opened up a new playground on the world stage for lesser-known wine regions, exotic wines, and artisanal wine producers. Has the Croatian wine wave caught on internationally or does it need a jolt?

I have been working on Wines of Croatia for 10 years. There are a lot more Croatian wines available in today’s US market, but not as many as I would like to see. I am a little disappointed, but there are a few talented importers bringing in some good stuff. The thing is that these importers are regional and don’t have the national outreach yet. Things are getting better, but there is still a lot of work to do here in the USA.

• For the benefit of wine travelers, would you tell us more about the major wine regions in Croatia and their differences?

Croatia is broken into four major regions: Istria and Kvarner; Dalmatia; Slavonia and Danube; and the Uplands. Slavonia and Danube is a fantastic region but often forgotten and overlooked. This is too bad because it is a fabulous wine-growing region. It offers the white grape Graševina, which is an incredibly food-friendly grape. Graševina can manifest in so many different styles: sparkling wine, crisp and fresh dry wine, full-bodied and barrel-aged wine, sweet dessert wine, and even ice wine. It can wear almost every single hat in terms of wine style. There is also the potential to make solid red wines from the varieties Frankovka, Zweigelt, and Merlot.

The Uplands is a pastoral region behind the capital of Zagreb. It is quasi-alpine so you get cool-climate wines. There are many light, fresh, and fruity white wines coming out of that region. And there’s also the potential for sparkling wines and ice wines over there.

Istria has a tremendous food culture that plays off what goes on in Italy. It is called the ‘Tuscany of Croatia’ because of the food, truffles, rolling green hills, and medieval villages with vineyards dotted in between. The white wine grape Malvazija and red wine grape Teran are big there; those two varieties make food-friendly wines that pair excellently with the local cuisine.

Dalmatia is really a great gift to Croatia as it is home to the largest number of indigenous grape varieties. What’s nice is the local grapes there are still in production, whereas many indigenous varieties from other regions have been lost. The leading grape in Dalmatia is Plavac Mali, the offspring of Zinfandel (Crljenak Kaštelanski/Tribidrag). What is overlooked is the great white wines available in this region, particularly Pošip. There is a famous photo of Bono from U2 drinking Grk circulating on the web. Unfortunately, wine made from Grk is so rare and the production is so small that we can’t have any hope that it will be a global sensation. But everyone who tries it loves it.

Bono, the lead man from U2, enjoys a glass of Croatian white wine.

• Oh yes, we love Grk too. It’s so hard to get that wine even in Croatia. Who are some of your favorite producers in Croatia, and why are they special to you?

Wow, I hope I don’t get into trouble for leaving anyone out! One of my all-time favorites and great friend is Alen Bibić. He’s a forward-thinking pioneer in Croatia. He was one of the first to take international export seriously. His winery is also about 30 minutes away from where my father was born. My grandfather had vineyards close to Bibić’s and grew some of the grapes, like Babić and Debit, that Alen champions.

There are a number of new and forward-thinking winemakers like Bruno Trapan, Ivica Matošević, Moreno Degrassi, Moreno Coronica, and the Benvenuti brothers, as well as other guys up in Istria. The godfather of Istria for me is Giorgio Clai. He makes amazing orange wines from Malvazija and big, delicious reds from Teran and Refosco.

Down in Hvar, there is a visionary winemaker called Andro Tomić who does a great job at harnessing indigenous varieties and making them approachable for those that are new to Croatian wines. In Slavonia, you have Vlado Krauthaker who is doing amazing things. A lot of winemakers in Slavonia are unsung heroes doing great work.

In the Uplands, Bodren is making excellent ice and late-harvest wines. Tomac is producing amazing sparkling and amphora wines. Korak is making one of the finest Pinot Noirs in Croatia, and he’s a great guy with a strong signature in his winemaking style.

• Adding on to your recommendation about Alen Bibić: we visited the Bibich winery several months ago and enjoyed one of the best wine-pairing experience we’ve ever had. The molecular cuisine, which Alen’s wife prepared, elevated the wines to a whole new level of exquisite charm. The Bibich winery certainly sets the bar high for gastronomic tourism. Moving forward, what do you see in the trajectory of your projects on Croatian wine?

It’s been an interesting 10 years; most of the time, it’s been a one-man show. There have been various initiatives to get funding from various sources. I have conducted masterclasses and assisted with grand tastings here in New York City. I hope to collaborate with the winemaker’s association of Croatia in continuing these events.

The biggest challenge is sustaining the Wines of Croatia project without bankrupting myself. I have used my heart and passion to propagate this project and realized that I need to monetize the website in order to move forward. The question is how to do that while maintaining the credibility, objectivity, and integrity of the information. I have some plans in the works and am relaunching the website soon, so we will take it from there.

Exotic Wine Travel’s Choice: Croatian Wine

Clai Ottocento Crni 
€22.99 | EU-wide Delivery | Shop Here

Made by the wine producer that Cliff refers to as “the godfather of Istria”. The Clai Ottocento Crni is a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Teran, and a touch of Refosco. The grapes are farmed organically with biodynamic principles. The grapes undergo spontaneous fermentation and long maceration. This is a wine that will appease many people: dense and powerful in the mouth and finishes with refinement. The rich flavors are of black fruit, licorice, musky perfume, and earth. The long end palate is guided by a mineral characteristic, perked up by grippy but easy-going tannins.

We also did a video featuring Clai’s wines:

The finest selection of

Croatian wines

available at:

Shipping is available EU-wide and to the UK.

Check out Croatian Wines Available in the USA.

************

    Do you want to try Croatian wines?    

If you’re looking to savor the exquisite flavor of Croatian wines, look no further than wineandmore.com. With an abundance of options from different winemakers, it’s easy to find exactly what your palate desires. Not sure which bottle is best for you? Try out one of their curated wine cases and discover the perfect vintage for any occasion!

************

Want to learn more about wine?

Are you ready to discover the wonderful world of wines? Come join us at wineandmore.com and let’s explore the incredible selection of delicious wines together! We can’t wait to share our passion for wine with you!

• Featured photo: Cliff Rames by Wines of Croatia. 
• Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are unsolicited and have not been paid for in any way by governmental bodies, enterprises, or individuals. We do not sell editorial content as that would destroy the legitimacy of our reviews and the trust between Exotic Wine Travel and its readers. On occasion, we extend the option of purchasing the wines we review. Some of these product links are set up through affiliate programs, which means Exotic Wine Travel gets referral credits if you choose to purchase the items via the links we provide.

The post Understanding Croatian Wine with Cliff Rames appeared first on Wine Travel.

For a listing of articles and videos on Turkish wine and other wines from the Caucasus region, check out our page Uncorking the Caucasus. To purchase the Kindle or paperback copy of the book Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia, please head to this Amazon product page.

Burcak Desombre is the founder of Vinipedia Wine Consultancy, a leading wine educator in Turkey, and an expert on Turkish wine. She is a sought-after resource in the wine industry because of her knowledge and passion.

We got a chance to speak with Burcak
and gather her insight into the Turkish wine industry.

• How did you get into wine?

When I was growing up, my father had always allowed me to taste a little wine at dinner. So I was tasting wine for a long time without really knowing much about it. When I turned 19 years old, I went to France for university and naturally became more acquainted with wine there.

In 2006, I returned to Turkey and after a few jobs, I became a brand manager for the biggest wine importer in the country. From there, my love of wine flourished. Later, I embarked on the WSET education and became the first woman to compete in the Turkish Sommelier competition where I finished second. Following that, I represented Turkey in the Young Sommelier Competition. And finally, I decided to start my own business.

I was the first person living in Turkey to get the “Certified Sommelier” title from Court of Master Sommeliers. From that point, I began to introduce myself as a wine educator and wine consultant, but people often asked if I was working at one of the big companies. It was a foreign concept that I could be an independent wine consultant or have my own wine business.

I am currently in London, undergoing the WSET Diploma education.

• Tell us about the Turkish wine industry. What are the major changes you’ve seen in the past years?

Ten years ago, there were very few choices for wine lovers–they were limited by a few bulk wines made by big producers. Even the selection of imported wines was poor because it was done by a monopoly. By the beginning of the 2000’s, the law changed, which allowed boutique wineries to open. Before that, a winery must produce 1,000,000 liters per year to legally operate. The monopoly on imported wine was also privatized and some inexpensive foreign wines started to reach the supermarket shelves.

At the same time, many private investments went into the Thrace and Aegean regions to start wineries. Around 2005 to 2007, the first vintages started to hit the market. They were mostly oaky, wannabe-wines, but at least there was something there. Soon after, in 2009, several major wine personalities started to come to Turkey, like Jancis Robinson and other big names. Most of them picked up and commented on the high level of oak influence in the wines.

Those first few batches of wines from boutique wineries may be too oaky, but over time the new vintages gained more elegance; and as the vineyards became older, the age also added complexity to the wines. Between 2009 and 2013, there was a short golden age for boutique Turkish wines. All that changed in 2013 when new laws were passed and made marketing and branding wines in Turkey impossible. Tasting within wineries is illegal, so a few wineries have opened up cafes or boutique hotels where their wines can be served.

• Which wine regions does your business focus on?

There are two parts to my business. One is working with professionals. For example, I offer consulting services to duty-free shops and foreign wine professionals who are interested in Turkey. I also work with hotels and restaurants on their wine lists and staff training. The other branch of my business is dealing with the end-consumers. I feel that if I have to say I specialize in any specific Turkish wine area, it would be Thrace. This is because of its proximity to Istanbul, the considerable investment that has gone into this area, the boutique winery movement, and the established wine route. Thrace is the first region in Turkey to commit to wine tourism.

Thrace is very interesting because it isn’t as warm as the Aegean coast. The local grape varieties have been neglected for a long time ago and very few wineries are attempting to revive them. Most of the wine production in Thrace is centered on international varieties, which are thriving because of the maritime influence. I am really excited about the Shiraz produced there. There are also a few promising Pinot Noir trials.

Thrace is a big wine-producing region with many wineries and enotourism opportunities. Just recently, I organized a local competition for Thrace wines and 16 producers submitted their wines. There are many more producers than that. Many of them are second- and third- generation producers who are making table wines for the locals; you need to know someone–a local contact–to find them. Many wineries have also opened boutique hotels and restaurants, so there are many possibilities for tourism.

Again, Thrace’s proximity to Istanbul is very convenient, because you can do day trips to the wineries.

• What are the challenges in promoting Turkish wine?

Within Turkey, it is so difficult to capture the end-consumers. There are not many good, specialty wine shops; generally, people are not very educated about wine and there are not many places that offer proper information. The situation is improving with the Kayra Academy offering WSET education, but it’s one of the few places that do this.

While the country is seemingly leaning towards becoming more conservative, it has not affected open-minded people who want to taste and know more about wine.

The laws hinder advertising, so boutique producers really have to work hard to promote their wines. Many people have turned to private dinners where they get a chance to taste different wines over the course of a meal. Small wine producers love this concept and are willing to offer samples because it is one of the few ways that they can gain exposure. I see a rise of young professionals in Turkey who want to take the WSET courses, want to organize private dinners, and want to try more wine. This is very encouraging.

• What can Turkey offer wine lovers that no other wine countries can?

It’s the history; for that we need to focus on eastern Turkey. It is a difficult area to travel in but can be very rewarding at the same time. In that part of the country, there are old and beautiful vineyards, odd pruning systems that can still be found today, and a lot of land work is still done with animals. This is an area for the true romantics.

Coming back to Thrace and the Aegean coast, both areas are located next to large, vibrant cities like Istanbul and Izmir. Istanbul needs no further promotion but we should not forget about Izmir, which is beautiful and rich in history. Having wine regions that are close enough for day trips from both cities is a huge plus for wine tourism.

• What advice would you offer to wine lovers who want to explore Turkey and its wine?

There is an absolute need for local contacts. In many regions, anyone coming independently would not be able to find the wineries and vineyards. Even for myself, I would want a local contact when traveling through eastern Turkey. All the best wines of Turkey are off the beaten path–take Cappadocia for instance, it is a wine-producing area and sees a high volume of tourism; it is very beautiful but most visitors are drinking bad wines.

• In your opinion, which indigenous varieties of Turkey are the most promising?

More than the boutique wineries, the big producers are working hard to revive the local varieties. Öküzgözü and Boğazkere show a lot of promise. Boğazkere is a somewhat rustic grape but there are some excellent examples like the Kavaklidere Prestige. Kayra Winery does a good job with Öküzgözü and they produce it in many different styles. Kalecik Karası is a problematic grape that can be done well, but many producers use it to make simple, fruity, Beaujolais Nouveau-style wines. I also enjoy the grape Narince as a young and fresh white wine.

• In your opinion, what does Turkey need to do to distinguish itself as a wine-producing country?

I think we need to focus more on the local varieties and if needed, blend them with international varieties; this will make it easier to enter new markets. We also need to focus more on Asian markets because Europe has the idea that Turkey is a Muslim country and does not produce wine. Asia does not have these preconceptions and the demand for wine there keeps increasing.

Unfortunately, today, Turkey is not known as a wine-producing country. Our wines are relatively expensive due to the need to import all the raw materials with the exception of the grapes. Because of this, wineries should focus on building a collective brand for Turkish wine, and not just focus on their own winery’s branding. The Turkish wine industry, while rich in history, is too young to rely on one or two brands. We should all work together, work better collectively, which is happening more often now after the new alcohol laws have been passed.

We also need more brand ambassadors, not just big names, but people that travel and have a broad perspective. We need people to tell the story of Turkish wine.

Excerpt from Uncorking the Caucasus

About Boğazkere

(pronounce bow-ahz-ke-re)  This red wine variety is native to the Diyarbakir area of southeastern Turkey. Based on geography, this may be one of the first varieties used in winemaking. It prefers hot, dry climates at high altitudes. The name Boğazkere translates to “throat burner”, which is probably in reference to its strong tannins. It is typically made into a full-bodied wine with medium acidity. Its flavor profile includes dark berry, pepper, dark chocolate, and licorice. We found this variety mostly in the areas of Elazığ, Cappadocia, and Pamukkale in the Aegean Region. It is used as a blending grape, as well as in varietal wine.

The post Trendsetter: Burcak Desombre, Turkish Wine Maestro appeared first on Wine Travel.

We first met Dušan Jelić at a Serbian wine expo in Kragujevac, Serbia.  Prior to that, we were already following his website Wines of Balkans for a few years. The information on Wines of Balkans was invaluable as we made our way through the region over three months in the Spring of 2016. Dušan has been very giving of his time and knowledge during the short period we have known him. He has tremendous insight on wines from this area that is still unknown to most of the world.

Dušan Jelić: A Perspective on Balkan Wine

Dušan Jelić, founder of Wines of Balkans and Fair Cape Wines Agency

• What can the Balkans uniquely offer to wine enthusiasts?

The region offers unique gastronomy including Balkan wines made from more than a hundred indigenous varieties. At least 20 of these are responsible for great world-class wines from many different producers and regions, such as Furmint/Sipon, Malvazija Istriana, Posip, Plavac Mali, Prokupac, Tamjanika/Temjanika, Vranac/Vranec, Blatina, Zilavka, Kadarka/Gamza, Mavrud, Feteasca Neagra, Boğazkere, Assyrtiko, Xinomavro, and many more. In addition to top-notch gastronomy, the Balkans is an extremely diverse region that offers the ultimate wine tourism experience!

• How did you get involved with Balkan wine?

My father is a genuine wine lover. He allowed me to start nosing and tasting wine at a young age. I remember my mother ‘complaining’ to him for allowing me to taste the wine. Those moments left a lasting impression since I was at such an impressionable age.

After leaving Bosnia in 1992, at the outbreak of the war, I moved to South Africa. When I returned in 1998, I got a job with the United Nations. That stint was up in 2009 when I relocated again to South Africa at the age of 40 and decided to pursue wine as a new career. After going to various classes on wine over a period of time, I connected with a few people and was eventually appointed as the social media manager for the leading South African wine online company www.wine.co.za. In 2010, I was one of the first social media managers in the wine industry. I was studying at Cape Wine Academy in South Africa. In 2011, I decided to move back to the Balkans and apply what I had learned in South Africa. It was evident that the local winemakers within the Balkans had been shut out or not fully aware of the social media movement. They were hoping that their business would expand simply by making good products.

I started here on a shoestring budget, but I didn’t care because I loved it. Nobody was covering all the countries as a whole in terms of Balkan wine because it takes a lot of time, travel, and financial power. I worked to visit all of the countries and started very humbly. The first year, I was paying all of my expenses; the second year, I got a little help with travel and accommodation, and finally started earning a little on top of that. Eventually, I got invited to be a judge at several competitions as well as a guest of the key regional wine festivals.

• How can the Balkans brand themselves?

We cannot succeed unless there is a concentrated effort. People in our industry are scared to invest money in these things unless they see an instant return. ­ In this game, the benefits are not immediately visible. It’s sad because vintners here are good; they are producing better and better wine, but they struggle with marketing. The cheapest form of marketing is social media, and it is being done randomly and ineffectively—if at all.

You could brand each country or region within the Balkans individually. Macedonia has put together funds for a collective effort to get their wines known. Croatia and Slovenia do have certain funds from the state too. Istria in Croatia is perhaps the best example of how a region can brand itself. They have an excellent branding strategy ­ that is not only about wine quality. They have also been successful by integrating wine with their food, olive oil, and truffles. The branding strategy is one of complete gastronomy, not only wine. The only Balkan variety that has its own Riedel wine glass is Malvazija Istriana from Istria!

My idea is to promote the entire Balkan Peninsula as a collective region. Branding the whole region could combine the different wine regions with gastronomy, skiing in the winter, swimming and beach resorts in the summer, history and culture, and relaxing spas. It is amazing to experience the diversity of landscapes and cultures this region contains, ­ and you can cross the whole area by plane in an hour or so. This small area has so much natural beauty.

Exotic Wine Travel team overlooking the Lake Skadar wine-growing region in Montenegro.

For example, a tourist cannot come to Slovenia for 10 days and be happy. But what if there was an operated tour that tailored three days in Slovenia, three days in Croatia, a few days in Serbia, and a few days in Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, or Montenegro. There is a lot of diversity and experiences to be had in an itinerary like that. Once again, this is my idea; there is no evidence as of now that this will be executed.

• So what does Serbia need to do to distinguish itself?

Our native variety Prokupac is at least 500 years old but there is not a lot of information out there about it. There is a longstanding wine culture here. Serbia needs to promote Prokupac and other indigenous varieties and create stories around them. Wine needs stories! Next, these grapes need to be researched, planted at a greater volume, and mastered to make great wine. Only last month, for the first time,  it was decided that 14th October is being celebrated as International Prokupac Day!

Lastly, it’s not enough to have great wine, there must be a tasting room that holds at least one busload of people. Wineries must have properly trained staff and they must have some proper pairing food available, ­ be it outsourced or prepared by an on­site restaurant. Having a place to sleep tops off the experience because if the wine is good, it isn’t safe to be driving around.

To move to the next level, groups of winemakers within the different regions must organize themselves into associations to brand and market their specific regions. This is difficult in Serbia because I believe that the winemakers here struggle with vanity. I personally dislike it when a producer asks me to compare their wine to someone else’s specifically. This exists all over the world but I believe it happens more frequently in Serbia.

• Tell me more about Serbian wine.

If you had visited Serbia 20 years ago, you would have found next to nothing in terms of great wine. 10 years ago, perhaps a few great examples. But what has happened in the last few years is simply extraordinary. Five years ago, not one winery had an accommodation option and perhaps only 10 or so had proper tasting room facilities. Now, there are at least 50 with proper tasting rooms, 15 or so with accommodation options, and several with great restaurants attached.

There are several passionate individuals who have succeeded in connecting wine with tourism. There are about 30 or so in Serbia who have realized that they can live very well by combining wine and gastronomy. For people to go from the Communist mindset to producing these types of successes in one generation is bloody excellent and gives a lot of hope for the future.

Think about this, the first méthode traditionelle sparkling wine made in Serbia was done only in 2008 by Aleksandrovic winery. Our modern fine wine industry is young and very exciting.

• What is the future for Balkan wine and Serbian wine?

The biggest areas of growth will be Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Croatia. Romania and Bulgaria will grow tremendously because of the level of investment made in the wineries and their infrastructure and because of their European Union membership. Greece will continue to make big strides because of the tourist infrastructure combined with their olive oil and food. Croatia will grow at a very fast pace because of their tradition, food, and large volume of tourists.

Serbia will only be successful if there is a better organization at state and/or production level. If in the next five or 10 years, proper organization does not take place, Serbia will grow slowly based on the merits of a few individuals and will not assume its rightful place. I would love to see the top 20 or so producers come together, put in funds, and send professionals to do tastings and classes internationally. They can also invite Masters of Wine or Master Sommeliers from different countries to taste the wines. There is too much reliance on individual success. Serbia has a lot of potential but there has to be better management.

You can find Dušan’s work at his website Wines of Balkans and Fair Cape Wines Agency, and social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Google +.

Check out our video interview with Dusan:

The finest selection of

Serbian wines

available at:

Shipping is available EU-wide and to the UK.

Check out Wines Available in the USA.

************

    Do you want to try Serbian wines?    

If you’re looking to savor the exquisite flavor of Serbian wines, look no further than wineandmore.com. With an abundance of options from different winemakers, it’s easy to find exactly what your palate desires. Not sure which bottle is best for you? Try out one of their curated wine cases and discover the perfect vintage for any occasion!

************

Want to learn more about wine?

Are you ready to discover the wonderful world of wines? Come join us at wineandmore.com and let’s explore the incredible selection of delicious wines together! We can’t wait to share our passion for wine with you!

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Featured image courtesy of Wines of Balkans.
The ideas expressed in this article are personal opinions and are not associated with any sponsors or business promotions.

The post Dušan Jelić: A Perspective on Balkan Wines appeared first on Wine Travel.

For a listing of articles and videos about Georgian wines and wine travel in Georgia, check out our page Uncorking the Caucasus. To purchase the Kindle or paperback copy of the book Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia, please head to this Amazon page.

In 2015, just right before we left Singapore for our wine self-study and years-long trip, How To Spend It by Financial Times published an article entitled “New Adventures In Georgia”. In the article, a winery named Lagvinari—famed for having its wines featured on the menus at several Michelin-starred restaurants in the United Kingdom, including The Fat Duck—was mentioned. Upon arriving in Georgia, we were determined to check off that label on our to-drink list as soon as possible.

It was harvest season when we visited Georgia and many winemakers, including Dr Glonti, were busy with work in the vineyards. We called and spoke with Dr Glonti five times during our one-month stay in Gerogia. We were determined to set up an appointment to taste his wines. Finally, on our very last night in Georgia, Dr Glonti found the time and invited us to his house— a place of nostalgic charm filled with old photographs, fine art, books, and vinyl records. The evening was celebrated with food, wine, and storytelling. Did we mention magical wine?

Dr Glonti is a true renaissance man and a medical-doctor-turned-geologist-turned-winemaker. It was an honor to be able to hear his perspectives on Georgia, its wine history, and his label Lagvinari.

Interview with Owner & Winemaker at Lagvinari, Georgia

• When and why did you decide to start making wine?

I am a physician by education and started to make wine by accident. It was chance and sheer luck that brought me to winemaking. In 2010, I was introduced to a Master of Wine (Isabelle Legeron MW) who was making a film about Georgian wine at that time. I was traveling and looking for fine wines with her and I was dissatisfied with the wines that we found. During my travels around the world and in Georgia, I would talk to winemakers and ask a lot of questions about the taste of their wines. Their response was often, “How would you know what the wine should taste like, you’ve never made wine.” From there, I concocted the impulsive idea to make wine.

My first harvest was in 2011 and I was not prepared for it. I didn’t even have time to build a cellar. I was leasing the vineyards and managed to get a hold of a few tanks. I also had two qvevri, which I borrowed from a friend. One qvevri had Rkatsiteli and the tanks held Saperavi. Those wines from my first year of production can still be found in several restaurants in London today.

Now I work with a few farmers with organic vineyards. For quality control, I always pay above-market prices for their grapes in order to persuade them into fulfilling my expectations. Through them, I have access to 40-, 50-, and even 60-year-old vines. I am also buying my own plots and planting new vines. I believe this is the right way to move forward. Perhaps this effort will not reach fruition until I am gone. But it’s okay, someone else will take care of them when I’m gone.

We [The Georgians] have an 8,000-year-old winemaking history. It’s sad to see that today’s reality doesn’t quite match up to the extended history and tradition. There’s still a lack of well-tended vineyards and proper winemaking techniques in Georgia. Now is the time we need to be premeditative by planting the right varieties in the right locations.

• Could you tell me about the wine culture in Georgia?

The traditional way of making wine in Georgia is not a process, but a philosophy and a holistic approach. In Georgian vocabulary, we are not making wine, we are giving birth to wine and the qvevri is a womb being buried in the soil, which is—like wine—a living thing. It’s beautiful. Wine made in a qvevri that’s being buried underground signifies life given in the clay from the clay— this is essentially the story of Adam. Our ancestors were using qvevri as a burial vessel to give birth. When I look at qvevri, I get excited thinking about how our ancestors had painstakingly come up with the perfect shape for the vessel.

Our ancestors knew back then that this magical beverage we call wine is good for health and emotions, with evidence from our ancient winemaking culture and over 500 indigenous varieties. In the past, the Greeks used to refer to the Georgians as barbarians, because our ancestors were drinking undiluted wine while the rest of the world was drinking wine concoction. Today, we know better, our ancestors appreciated and respected wine.

In Georgia, our word for wine is “ghvino”. I’ve heard a few linguists suggest that the people who came in contact with Georgians could not pronounce the “kkhaaaaaaaa” in ghvino, and shortened it to just “vino”, and from there and then, the universal reference for wine was born.

Wine has always played a big part in our culture. There are old legends about invaders coming to our land, and our warriors would take cuttings of the vines and attach them to their belts. After pruning the vines, they would come down from the mountains to fight. They believed and hoped that if they were to fall, they’d come back as a vine and their mortal body would serve as fertilizer to the vine. They understood that wine represented the circle of life.

Some of the old qvevri made in the 20th century have the eternal wheel carvings on them. This leads me to believe that Georgians might have always understood and worshiped the wine. While I don’t have proof for this personal belief, sometimes you don’t need proof, you need insight.

• You were successful in getting Lagvinari wines to major markets. What do other Georgian winemakers need to do in order to follow in your footsteps?

I am a physician by training. I stopped practicing medicine a long time ago but the practice left deep impressions on me. It helped to build my philosophy of making wine, which perhaps not everyone will agree with. I look at winemaking through a different lens and as a holistic approach.

Winemakers should have a vision of what type of wine they want to get. They need to look at the limited amount of tools they have, and in winemaking, they are limited as winemakers too. Next, they need to look at when they should be using these tools and how they should be using these tools. Of course, you will never get to the point of your original vision, but if you are close, you are on the right track. You need some scientific knowledge and then learn how to minimally intervene the winemaking process. It is happening, there is a proliferation of small and large wineries in Georgia making some very interesting wine. These winemakers come from very different professions and they are all applying their intellect in their own winemaking process.

Georgia deserves to make great wines. In my opinion, it must start with many small wineries having full control of their wines, from the vineyards to bottling. We can’t compete with France, Spain, or Australia in making cheap wines. Georgia is a small country, compared to the hectares of vineyards countries like France, Spain, and Australia have. We can’t compete with cheap wines, the math just doesn’t work out. The future for Georgia is to make great wines that are genuine, that have culture, that express our soil in the glass. We need to aim for the high market niche. There are many people out there who are ready to taste new wines and hear new stories.

A Brief Introduction to the Qvevri Wines of Georgia

In 2013, the UNESCO declared Georgia’s ancient tradition of making wine in qvevri as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The recognition has helped to garner awareness for Georgia’s wine history and popularize Georgian wine across the globe. Depending on the source, commercial qvevri wine is said to be around 10 percent of the total Georgian wine production. Most commercial qvevri wines are made with minimal intervention and without modern contraptions. This means the wine is made without herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, heavy machinery, selected yeast, acid addition, fining agents, reverse osmosis, chaptalization, and thermal processing.

The styles of qvevri wines vary just as much as modern- or European- style wines. One of the major factors that determine the flavor profiles of qvevri wines is the style in which they are made. While qvevri wines can taste rustic sometimes, most other times they are boundary-pushing and unique; the qvevri wines of Georgia offer textures and flavors that are not replicated anywhere else in the world.

EXOTIC WINE TRAVEL’S CHOICE

Lagvinari, Tsolikouri, 2013

Fermented in qvevri, with Georgian indigenous white wine variety called Tsolikouri (pronounce sol-li-kor-ri). The grapes are cultivated in organic vineyards located in the Imereti region, western Georgia. An unfiltered wine with a small amount of sulfur added before bottling. The color is amber gold. On the nose, it expresses red berries, tart plum, dried apricot, forest, and a hint of honeyed characteristic. The aroma is reminiscent of fresh laundry that has been left out in the summer sun to dry–a very comforting smell! On the palate, it turns up strong on the front with some saline and earthy notes that gradually shift into flavors of nuts, dried flowers, and dried orange rind. The wine finishes off with herbal tea-like flavors and astringency.

Lagvinari has a huge portfolio of wines that may change every year. Other Lagvinari wines that we love include Otskhanuri Sapere, Saperavi, Aladasturi, and Krakhuna.

Search or buy Lagvinari wines on Wine Searcher.

You May Also Enjoy:
The Unstoppable Progress in the Georgian Wine Scene
Saperavi: Georgia’s Flagship Red Wine Grape
An Introduction to Georgian Qvevri Wine in Zagreb
A Brief History of Wines from the Caucasus

Exotic Wine Travel Episode 102: Excellent Georgian Wine by Lagvinari

More videos about Georgian wine on Exotic Wine Travel YouTube Playlist.

Featured image of Dr Eko Glonti by (c) Vinisfera: Mariusz Kapczyński
Note: The ideas expressed in this article are personal opinions and are not associated with any sponsors or business promotions.

The post Trendsetter: Dr Eko Glonti from Lagvinari, Georgia appeared first on Wine Travel.

For a listing of articles and videos on Armenian wine and wine travel in Armenia, check out our page Uncorking the Caucasus. To purchase the Kindle or paperback copy of the book Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia, please head to this Amazon product page.

A Brief History About Armenian Wine

Armenia falls within the geographical region that is associated with the birthplace of wine. It is the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion. As such, Armenians resonate strongly with the story of Noah landing his ark near the mountains of Ararat and planting vines in the vicinity. Armenians also believe that they are the immediate descendants of Noah, making them one of the oldest ethnicities in the world and the initial winemakers in history. Archaeology backs up this belief to some degree with the oldest large-scale winery, the Areni-1 cave complex, found near the town of Areni.

In modern history, Armenia struggled through a long period of violent conflict with its two neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan, which caused a vast number of Armenians to emigrate. Today, Armenians are all over the world and have a reputation of achieving business success in many different industries and countries.

Following Armenia’s independence in 1991, the Armenian diaspora started moving back to their homeland and brought along with them a new interest in wine. In 2010, led by young talents and prolific visionaries, the country’s wine scene started to take off at a rapid pace. Considerable investments were made to create a surge in wine culture and modern winemaking equipment was imported to bring the Armenia’s wine industry up to speed. While there were many international grapes grown, the reverent focus remained on rediscovering historic, indigenous varieties and realizing their potential.

To understand this tapestry of tradition and innovation, we spoke with:

Mr Vahe Keushguerian, the founder of Semina Consulting and project manager at Karas Winery.

Vahe is committed to reinvigorating the Armenia’s wine culture. By using DNA technologies to identify grapes found in abandoned monasteries and villages, then cultivating those grapes in his nursery, Vahe and his team have been recovering historic wine grapes and bringing them back to life. All in all, he is a giant among the movers and shakers of the burgeoning Armenia’s wine scene.

• How did you get into wine?

From the age of 19, I moved from Lebanon to Italy, and then to California. In California, I was initially working at restaurants and eventually moved on to importing Italian wine. In 1994, I relocated to Italy and started making wine in Chianti and Puglia. After my first trip to Armenia in 1997, I decided to buy a plot of land and plant vineyards there. From then on, I started going back to Armenia every year. In 2009, my family took a gap year in Armenia. The timing was right and I got involved with Karas, and that cemented my place in the Armenia’s wine industry.

• Armenia is very exotic in the wine world. What types of indigenous grapes are available for winemakers?

Armenia has an incredible number of white varieties. I don’t know if it was an effect or a cause of the terroir or brandy production*. A reason why so many varieties survived could be because they served their purpose, which was for the distillation of spirits. The leaders of the pack for white wines are Voskehat and Khatoun Kharji. We are also experimenting with Tchilar, which has characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc and Gruner Veltliner. Tchilar has some smokiness and grassiness, and we are happy with the early results we’ve gotten from this variety. There is a lot of potential and we can do a lot with white grapes.

For now, Areni is the leader of the pack for red wine and is defining the Armenian wine industry. Most wines are made from unselected Areni; with clonal selection, we can breed the grape so it has a little more finesse and structure. Areni lacks color when it’s not too manipulated, but so do Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo. So that’s not a big deal. Khndoghni, also known as Sireni, is showing potential and lends itself good to aging in the barrel, perhaps more than Areni. Kakhet is another interesting red wine variety, but because of the small quantities harvested, we don’t have enough experience with it yet.

(*During the Soviet Union era, from 1922 to 1991, Armenia was assigned the role of being the brandy-producing state. )

• The Soviet times have caused a big gap in the Armenia’s winemaking history. Can you share more about the history of modern Armenian wine, which is loosely defined as the post-Soviet period?

There were some efforts to make good wine in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the technology and hygiene were not there. Perhaps there are examples of great wine made during Soviet times but none that I am aware of. Fast forward to 2009, four or five wineries came into the scene and turned the tide for the industry. One of them was Armenia Wine Company, which initiated modern packaging and modern technology for domestic wine. In 2010, Karas changed the game as it was the first modern, commercial winery in Armenia to make wine with grapes harvested from its own vineyards. Karas didn’t have to deal with vineyards that were haphazardly planted with all kinds of varieties, or badly maintained Soviet vineyards with dead vines scattered all over. Those were some of the problems that many pioneer modern wineries without their own vineyards had to deal with.

• A lot of winemakers in the Caucasus region choose to age their wine in Caucasian oak, could you tell us more about this oak?

Caucasian oak is interesting. It is not identical to European oak; it’s a species of its own. The oak native to Armenia is a dry, slow-growing oak that comes from high-elevation areas. Similar to European oak, you need to split the oak across the grain, which means a lot of wood is wasted in the process. Our experience has been intense but variable because the oak is not treated the same and not aged for as long as French oak.

• What needs to be done in order to reinvigorate the Armenia’s wine industry?

Domestically, we have to reacquire our wine culture. The culture was lost during Soviet times, but we can regain it back quite easily because we have an ancient culture in wine—wine is a part of our social stories and the country’s history. Currently, we are trying to revive the culture mostly through wine tastings in different cities. There are about nine wine bars in Yerevan that opened in the last two years. The good news is that most of the bars are often buzzing with customers, which means people are receptive to the movement and are welcoming the revival.

The sad news is that wine is an expensive commodity in Armenia. All the good wines are not accessible to the general population. We are working on high-quality wine in pouches and bag-in-box for restaurants to serve by the carafe to their customers. The important thing is to produce Armenian table wine that is not just good, but very good, without the excess cost of corks and glass bottles. This will come in a matter of time.

The next challenge, on an international level, is the narrative of the industry. We need a big group of producers to work in unity. A big, first step we’ve taken is by creating the group Vineyards of Armenia, a brand which I have started for the Armenian producers. We have 10 founding members and are open to welcoming more in the near future. The next step is to go out and share what we do with the rest of the world. It is vital to speak at trade shows as a unified group.

Another challenge is marketing. We want to position Armenia as a country in the historic winemaking world, not new or old. Once we do that and continue to make quality wine, the market will take its course. We want to aim for the American and Northern European markets where there is a willingness to pay for exotic wines.

I am a positive person and I see huge potential in the future of Armenian wine. We are blessed with good vineyards. But one thing we lack is institutional support. We don’t have the resources for research.

EXOTIC WINE TRAVEL’S CHOICE

Keush Origins Methode Traditionnelle

Undisclosed blend of two indigenous grape varieties, Voskehat and Khatoun Kharji, and aged in bottle for a minimum of 15 months. A crisp and refreshing sparkling wine bursting with citrus flavors. Keush is the brainchild of Vahe, who’s a lover of champagne (especially when it comes in a Magnum bottle).

You May Also Enjoy
Armenian Wines: One Year Later
Ancient Wine Grape Varieties from Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey
Trendsetter: Vahe Keushguerian from Armenia [in Russian].
The World’s First Winery
Check out our video at the Areni Wine Festival 2016:

The ideas expressed in this article are personal opinions and are not associated with any sponsors or business promotions

The post Trendsetter: Vahe Keushguerian from Armenia appeared first on Wine Travel.

For a listing of articles and videos on Turkish wines and wine travel in Turkey, check out our page Uncorking the Caucasus. To purchase the Kindle or paperback copy of Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia, please head to our Amazon product page.

Bozcaada is one of a handful of islands in the Aegean Sea that Turkey can call its own. It sits in front of the point where the Sea of Marmara empties into the Aegean Sea, and it is always windy on the island. These crosswinds between the two seas seem to magically tend the vines and offer the most pleasant enotourism experience in Turkey. The locals love Bozcaada because they say it feels like a big sailboat in the middle of the sea and it never stays still.

While traveling on the island of Bozcaada, we heard so many comments about its viniculture’s history. After our first wine-tasting session, we couldn’t comprehend, more than ever, what all the fuss was about. We wanted so much to right our wrong that the desire became a mission. With Turkey’s alcohol laws and teetotalism, it was an uphill task to connect with the winemakers. So it was an honor—and a rare opportunity to learn more about the inside stories of Turkey’s wine scene—when we finally met…

Oliver Gareis, the proprietor and winemaker at Amadeus.

At Amadeus Winery, Oliver Gareis shares the obstacles to wine production in Turkey.

• Can you share with us the story of Amadeus Winery?

We are originally from Austria. My family had a summer house on the Asian side of Istanbul and there was an old monastery near our place. My father was always interested in alcohol production and he guessed that if there was a monastery, there must be wine production in the vicinity.

We started out by buying grapes and experimenting in the winery, but that was not very successful. We started with white grapes that made poor wine with a metallic taste. Well, it’s poor wine in many people’s opinions, but when you’re the winemaker, it is never a bad wine because of all the work you’ve put into it. We sold that parcel of property and about 20 years ago, we bought a plot of land on the island of Bozcaada.

The wines on Bozcaada were very bad at that time and my father was not satisfied. He was talking about it with his friends and one of them suggested that he experiment with Cabernet Sauvignon. We planted the first Cabernet vines and they were the first of its kind on the island. Everybody laughed at us at first. They told us we don’t need Cabernet Sauvignon; we already have Kuntra (an indigenous red grape). Later, a large company approached us and bought our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. After that, many people took our vines and grafted them with local rootstock, and Cabernet Sauvignon flourished on the island. We bought more vineyards and planted other grape varieties, including Syrah, and started making our own wine, which we felt was better than others on the island. The problem was we couldn’t sell the wine commercially because we didn’t have the proper documentation. We had to buy a different piece of land just to get proper documentation for making commercial wine and building a small winery. It took eight years from when we bought the land until we had the proper documentation to produce wine.

In 2010, Amadeus had its first release run of about 10,000 bottles. Currently, we are producing between 30,000 and 35,000 bottles every year. We have about four hectares of our own vineyards and we purchase more grapes to make wine and sometimes also sell some of our grapes.

• Tell us more about your winemaking experience in Turkey.

With all the laws in Turkey, winemaking here is difficult. What keeps us alive is the passion for the island and for the grapes it produces.

After a while, I got tired of living in the city and dealing with the traffic. Moving out here frees up more time, and winemaking takes a lot of time. The grapes are like your kids. You try to get them in the perfect condition to prepare them for the winemaking process. Sometimes you make mistakes but you always strive to do better.

There are many things that are inhibiting the wine industry in Turkey. At first, the country did not allow importing of international wine. Then, that opened up but the first rounds of bottles were cheap wines that were selling at unreasonably expensive prices. Because of the lack of quality, consumers were ill-informed and the domestic wine industry was basically sleeping—they were producing but not looking at what they produced. However, this is slowly but certainly changing in Turkey.

As the quantity of imported wine increased, new boutique wineries started popping up all over Turkey. I don’t know the exact number but I’d guess it’s about 300 small wineries. Most of these winemakers are trying to make high-quality wine as a hobby. Cost is not the main concern. If you look only at the costs of making wine, especially in Turkey, it is an uphill climb. That leads us to the second big problem: the taxes. If you look at my wine, one-third of the wholesale price goes to taxes. This really handcuffs the winemakers here.

The next problem is brand recognition. In my opinion, it takes at least 25 years to brand a wine country. Look at Australian wine, the industry and its reputation did not come overnight. It takes a lot of effort and support in unison, especially for a country like Turkey, which is not known for wine production and wine culture.

Another problem is with some of the all-inclusive resorts on the south part of Turkey. These places are serving the cheapest wines to exclusive customers. In the restaurants, they are marking up the wine by three times, four times, and even more. This is a huge problem. Wine needs to be good quality with an accessible price. A Turkish wine should not be selling for the same price as, say, a Petrus. Both are different, perhaps in 20 years they could be the same but not now.

• Why is Bozcaada so magical for grape growing?

There is a consistent climate on the island of Bozcaada. Like all places in the world, there are small fluctuations in the weather but we have a generally dependable climate here. During summer, the daytime temperature is between 30 to 33 degrees Celsius with about a 10-degree difference between day and night, and there is a constant northern wind blowing through. From May to September, there are very few rainy days, perhaps one or two. We are fortunate to have this weather. The important thing in the grape-growing process is: just don’t screw up.

This is important because to make good wine, you need great grapes. For me, it is all about making good wine, whether it is from local or international varieties. When I open a bottle of wine, I want my company and myself to enjoy it.

Bozcaada is a small wine region and the focus is on red wine varieties. Right now, a lot of vineyard areas are still dedicated to table grape production. There are six wineries here at the moment, ranging from low- to high- quality wine, and from cheap to expensive. There are no two wineries that are somewhat the same on this island, yet we are overlapping each other in some ways. There is a lot of potential here.

Outside Bozcaada, there is a lot of potential in Central Anatolia for white wine production. It is higher in elevation with cold nights and warm days, similar to my home country Austria. This is the one area, in my opinion, that has greater room for higher-quality wine in Turkey.

• What does the future look like for Turkish Wine?

The good news is that wine quality in Turkey is improving. This is where smaller wineries play a pertinent role because they are more flexible in committing to trials and experiments. That is what we are doing at Amadeus—taking good wine and trying to make it better. The wine industry in Turkey will improve, but it will take time.

It all comes down to winemakers making their own style of wine. For example, my taste is towards fruity, acidic, and minerally white wines like Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Of course, it would be foolish to try and make wine of that profile on the island of Bozcaada because the climate is different. However, by understanding my own preferences, I can create a vision for the wines I want to create. This is important for winemakers.

EXOTIC WINE TRAVEL’S CHOICE: TURKISH RED WINE

Amadeus, Zinfandel, 2011

While many of Amadeus’s reds are pleasurable, this varietal wine made from Zinfandel stands out the most to us. It has beautiful, rich fruit flavors. It isn’t as big as a Californian Zinfandel and is more similar to a Primitivo (which is the same grape as Zinfandel) from Apulia, Italy. This Zinfandel stands out distinctively with its slight salinity, a common characteristic found in a lot of wines from Bozcaada. Note that the Cuvée Rouge is the bestseller of Amadeus winery. Oliver also makes a Shiraz and a Cabernet Sauvignon.

You May Also Enjoy:
A Brief History of Wines from the Caucasus
Trendsetter: Burcak Desombre, Turkish Wine Maestro
To read more about Bozcaada,  the up-and-coming wine destination in Turkey, check out this article by The New York Times featuring Hermann Gareis, Oliver’s father and the founder of Amadeus.

Check out our tasting video on Acikara, a rare wine grape from Turkey:

The ideas expressed in this article are personal opinions and are not associated with any sponsors or business promotions.

The post Trendsetter: Oliver Gareis from Amadeus Winery, Turkey appeared first on Wine Travel.