Friday
Supermarket Cellars: A Perfect White Table Wine
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest installment in our ongoing feature, “Supermarket Cellars,” which aims to uncover those drinkable Turkish wines that won’t kill your budget or – let’s face it – you. In charge of this mission is Aaron Stein – an expert on nuclear non-proliferation issues and PhD student by day, avid wine drinker and enthusiast by night – who has been assigned the thankless task of scouring the low end of Istanbul’s wine department shelves for budget-friendly diamonds in the rough. We plan on featuring his discoveries on a regular basis for as long as he can survive this hazardous assignment.)
Istanbul summers are hot and unbearable. The crowded concrete-filled city radiates heat and few, if any, taxis are air-conditioned. However, as most of Europe begins the descent into winter, Istanbul’s warm weather lingers. Therefore, fans of drinking chilled Turkish whites can continue to indulge well into November.
As I’ve noted before, a favorite pastime of my fellow Istanbulites is to watch life from a chair on the balcony and gossip about anything new or unusual. White wine is the perfect complement to this age-old tradition. However, most “drinkable” Turkish whites continue to be priced out of my comfort zone and make the idea of wasting an expensive bottle of wine on such a trivial activity unthinkable. Continue…
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2 responses - Posted 06.08.12
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest installment in our ongoing feature, “Supermarket Cellars,” which aims to uncover those drinkable Turkish wines that won’t kill your budget or, let’s face it, you. In charge of this mission is Aaron Stein – an expert on nuclear non-proliferation issues and PhD student by day, avid wine ...continue
3 responses - Posted 04.06.12
(Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of our newest feature, “Supermarket Cellars,” which aims to uncover those drinkable Turkish wines that won’t kill your budget or, let’s face it, you. In charge of this mission is Aaron Stein – an expert on nuclear non-proliferation issues and PhD student by day, ...continue
3 responses - Posted 03.16.12
(Editor's Note: This is the second installment of our newest feature, "Supermarket Cellars," which aims to uncover those drinkable Turkish wines that won't kill your budget or, let's face it, you. In charge of this mission is Aaron Stein -- an expert on nuclear non-proliferation issues and PhD student by day, ...continue
8 responses - Posted 02.27.12
(Editor's Note: This post marks the inauguration of "Supermarket Cellars," a new feature whose aim is to seek out affordable Turkish wines that are worth recommending. To assist us in doing that, we have enlisted the help of Aaron Stein -- an expert on nuclear non-proliferation issues and PhD student ...continue
2 responses - Posted 01.06.12
(Editor’s Note: This post is part of our ongoing “wine chats” with sommelier and oenophile Serdar Kombe. Today he talks about a Turkish sparkling wine that’s actually worth talking about.) 1. A wine expert whose opinion we trust told us that "Turkish bubblies are positively undrinkable!!!" Is that the case? Is ...continue
no responses - Posted 06.03.11
(Editor’s Note: This post is part of our ongoing “wine talks” with sommelier and oenophile Serdar Kombe. Today he looks at a favorite Turkish rosé.) 1. Before we talk about this specific wine, tell us a bit about rosé in general: When do you drink it? Neither red nor white – ...continue
3 responses - Posted 05.06.11
(Editor’s Note: We’ve recently been lucky enough to make the acquaintance of Serdar Kombe, one of Turkey’s leading oenophiles. These are exciting times for Turkish wine and Serdar has generously agreed to review wines for us. For today’s “wine chat,” Serdar chose to talk about the Melen Papazkarası Reserve, a ...continue
no responses - Posted 04.01.11
(Editor’s Note: We’ve recently been lucky enough to make the acquaintance of Serdar Kombe, one of Turkey’s leading oenophiles. These are exciting times for Turkish wine and Serdar has generously agreed to review wines for us. For today’s “wine chat,” Serdar chose to talk about the 2007 Pamukkale Anfora Shiraz.) 1. ...continue
1 response - Posted 03.04.11
An affordable trip to New Zealand can be had by simply visiting your nearest wine shop in Istanbul and asking for a bottle of the Turkish-made Umurbey sauvignon blanc. Made from the same grapes that have helped put whites from New Zealand on the wine map, this local alternative is ...continue
4 responses - Posted 02.11.11
(Editor's Note: We’ve recently been lucky enough to make the acquaintance of Serdar Kombe, one of Turkey’s leading oenophiles. These are exciting times for Turkish wine and Serdar has generously agreed to start a guest column for us about the subject. In his first review for us, he takes a ...continue