All posts tagged: organic wine

Greek Wine Review: Why you should drink Greek wines

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Hope you had a lovely weekend with nice food and wine. I spent the weekend without hubby so with extra time on my hands, I put together the information and write about wine. Of course, I’ll write about Turkish wines but let me start with Greek wines. I’m a wine lover so obviously I love wine, not only reading and talking about it but actually drinking it.  So I drink a glass every day, which is my secret to good health but also entails…. money. I’m not rich but unfortunately my palate is. I used to spend on average $150 by-monthly or even weekly at The Wine Society in Sydney, but here, even if I drink less, my monthly wine bill isn’t any smaller. To reduce my wine expenditure, I was buying many Spanish wines for a good value but then I discovered Greek wines after the trip to Lesvos a few years ago, and they have become my No.1 choice for every day wine ever since. Not only do they offer value for money …

Review: Memorable Wines at Raw Wine London-Part 2

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I hope you managed to get through Part 1 without too much struggle. I agree that it was rather long but I hope it broke down the notion of natural wine, which is a bit confusing to grasp for many ‘wine lovers’ – hubby didn’t understand a thing in my post, haha. So I’ll keep Part 2 short..ish. The stalls were arranged by country in one big open space, which made it easier to mingle with visitors and stumble upon different stalls, compared to last year. I didn’t take photos of all the wines I tasted but the wines that are featured here are the ones I thought worth a note. I took time, scanning the stalls, relying on my psychic power to lead me through the sea of wine and writing down tasting notes. Though I didn’t taste them by country, I’m going to mention by region for convenience. Now, let’s start with France. Among the few I tried from Languedoc, Chateau La Baronne gets an honourable mention. Their wines were all vibrant with lush fruit and elegance, which people don’t really associate …

Review: Raw Wine London 2017 – Part 1

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Hello! I’m now back home from London and am adjusting to a ‘normal’ life. I know you’ve been waiting to hear from me! Finally, I’ll share some of the experiences but first, I’ll review Raw Wine London. The Raw Wine Fair was more inspirational and educational than any previous wine fairs I’d attended, and I’ll explain why. You might want to grab a glass of wine and sit back before going on because this long post might bore you. There are so many wines to review and so much to say so I’ve decided to write in two posts. The first one will be about my general impression and a few remarkable wines, followed by the second part, which will feature more memorable wines that are worth a mention. To start off, why did I attend the event? I’ve been interested in organic wines ever since the film, Mondovino but wasn’t quite crazy enough to drink ‘only’ organic wine, whose term has evolved into ‘natural wine‘ over time. I’ve always cooked seasonal and healthy, plus some of my wine friends …

New Year, New City, New Life of an Oenophile

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I hope everyone had a lovely new year celebration. As you know, 2017 didn’t start well in Istanbul and there’s a palpable sense of confusion and dismay. I had a strange feeling while watching the news from another city, sadness and relief. One day before the incident, we moved, moved permanently from Istanbul, which stole my heart 5 years ago. “Istanbul must be wonderful if it’d kept you with itchy feet for that long.” People would say as I have a history of changing a country every 4 years. Yes, Istanbul WAS and still IS a wonderful place to live. But it was time to move on for my life long dream, the dream to live in a city where fresh produce and good wine is abundant along with history. Mr.O and I had talked about moving to his hometown when we start a family because we believe that the best education for kids is nature. But it came earlier and suddenly so I didn’t even had the time to inform all of my friends about our move and some of them will learn …

Rhône-Alpes – Chassenay d’Arce and Domain de l”Oiselet Vacqueyras

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Let’s change the sights for today. I’m heading towards Mont Blanc. As we drove towards the far eastern end near the Switzerland border, the landscape changed dramatically. It was an interesting comparison, geographically speaking. The Mont Blanc was approaching closer and closer, making me want to climb up there one day. Barren and rocky mountain peaks started to appear and the houses looked different and the temperature was higher as well. If you continue through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, you’ll arrive in Turin. We arrived in our destination, very close to the Mont Blanc Tunnel, and the reason we were there was to pick up a new fancy van for Cyrille. The car dealer had an amazing house with a living room that has this incredible view like a wide panorama TV screen. On the way back home, we stopped by at a gourmet grocer to stock up some vegetables and things. I liked the shop very much because all the produce was fresh, local and good quality. But well, dead rabbits and ducks, with fur unplucked …

Finding Best Jura Wines and Comté / Jura Gastronomy

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Ok, let me take you on a journey of the Jura and its gastronomy including the wines and Comté. This region, shadowed by Bordeaux and Burgundy, is not very well-known. Even the cheese, Comté , is not as famous as its competitor, Gruyère. I threw this question, “Which cheese is the best among  and Beaufort ?” to French people. It’s a darn hard question if you’re a cheese lover. Ok, then, “Which cheese is stinkier Comté or Gruyère?” To my surprise, Gruyère. Hmm…my obsession with cheese led me to a Gruyère fruitière 2 years ago but it didn’t sweep me off feet as much as Comte did. Before this trip, I visited by chance a Comte fromagerie, caves de affinage, where cheeses are ripened, but I didn’t have a camera with me at that time and only hoped to have another chance for a visit, which didn’t happen. I still remember the shock, the strong, sharp ammonia odor stinging my nostrils and then my eyes – I couldn’t keep my eyes open – when I walked inside …