My adventure at Suvla was only a small part of my recent trip. I was invited with my friend T to visit some friends of hers (happily now also of mine) at their beautiful home, Lavender Breeze Farm on the island of Bozcaada.
We were invited to stay in The Priest's House, a beautiful house they've rebuilt on their property which they rent out on AirBnB (check out the link!). Look at these rooms! T and I were prepared to stay forever.
I found it a very unique house in that the living room/kitchen and both bedrooms were independent of each other. Both bedrooms have their own en suite bathroom and independent entrances out onto the porch.
And did I mention that the porch overlooks some of their vineyards?
With our hosts at Lavender Breeze Farm I had the opportunity to learn about traditional vine growing on Bozcaada. Grapes have been growing on Bozcaada since just about forever. Also known by its Greek name, Tenedos, Bozcaada is in the northeastern part of the Aegean near the entrance to the Dardanelles. Not only does it have a long history, it's firmly rooted in mythology and classical Greek literature, making an appearance in both Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid.
Grapes have been growing here for about that long and while none of the vines can lay claim to that much history, if Bozcaada wine makers were to talk about 'old vine' wines (which sadly isn't a trend in Turkish wine making) they would certainly have bragging rights with vines aged 40, 50, even 100+ years old.
Many vines are trellised trained now but some vineyards, like Lavender Breeze Farm and Talay still use the traditional island goblet style in which vines are not attached to trellises but two to three cordons (i.e. branches) are trained to grow out and up from the trunk in such a way as to resemble a goblet.
A day spent among the vines wouldn't be complete without a tasting! While I didn't have the chance to visit the Corvus vineyard we did stop in at the winery's restaurant for a tasting. Corvus, which is Latin for 'crow', was named for the many crows that make the island their home. They're more numerous than the people I think. Due to the owner's clever marketing, Corvus is a very popular wine brand here in Turkey; its never been my favorite but I enjoyed the opportunity to try several of their wines I wouldn't normally have bought.
And of course we couldn't go to Bozcaada and not enjoy the beach! We took a break from hiking through vineyards and wine tasting to relax on one of Bozcaada's beaches. Even though it was about 38C during our entire visit it luckily never felt that hot, not even on the beach, because there are such strong winds on the island. So while I did not take a swim I was able to stay cool and relaxed under the shade with my book.
As it happens, one of the wines I tasted at Corvus Wine & Bite on Bozcaada I have had on my wine rack since forever. So when I got home from my island getaway I opened it right up.
The Vinium is made from Karalahana which is a native Turkish grape and if you can find any information about it online please let me know because I for sure couldn't. In the glass it's an opaque cherry red indicating a medium bodied wine. The nose was very fruit forward with red fruits, particularly cherry, and I think some oaky elements. On the palate there were noticeable tannins, unfortunately they didn't stick around to be appreciated. It has a short, dry finish with lots of juicy, tart cherry flavors.
Not bad, not my favorite.
More on my short Bozcaada adventure and the wines I discovered there coming soon!
We were invited to stay in The Priest's House, a beautiful house they've rebuilt on their property which they rent out on AirBnB (check out the link!). Look at these rooms! T and I were prepared to stay forever.
I found it a very unique house in that the living room/kitchen and both bedrooms were independent of each other. Both bedrooms have their own en suite bathroom and independent entrances out onto the porch.
And did I mention that the porch overlooks some of their vineyards?
With our hosts at Lavender Breeze Farm I had the opportunity to learn about traditional vine growing on Bozcaada. Grapes have been growing on Bozcaada since just about forever. Also known by its Greek name, Tenedos, Bozcaada is in the northeastern part of the Aegean near the entrance to the Dardanelles. Not only does it have a long history, it's firmly rooted in mythology and classical Greek literature, making an appearance in both Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid.
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| Traditional island 'goblet' vine style |
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| Traditional island Cavus grapes |
Grapes have been growing here for about that long and while none of the vines can lay claim to that much history, if Bozcaada wine makers were to talk about 'old vine' wines (which sadly isn't a trend in Turkish wine making) they would certainly have bragging rights with vines aged 40, 50, even 100+ years old.
Many vines are trellised trained now but some vineyards, like Lavender Breeze Farm and Talay still use the traditional island goblet style in which vines are not attached to trellises but two to three cordons (i.e. branches) are trained to grow out and up from the trunk in such a way as to resemble a goblet.
A day spent among the vines wouldn't be complete without a tasting! While I didn't have the chance to visit the Corvus vineyard we did stop in at the winery's restaurant for a tasting. Corvus, which is Latin for 'crow', was named for the many crows that make the island their home. They're more numerous than the people I think. Due to the owner's clever marketing, Corvus is a very popular wine brand here in Turkey; its never been my favorite but I enjoyed the opportunity to try several of their wines I wouldn't normally have bought.
And of course we couldn't go to Bozcaada and not enjoy the beach! We took a break from hiking through vineyards and wine tasting to relax on one of Bozcaada's beaches. Even though it was about 38C during our entire visit it luckily never felt that hot, not even on the beach, because there are such strong winds on the island. So while I did not take a swim I was able to stay cool and relaxed under the shade with my book.
As it happens, one of the wines I tasted at Corvus Wine & Bite on Bozcaada I have had on my wine rack since forever. So when I got home from my island getaway I opened it right up.
The Vinium is made from Karalahana which is a native Turkish grape and if you can find any information about it online please let me know because I for sure couldn't. In the glass it's an opaque cherry red indicating a medium bodied wine. The nose was very fruit forward with red fruits, particularly cherry, and I think some oaky elements. On the palate there were noticeable tannins, unfortunately they didn't stick around to be appreciated. It has a short, dry finish with lots of juicy, tart cherry flavors.
Not bad, not my favorite.
More on my short Bozcaada adventure and the wines I discovered there coming soon!
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