Şarap tadında Aşk

Bölüm 1 AŞK

Bazı kitaplar vardır ilk çıktıklarında o kadar  popüler olurlar ki, her şezlongda yatanda yada her seyahat edenin elinde karşılaşırız. Bir nevi patlarlar. Eğer yazarı popüler yada pazarlamada başarılıysa -bu kitap için yapılan reklam ve röportajları hatırlatırım- kitabı her köşe başında görürüz. Peki ne var bunda, yada benim derdim nedir?

Bir kitap 750 bin bastı, basıyor, basacak da. Kitap deli satıyor. Yetiş bitecek. Kap bir tane oku çabuk dercesine bağırınca ona karşı bir ruh hallenmesi geliyor içimden ve okuyamıyorum. Bu bir film yada bir kıyafet de olabilir fark etmez.

Kitap ilk çıktığı zamanlar eve bir şekilde sızmış ve çevremdeki herkes tarafından ödünç alınıp okunmuştu. Uzunca bir süredir ise kitaplığımda tüm cart rengiyle bana sırıtıyordu. Elim kitaplıkta rast geldi ve baktım ki eski irite duygularım kalmamış. Bende Bodrum tatilime yakışır diyerek aldım. Artık şezlongda devrilip okuma sırasın bende!

Bölüm 2 ŞARAP

Şarap içerken en keyif aldığım şeylerden biri de uygun kombinasyonu yakalamak. Bu bazen çetrefilli yemekler ya da tam tersi basit lezzetler bazen ise ortamın ambiyansı ya da sanatsal bir etkinliktir.

Elif Şafak-Aşk şezlong altında serice okunabildiği gibi gün batımı teras keyfinde de oldukça akıyor.

Kitabın ağır, ağdalı bir dili olmadığı için ona eşlik edecek şarabın da çok karakteristik ya da dolgun bir tadda olması şart değil.

Ne shiraz içmek istedim bu kitap ile ne de öküzgözü. Kalecik karası ile eşlik etsem kitaba biraz ayıp olur muydu! Malum Kalecik karası içimi kolay, yumuşak bir şarap. Gerçi bu kitap ile yıllandırılmış bir  Côtes du Rhône şarabı da tercih edecek halim yoktu. Ona anca Kafka yada Camus eşlik eder. 

Nihayetinde bu içimi kolay, damağı yormayan kitap-şarap keyfimde merlot içmeye karar verdim.

  

Galicia and Albariño

This time I want to talk about my trip to Galicia in Spain!

 I went to Galicia for "Camino de Santiago". It is a route that thousands of people walk every summer. Before starting, we all met in Madrid and got ready for almost 2 weeks of trekking. Walking part was so difficult that I can still remember very well, but along the way all that traditional food we ate was more than amazing. Especially, local wine albariño (this type of white wine belongs to this region) was really great. To drink albariño and to eat delicious foods was the only thing which made me handle that trekking.

When we arrived to Santiago de Compostela, it was like an albariño carnival for me :)

Camino de Santiago was really hard but I should say that it was a unique experience for me to taste all that local stuff and drink wonderful wines in a great Galician atmosphere. 

*Albariño is the primary grape used to make dry white wine in the Rias Baixes (Lower Inlets) section of the Galicia region of Northwestern Spain...
Albariño grapes' thick skins contribute to their intense aromas. Typically, its wines are very sweet-smelling, often described as having scents of almonds or almond paste, apples, citrus, lime, peaches, and flowers or grass. Albariño shares many of the same terpenes also found in the other aromatic varieties: Gewürztraminer, Muscat, and Riesling. Albariño wines are particularly suited to seafood due to their bracing acidity (Jancis Robinson calls it "razor-sharp."). This grape's inherent tartness should be embraced in youth, for wines made from albariño do not age well, and the vibrant aromas begin to noticeably fade within months of bottling.

 vineyards in Galicia

 fantastic nature

 sometimes we were really high.

 best way to rest with Albariño and tapas

lovely villages that we stayed in our trip

celebration in a local restaurant after we finished the route.

one of the short time that I could find internet

If you order Albariño, all these tapas are free.
Viva Galicia :)


*http://www.winepros.org/wine101/grape_profiles/albarino.htm
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Wine Notes For Spain

Catalunia and Cava

One of my note about Spain is Catalan champagne.

The first time I tasted Cava, I was in Barcelona. Cava is a kind of sparkling wine which mostly belongs to this region.

After I drank this sparkling miracle, It became an addiction to drink cold Cava in every hot evenings in Spain.

It is a fact that it doesn't have the same taste than champagne but on the other side it is not expensive and quite easy to find in everyplace in Catalunia.

Few notes for Barcelona

As a tapas lover, I can not skip recommending some addresses that I liked.

Taller de Tapas- It is a great tapas restaurant where you can find any kind of tapas from Catalan cuisine. The ambiance of the place is also very charming and the concept is totally modern example of  'Barrio de Gotico'.
Rambla Catalunya 49-51, http://www.tallerdetapas.com

La luna- is my favourite pub/bar to warm up for the long Spanish nightlife. To start the night with the delicious tapas of the place and cockteyls was the best for me. Everytime I go to Barcelona, I can not skip this bar. Especially the Sangria which they make with Cava is totally awesome.
C/Abaixadores 10, http://www.lalunabcn.com

Sagardi Euskal Taberna- Because I am fan of seafood, eat Basque tapas is a must for me. Their tapas which they call 'pinchos' is my favorite way of to get full. Different kinds of pinchos are on the bar and waiting for you. The only problem is that sometimes you can not realise how many 'pinchos' you ate.
Carrer de Ferran, 38, http://www.oriogastronomiavasca.com/

Cava Rosa and Tofu

Pinchos

Wine Diary -1-

Since I started to write my blog about wine, I do wine tasting even more then usual. 

I should say that I love to taste red wine more than others.

Every time when I taste a good wine, I feel like I made a big discover.

That's why every wine tasting little bit mystery for me.

Today's tasting was not a big discover but if I compare with the price and quality, it was more than average.

Also wine got much better with my beloved friend and nice ambiance of the place.

Place is The Cafe Of French Institute

Wine is Kavaklıdere Ancyra - Merlot 2011

Greek Style Χαλαρα

After putting a headline like this, maybe I should start with explaining 'χαλαρα' (halara).

The meaning can be sum up with: be relax!, no rush! or calm down!

Actually,

It is the summary of The Mediterranean way of life!

My 5 days of  holiday in Greece were completely 'χαλαρα'.

It was just about frappe, taverns, Greek food and Wine.

Wines in taverns were more like table wines which are actually not aged. Because of the strong taste and high acidity, we preferred to drink half sweet wine. Mediterranean cuisine is a great combination with these wines and all the ambiance of taverns and live music made our wines more and more delicious.  

I came back to home with a few bottles of nice Greek wines which are waiting to be matched with the perfect plates.