Visiting Bodega Nanni in Cafayate

Cafayate, a small town of roughly 13 000 inhabitants in the province of Salta, is the wine capital in the Northwest of Argentina. Surrounded by spectacular mountain ranges, it is home to numerous Bodegas. Some of them are even in the city centre and therefore easily accessible. One of the bodegas we visit is Bodega Nanni, the only certified organic winery in Cafayate.

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We get there in the afternoon and are nicely greetd by the Bodega staff. After a relaxing time in the beautifully set out garden surrounded by Tannat, Torrontes and Cabernet Sauvignion grapes, we get a tour through the winery. This is what we learn: Continue reading

My first visit to Istanbul

Getting lost, finding back and plastic birds

(this text is a translation of the German entry)

I arrive at the Otogar, Turkey’s biggest bus station. It is my first visit to Istanbul. I have never seen anything like that and think to myself: „This must be the biggest bus station in the whole world!“ It stretches over several floors, every floor is home to many little shops, where you can by pretty much anything you need. For example, you can get shoes (because that’s what you buy when you change buses, right?). Or medicine in one of the many pharmacies. Or food in supermarkets or restaurants. Or you can buy tools or whatever you need to build your house. Or you can buy car parts. This I do understand looking at all the buses. Every floor is like a city in itself. The basement, several floors in the middle, the upper floor. Many little cities on top of one another. The only thing that makes them different is the degree of light that reaches down to them.

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The Otogar bus station in Istanbul. Photo: wikipedia.org

Let’s go and find Kadiköy

My bus struggles through the narrow and winding roads to reach the top floor which greets us with warm sunshine. I get in a small shuttle bus, it brings me to the ferry in the middle of the city, to the ferry terminal which will bring me to the Asian side of the city, to Kadiköy. It is supposed to be more quiet, a little more relaxed, a little more gemütlich, as we Germans like to say. Continue reading

Zum ersten Mal in Istanbul

Vom Verlieren, Finden und Plastikvögeln

(for an English version click here)

Ich komme am Otogar, dem größten Autobusbahnhof der Türkei, an. So etwas habe ich noch nie gesehen und denke sofort: “Das muss doch auch der größte Autobusbahnhof der Welt sein!”  Er erstreckt sich über mehrere Etagen. Auf jeder dieser Etagen befinden sich kleine Geschäfte, Geschäfte des alltäglichen Bedarfs. Wie zum Beispiel Schuhgeschäfte (denn Schuhe kaufen, wenn man ein- um- oder aussteigt, das macht man doch!). Oder Apotheken. Oder Restaurants. Oder Minibaumärkte, die Keramikplatten in unterschiedlichen Größen verkaufen. Oder Autozubehör. Das macht wiederum Sinn an einem Busbahnhof. Jede Etage ist eine Stadt für sich. Untergeschoss, mehrere Mittelgeschosse, Obergeschoss. Jeweils viele kleine Städte unter- und übereinander, die sich nur in einem unterscheiden: dem Grad an Licht, welches durch dringt.

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Otogar Istanbul. Quelle: wikipedia.org

Auf nach Kadiköy

Mein Bus kämpft sich durch die engen Trassen von unten nach oben und kommt im hellsten Sonnenschein im Obergeschoss an. Ich steige in einen kleineren Shuttlebus um, der mich zum Fähranleger mitten in der Stadt bringt. Und zwar an den Fähranleger, mit dem ich auf die asiatische Seite Istanbuls komme, nach Kadiköy. Ruhiger soll es dort sein, etwas entspannter, gemütlicher als auf der europäischen Seite. Continue reading

Wine time and rural life in Bulgaria

I am one day out of Bulgaria and I already miss it. Let me tell you first and foremost: I love Bulgaria, I love Bulgarian wine (what I tried of it), I love Bulgarian people (even though they don’t like each other). I want to live and die in Bulgaria! But how did this happen and what did I experience?

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Bulgaria

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Plovdiv: 42.135408, 24.745290
Sredno Gradishte: 42.306505, 25.294123
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Plovdiv
Plovdiv, Bulgarien
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Sredno Gradishte

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From juice to wine: Hands-on wine making!

Follow my work at Domaine des Enfants to learn about the early stages OF the wine making process

After working in Alsace and Rheinhessen, the third stop on my wine around the globe tour is Domaine des Enfants, in Maury close to Perpignan. The wine growing region is called Roussillion and is part of France’s biggest wine growing region Languedoc-Rousillion.

The domaine is run by Swiss Marcel Bühler and his American wife Carrie Sumner. I have the opportunity to stay two weeks at the domaine and get involved in various tasks. As it turns out, these two weeks cover pretty much all steps from picking the grapes to nearly bottling the wine. Follow me and learn what happens at these various stages and how juice turns to wine.

Domaine des Enfant is located in the appelation Maury in the Rousillion

Welcome to the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée Maury .

1. Work in the vineyard: picking grapes

I arrive pretty much on time for the harvest of the white grapes. There is an anxiety and excitement to be felt about when exactly to start harvesting the white grapes. Marcel and Carrie are discussing it frequently, checking the weather, checking the ripeness of the fruit, checking the moon. Why the moon? Because they follow biodynamic principles and pick fruit on fruit days of the moon calender. Continue reading