I’ve been travelling around the Mediterranean lately, all without leaving home. Recent wine events took me from Israel and Turkey to Greece. While these aren’t the first places that come to mind when thinking about wine-producing countries, they each have a long history of viticulture and vinification and I was impressed with both the producers I met and the wines I tasted.

I kicked off the tour at a seminar debuting ROM from Israel. This wine is a joint project between Yarden’s winemaker Victor Schoenfeld and Zelma Long. Zelma was initially brought in to help with viticultural issues, but as she and Victor got to know each other better, a wine collaboration seemed to be a natural progression. This new wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Participants at the event had the opportunity to first taste through barrel samples of the individual wines, which truly illustrated how the three grapes come together to create a much greater whole. We next tasted three different vintages of the wine — 2006, 2007, and 2008, which highlighted the evolution of the wine in bottle. With limited production and its association with Zelma Long, this wine is likely to achieve a strong following.

Skipping across town instead of across the sea, I dined at Le Cirque with producers from Kavaklidere, Turkey’s largest winery, along with Mehmet Yorukoglu, president of House of Burgundy, the winery’s importer. Showcasing both indigenous and international varieties, the wines included a nice, crisp rose (Egeo Rose 2009) produced from Cal Karasi, Syrah and Grenache, with whites featuring Sauvignon Blanc, Narince and Chardonnay and reds made from Kalecik Karasi, Okuzgozu and Bogazkere. Working with French oenologist, Stephen Derencourt, the winery has seen significant growth and, more importantly, a signficant focus on quality, over the past several years. The wines were impressive, with a nice range of aromas and flavors distinguishing each wine.

The final stop on my tour was northern Greece with lunch at Marea with Evripidis Katsaros from Katsaros Estate; Thrassos Giantsidis, export manager from Estate Gerovassiliou; and Annegret Stamos, export manager from Biblia Chora. This dry and windy area produces mostly whites, but, over lunch, attendees tasted a wide range of both white and red wines. With training in Bordeaux, Gerovassiliou’s winemaker Evangelos Gerovassiliou has applied French winemaking techniques to indigenous grape varieties; similarly Katsaros has experience in Burgundy. Wines produced in this region have good acidity, but less so than the same grape, such as Assyrtiko, grown in Santorini. While import markets clambor for Greek varieties, the local market wants the diversity of international varieties as well, which accounts for the use of both in these wines.