Georgia on My Mind (6 July 2018)

Georgia on My Mind

July 6, 2018

As the first (or possibly second, to Armenia) place in history to cultivate grapes, Georgia has a lot of baggage. The fact that this little country is smack in the middle of the path connecting Europe and Asia adds layer upon layer of turmoil, the past 200 years or so having been caused mostly by successive regimes in Russia, from Tzars through Soviets, including Putin. In fact we can credit Putin's ban on Georgian wine imports (2006-2013) with forcing Georgia to look west for new export customers, many of whom they found to be thirsty for distinctive, traditional, high quality wine, made in Georgia's unique contribution to the wine cellar: qvevri.

Qvevri, like amphorae, are earthenware fermentation/aging vessels. Wine grapes, in whole bunches, stems and all, are dumped in qvevri, which are capped and sealed, to be opened anywhere from one to six or more months later. The longer the time in qvevri, the more complex (or umami, or funky) the wine. Wine made from white grapes in this fashion ends up amber, orange or tawny brown in color, depending on the length of time in qvevri. Some wineries de-stem the grapes before they go in qvevri, which makes a less tannic finished wine. Either way, these "orange" wines make for a distinctive drinking experience. 

Red wine made in qvevri, especially the indigenous Saperavi, is less surprising, since reds around the world are commonly fermented on their skins (less often with the stems), but the often high quality is definitely a revelation. Wine producers around the world have noticed, as Georgia is experiencing a first-ever international demand for its qvevri. It would be a mistake, however, to think that all Georgian wine is made in qvevri.

Georgia produces a lot of wine - much of it, as in most wine-producing nations, is mass-manufactured. And some of the quality-oriented estates have chosen to use stainless steel and oak for fermentation and aging, often of international varietals like Chardonnay and Cabernet. The marketplace for this "international" style, however, is extremely crowded, and not as interesting a story. The Georgian wines that have drawn the most interest in the fine wine world are the ones made in the traditional style - in qvevri.

Saperavi, while certainly not the only indigenous red grape, is the most widely planted as well as producing the best wines. The most widely planted indigenous white is Rkatsiteli, which, like Saperavi is also widely grown in surrounding nations (especiallyRussia). In Georgia Rkatsiteli has some formidable competition. In western Georgia, especially Imereti, Tsolikouri is important. Mtsvane, Tsitski and Kisi, all scarcer, can all produce distinctively good wine.

Regionally, wine production is concentrated most heavily in the east, with most of the legally defined areas in Kakheti, then Kartli. The west, while less important commercially for wine, is developing. Georgia, once a land where it seemed every house had its own grapevines, is rediscovering it wine mojo - a good thing for the rest of us.

For a taste of Georgia, we recommend the following:

Baia's Wine - Imereti

Tsolikouri 2016. Three months in qvevri, no stems.

Orgo - Kakheti

Mtsvane 2016. Six month in qvevri.

Saperavi 2016. Six months in qvevri.

Dila-O - Kakheti

Saperavi 2017. One month in qvevri - made in a style that in Georgia would not be bottled: folks would just ladle into pitchers directly from the qvevri.