For a listing of articles and videos on Georgian wines and wine travel in Georgia, check out our page Uncorking the Caucasus. To purchase the Kindle or paperback copy of the book Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia, please head to this Amazon product page.

We were strolling in the cool, rainy fall night in downtown Tbilisi. After exiting the metro and walking past Liberty Square, we turned the corner down an old street. In the middle of the unlit street, there was a door and a standing blackboard. Those two items didn’t fit in with the environment but signaled the entrance to a non-smoking (rare in Georgia) basement restaurant.

We had an appointment with John Wurdeman, owner of the restaurant Azarphesha and the winery Pheasant’s Tears. It started out as one of those nights we have seen so often in the last year–the winemakers sit down and share their stories; we drink some of their wines; and new relationships between people, places, and wines are formed. This night was orchestrated slightly differently–perhaps with a poetic and philosophical slant–by dint of John’s innate qualities; he’s a charming storyteller and a prolific artist of many forms.

The night commenced with just John and us. Over the course of the evening, John’s business partner came, then the wife of the business partner, and then one of John’s friends. The restaurant started to fill up and John and his gang began to perform the famed Georgian polyphonic singing. Next, the guitar came out, then more wine, and then the drinking horns.

Called “Kantsi” in Georgian,  the drinking horn is a vessel typically made from an animal horn. Once it is filled, one cannot put it down until the content is emptied–preferably done in one continuous series of gulps. When done drinking, the holder turns the horn upside down and proves to everyone that the content has been emptied out. 

By the end of the night, eight hours of delicious natural wines and memorable Georgian dishes were in the books. What was fascinating was that we didn’t drink solely wines by Pheasant’s Tears; John chose to showcase natural wines by several different producers whom he believed are doing great things in Georgia. We even ended the night with a wonderful bottle from an Italian wine producer.

Natural wines generally have no middle ground; people usually love or hate them.

While we may be partial to amber and natural wines, we believe that several of these wines do have the ability to win conventional wine drinkers over to the natural camp. In this context, when we use the term “natural wines”, we are referring to wines that are chemical-free and unfiltered, with little to no sulfites added. Here’s a recap of the wines from that night, along with tasting notes (of course).

• Kidev erti Tavkveri Pét Nat NV

Tavkveri is a red wine variety from eastern Georgia, native to Kartli but also grown in Kakheti. It is a high-yielding variety and can be made into dry red, dry Rosé, sparkling, and sweet wines. Currently, it isn’t a widely used variety for wine production, even though it shows a lot of potential to deliver many types of crowd-pleasing wine.

This is a pétillant naturel which means that the wine is bottled before the first fermentation of the wine is finished. The fermentation finishes in the bottle which gives off the bubbles. This is a technique embraced by many natural wine producers. This wine is made by a Frenchman living in Georgia. It is light and has persistent bubbles that create a frizzante sensation in the mouth. It is clear and pink in color. There are subtle strawberry and cream soda flavors, which have us craving for more intensity from this wine.

• Makaridze Winery Tsitska 2015

Tsitska is a grape variety grown in west Georgia and a variety that we have become very fond of. This traditional qvevri wine is incredibly light, crisp, and delicious. The flavors are dominated by characteristics of peach, pear, melon, and lemon. This wine has obviously received skin contact because of the nice, soft tannins but people might not think it is a qvevri wine because of the lack of nuttiness. A refreshing wine that kickstarts a celebratory evening on the perfect note.

• Archil Natsvlishvili Rkatsiteli 2015 

Rkatsiteli is the most ubiquitous white wine variety in Georgia; almost half of the white wine grapes grown in Georgia are Rkatsiteli. It is a hardy variety that is resistant to cold weathers and maintains high acidity and high sugar as it ripens. This variety can be made into dry, semi-sweet, and fortified wines and brandy. Rkatsiteli is relatively quiet in aroma and as such, is often blended with Mtsvane Kakhuri to create a more expressive nose. Such blends of Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane Kakhuri are found in PDOs like Gurjaani, Tsinandali, and Vazisubani.

John is usually a strong proponent of this wine but is disappointed with how it’s showing this particular evening. The first aroma that pops out of this amber wine is peeled banana. Flavors of pineapple, peach, and apricot show up afterward and the grippy tannins make this a perfect companion to food. Wonderful and well-made, with not even a trace of muskiness–a common characteristic found in many natural wines–but not the most striking bottle.

• Tsikhelishvili Wines Rkatsiteli 2013

Made by a winemaker who owns two-hectare of vineyards and uses the grapes to produce only this wine and a Mtsvane. This is the star of the night for both of us, Charine and Matthew. It is an amber wine made in Kakhetian qvevri method–a method that is touted to create the fullest, most powerful and most expressive wine in Georgia. Golden in color; on the nose, it has aromas of cherry, strawberry, cilantro, and a touch of straw. On the palate, it shows up immediately with a pronounced yet gentle weight, held together by a directive structure. A wine that shows the typical flavors of a well-made amber wine with characteristics of honey and green tea, yet it drinks like a fresh red wine with its red fruit and dark floral notes and astringent tannins.

• Pheasant’s Tears Rkatsiteli 2015

A bright color, clean, and fresh qvevri wine. The explosive flavors are reminiscent of pineapple, lemon, and apricot, executed with a gentle weight on the palate. Despite the skin contact, there is no nuttiness present but the tannins may be considered strong by a lot of people. A bodacious wine that does very well with food.

• Pheasant’s Tears Rosé Rkatsiteli 2015

Made with a rare clone of Rkatsiteli in traditional qvevri style; Rkatsiteli is typically used to make white or amber wine, but this clone departs an alluring bright ruby red pigmentation to this rosé wine. The wine is light on the palate and shows flavors of  strawberry, apricot, and nuts, powered by a subtle but distinct grip. This is the first vintage of a Rosé Rkatsiteli made by Pheasant’s Tears and is a very solid offering. 

• Dario Prinčič Pinot Grigio 2011

We end the night with this wine and it takes about 20 minutes to open up and fully expresses itself. It starts off shy with a pronounced musky aroma. The extended skin contact shows in the color–a light pink hue that can fool people into thinking that it might be a rosé wine. This wine has wonderful flavors of strawberry, pineapple, apricot, nuts, with a hint of rubber and petrol, held together by a tannic spine. Charine doesn’t appreciate this wine while Matt finds it tremendous and ties it with the Tsikhelishvili Rkatsiteli as the wine of the evening.

You May Also Enjoy
The Unstoppable Progress in the Georgian Wine Scene
An Introduction to Georgian Qvevri Wine in Zagreb
Trendsetter: Dr Eko Glonti from Lagvinari Winery, Georgia
A Brief History of Wines from the Caucasus

Note: The ideas expressed in this article are personal opinions and are not associated with any sponsors or business promotions.

The post A Night of Natural Wines in Tbilisi, Georgia appeared first on Wine Travel.

For a listing of articles and videos on Georgian wines and wine travel in Georgia, check out our page Uncorking the Caucasus. To purchase the Kindle or paperback copy of Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia, please head to this Amazon product page.

In traditional Georgian winemaking, fermentation and aging happen in the qvevri (pronounce “kway-vree”)–an egg-shaped, beeswax-lined clay vessel that is buried underground up to the neck. The qvevri is filled with grapes, their skins and pips, and sometimes the stems too. Fermentation in the open qvevri relies on wild yeast instead of inoculated yeast. Geothermal regulation keeps the fermentation and wine at a constant, cool temperature. As the wine ferments, the qvevri’s conical shape promotes circulation and clarifies the wine naturally. After fermentation, the qvevri is sealed with a wooden lid and beeswax or clay. It is opened anywhere between a few months and a few years later for the wine to be bottled or consumed immediately.

Currently, there are over 200 commercial producers in Georgia, ranging from large wineries and export giants like Badagoni and Teliani Valley, to extremely small, artisanal producers. Depending on the source, commercial qvevri wine is said to be around 10 percent of the total Georgian wine production. Most commercial qvevri wines are “natural wines”, made with little to no intervention and no modern contraptions; this means the wine is made with organic grapes and vinified without heavy machinery, selected yeast, blocked malolactic fermentation, additives, and fining agents.

Grapes in a qvevri.

When we first arrived in Georgia, we had no idea what to expect from its wines and ancient winemaking method.  A qvevri wine producer that kept coming up in conversations and social media was Pheasant’s Tears. The winery was started by American artist, John Wurdeman, who moved to Georgia in 1996.

Check out our video interview with John Wurdeman here.

When John started making wine alongside eighth-generation Georgian winemaker Gela Patalishvili, he had no idea what to name it. After sampling the wine, a local told John that it reminded him of a Georgian legend. The legend speaks of a wine so fine that it makes pheasants cry. With that, John found the name for his winery.

Pheasant’s Tears is making boundary-pushing wines that constantly raise the bar for what is possible in Georgia. Their first harvest in 2009 included a few autochthonous grapes that had not been commercially bottled for hundreds of years. All of Pheasant’s Tears wines are fermented and matured in the qvevri. The winery is near the medieval hilltop town of Sighnaghi, in the Kakheti wine region. We highly recommend trying everything in Pheasant’s Tears portfolio to get an understanding of Georgian qvevri wines. All the wines can be tasted at the Pheasant’s Tears restaurant in Sighnaghi and Vino Underground in Tbilisi—both places also carry a collection of minimal-intervention wines from all over the world.

Exotic Wine Travel’s Choice:
Pheasant’s Tears, Chinuri, Dry Unfiltered White Wine, 2014

The Pheasant’s Tears Chinuri 2014 was the first wine in Georgia to completely knock our socks off. We first drank this wine at the Pheasant’s Tears restaurant where we enjoyed a seemingly endless flow of excellent Georgian dishes and wines made of indigenous varieties such as Tsolikouri, Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli, Tavkveri, Saperavi, and—of course—Chinuri.

Even though it is labeled as “White Wine”, this Pheasant’s Tears Chinuri should be considered an amber wine/orange wine because it was macerated. It also has a golden hue. The flavor profile is made up of ripe tropical fruits (almost like Hawaiian Punch), peach, melon, yellow flowers, and a surprising touch of red fruit characteristics. In the mouth, it is delicate with a slightly frizzante sensation on the tongue that guides the flavors over the palate into a tangy, citrus finish. The acidity and smorgasbord of fruit flavors make it a refreshing and expressive wine. This is THE wine we would recommend to people who wish to try qvevri wine for the first time.

Find or buy Pheasant’s Tears wines at Wine Searcher.

About Chinuri

Chinuri is a wine grape from the Kartli wine region in east Georgia, but it is also planted in Kakheti. The name “Chinuri” is derived from the Georgian word “Chinebuli”, which means “excellent”. It is not a widely planted variety, and you will have to do some serious searching to find a varietal wine made from it. Because of its relatively high acidity, Chinuri is also used to make sparkling wine.

You May Also Enjoy

• Pheasant’s Tears Chitistvala 2015
• The Unstoppable Progress in the Georgian Wine Scene
• An Introduction to Georgian Qvevri Wine in Zagreb
• A Brief History of Wines from the Caucasus

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are unsolicited and have not been paid for in any way by governmental bodies, enterprises, or individuals. We do not sell editorial content as that would destroy the legitimacy of our reviews and the trust between Exotic Wine Travel and its readers. On occasion, we extend the option of purchasing the wines we review or/and the products we spotlight. Some of these product links are set up through affiliate programs, which means Exotic Wine Travel gets referral credits if you choose to purchase these items via the links we provide.

The post Pheasant’s Tears: Chinuri Wine from Georgia appeared first on Wine Travel.