Georgian wine is back on our minds.

It took 18 months of non-stop travel through known and lesser-known wine regions to produce our first wine book. The same time that we were planning to release Uncorking the Caucasus, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) was hosting their inaugural Wine Tourism conference in Tbilisi, Georgia. With all these aligned, it was an easy choice to make: attend the conference, bring the book to its genesis, and return to the birthplace of our wine career (and arguably wine itself).

Georgia, the Host Country for UNWTO’s First Wine Tourism Conference

The Wine Economist, Mike Veseth, speaking at the 1st UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism.

The UNWTO’s conference on wine tourism was attended by over 200 participants—predominantly journalists, winemakers, winery staff, tour guides, tour company owners, wine tourism promoters, and civil executives—from both the public and private sectors of around 40 countries. It was the organization’s first effort at executing a conference of such scale and theme so understandably there were some kinks to be worked out. For us, the networking element outperformed the learning.

One of the biggest highlights for us was meeting wine author and The Wine Economist, Mike Veseth. Anyone who is interested in the business of wine and what makes the wine world tick should check out Mike’s books.

The content-rich conference was unfortunately affected by the poor choice of venue and setup, which were not conducive to large-group discussions. Most of the takeaways for us were more anecdotal than actual scalable, executable insights. The Georgian wines and dishes presented to the participants were one-dimensional and we felt a personal, visceral indignation about that.

Overall, it was still a good effort and we were thankful for this new initiative by UNWTO to cultivate learning and sharing in wine tourism. We will continue to participate in as many of this wine conference by UNWTO as possible.

Now back to the subject of Georgia…

A visit to Georgia is never complete without a touch and taste of Khinkali, the Georgian dumpling. Thank you UNWTO for organizing these activities for us.

The Other Dimensions of Georgian Wine

During the three-day event, participants got to visit and taste wines from two big-production wineries and a monastery. While the quality of the wines from those producers can be good, there are other facets of this exciting wine country that need to be shared in order for a visitor to truly comprehend the identity of Georgian wine.

Following the conference, we spent another month in the country and tasted over 150 Georgian wines that either we had missed on our first foray into the country or were new vintages of the wines that we already tried. Here are a few observations of the Georgian wine scene, exactly one year after our first trip.

Improving the Quality of Georgian Wine

In Georgia, the small band of natural, qvevri wine producers continues to raise the bar for quality. Tasting through the newest vintages left us astonished. Many of the wines blasted through the preconceptions people may have of natural wines. They are not raw, rustic products. The wines are not funky and mousy, but alive and quirky.

Natural wine producers who make wine in qvevri account for a minute portion of Georgia’s total wine output—around  10%.  Many of these producers are making very small amounts of wine, sometimes less than 3,000 bottles per year. These wines are already culturally significant; UNESCO named the practice of winemaking in qvevri as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2013. Despite this, a faction of the local industry believes that Georgia should focus on conventionally made wines—often times in bulk—in order to increase efficiency, gain market power, and attain a certain economic potential. To us, the qvevri-style wines are what truly speaks Georgia. But with a tiny outreach, small production, limited economies of scale, and aging winemakers who care about making wine in an unapologetically traditional way, who knows what the future holds. Perhaps this is part of the perennial charm of Georgia too: that its magic can only be understood by those who care enough to make the journey.

Unique Varieties Continue to Emerge in Georgia

During the time when Georgia was part of the USSR, the Soviets favored two varieties: Rkatsiteli for white wine and Saperavi for red wine. Both grapes are able to deal with harsh conditions and can maintain high levels of sugar and acidity without correction. The Soviets were concerned with quantity not quality, so they pulled the other varieties and focus on these two. Thankfully, many families were able to maintain small plots of the other Georgian varieties. Because of these families and their modest oenologic time capsules, the country has so many unique grapes to offer the world today; and from these time capsules, the renaissance of indigenous varieties continues.

The variety that we completed missed on our first trip is the scarce Usakhelouri from a small pocket of the Lechkumi region. The total harvest for one season can be as low as two tonnes! Wines made from Usakhelouri are among the most expensive and legendary Georgian wines. Rumor has it that Stalin tried to keep this variety a secret and always shipped the grapes to Moscow. Usakhelouri makes naturally semi-sweet wines that have alluring notes of red fruit, forest floor, and earth. Even if you’re not a sweet wine lover, they’ll still be a special treat to taste.

A naturally-semi sweet dessert wine made from Usakhelouri. There’s no other information about this wine besides what is indicated on this metal tag. We know nothing about it except it is made by a small family and it is delicious.

During our first visit to Georgia in the Fall of 2015, we had the impression that the variety Tavkveri was made mostly into rosé wine. This year, we got to discover many excellent Tavkveri varietal red wines, plus other reds made from fascinating local varieties with tuneful names like Ojaleshi, Shavkapito, and Chitisvala. The grapes from western Georgia continue to impress us: Aladasturi makes light and refreshing reds that can sometimes taste like Beaujolais Cru; Otskanuri Sapere is another variety hailing from the west and makes wines with mouth-puckering tartness.

Tasting Pheasant’s Tears Chitisvala, made with grapes harvested from 200-year-old vines.

As for white grapes, wines made from Chinuri remain one of our favorites. Chinuri made in qvevri maintains a high level of juiciness, texture, and fresh fruit flavors as opposed to being nutty and dried-fruit tasting like most oxidative-style wines. Wines made from Khikhvi, Tetra, and Kisi, be they fermented in steel tanks or in qvevri, are also worth checking out.

For us, the boundary-pushing protagonists are Rkatsiteli and Goruli Mtsvane. The qvevri-style wines made of Rkatsiteli are structured and nutty with startling red fruit flavors. We were floored by some qvevri-style Rkatsiteli wines and believe they can be some of the greatest wines of all time. To fully comprehend Rkatsiteli as a variety, look out for the fresh and fruity ones made in steel tanks as well. Goruli Mtsvane is a showstopper; a late-ripening grape that oxidizes easily, only a few winemakers make wine from this rare variety. The examples that we had from Lagvinari and Soliko delivered high-toned aromas and weighty body reminiscent of a light red wine. Both are exemplars of wine that gives you energy as opposed to just another alcholic beverage that takes away energy.

Georgian Bubbles!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about a video?

Getting a taste of Gotsa’s first batch of Pét-Nat and it’s all quite excellent! Our fave is the Pét-Nat made from the indigenous Georgian variety Tsitska. Pét-Nat is an unfiltered sparkling wine made in method ancestrale where the wine is made without additional sugar and bottled before primary fermentation is finished. #UncorkingTheCaucasus

 

A video posted by Exotic Wine Travel (@exoticwinetravel) on Sep 13, 2016 at 12:38pm PDT

Charine loves bubbles and so we were thrilled to see a new movement amongst the natural Georgian wine producers. The sparklers that these producers are making are not méthode traditionelle (think Champagne) or charmant method (think Prosecco). These sparklers are known as pétillant-naturel, colloquially shortened to pét-nat, which translates to naturally sparkling.

Pét-nats are made via méthode ancestrale, the precursor to the modern Champagne method. Méthode ancestrale made a resurgence in the ’90s in Loire Valley, France when the late Christian Chaussard discovered this sparkler-making method by chance and coined the new term pétillant-naturel for this style. Today, Christian’s good friend and Georgia’s frequent visitor Thierry Puzelat continues to make pét-nats that cheer the world.

Pét-nats are made with spontaneous fermentation and then bottled before the primary fermentation is finished, without adding more yeast or sugar. With the natural yeast and sugar left in the bottle from the first unfinished fermentation, natural carbonation starts to build up in the bottle.

This technique of making sparkling wine can be volatile and variable, requiring a high level of expertise and experience in the cellar. We’ve heard many stories about the hysterical beginning of Georgian pét-nats, which include dealing with flying corks and shattered glasses in front of the media and guests. [Don’t worry about drinking pét-nats now, they are past the experimental stage.] One winemaker recalled an accident where several bottles exploded in his cellar and his bleeding staff exclaimed, “We don’t like this French way of making wine!”

Pét-Nat Rosé made from Tavkveri by Vincente, a Frenchman living in Georgia.

So how do Georgian pét-nats taste like? Crisp and delicious with vibrant fruit flavors. They are not as yeasty as Champagne but well-made examples can have a fine, persistent bead of bubbles that rivals sparklers made in méthode traditionelle. Georgian pét-nats, as are most pét-nats from other parts of the world, are sealed with a crown cap instead of a cork. They are low in alcohol and make candid and lively crowd-pleasers. Pét-nats are meant to be consumed young as further aging in the bottle is not expected to contribute to the wine’s complexity. The wines are often cloudy as most are not filtered though there are also winemakers who choose to do disgorging. These wines are something to keep your eye out for as Georgian wine gains popularity worldwide. The Georgian pét-nats from Gotsa, Okro’s Wines, Pheasant’s Tears, and Kidev erti are excellent.

New Places to Enjoy Wine in the Capital City, Tbilisi

It is laborious to find places in Georgia that are non-smoking. Because of this, our default hangouts in Tbilisi are the alternative themed Vino Underground and the swanky g.Vino wine bars. If you’re a non-smoker like us, wine bars are always a safe bet, though you do lose the bet once in awhile. For restaurants, Azarphesha is a great place to taste Georgian cuisine and drink wine without the distraction of smoke. All these three places are must-visits for gastronomy lovers touring the country. An impressive selection of international natural wines—including those of Chateau Musar, Marcel Lapierre, and Matassa—are also available at Vino Underground and Azarphesha. During this trip, we discovered two new establishments that are shaking up the wine scene.

Outside of the old town and near the upscale neighborhood of Vake is a new wine bar and shop named 8000 Vintages. The shop carries wine from over 100 Georgian producers and always has a large selection of Georgian wines available for tasting. The place is managed by WSET-certified Zaza Grigalashvili who is eager and patient in helping patrons navigate the massive selection of Georgian wines. If you’re interested in learning more about Georgian wine, Zaza leads a weekly tasting class at 8000 Vintages in the Georgian language, though he does speak English.

Visit 8000 Vintages in Tbilisi on any day and you’ll be welcomed with a wide selection of Georgian wines that you can sample.

Thanks to Zaza and his team, we had a tasting and book signing event at 8000 Vintages. The event was a success as we led a packed house through four wines and signed books afterward. The crowd consisted of wine lovers from all over the world, local winemakers, diplomats, and members of the expat social media platform internations.org.

Fond memories from our book launch at 8000 Vintages.

There is a new and innovative restaurant in Tbilisi as well called Culinarium. It was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s show Parts Unknown. Chef Tekuna Gachechiladze has experience in the restaurant business carried over from places like New York and Hong Kong. Culinarium features Georgian cuisine with a modern twist in a hip yet unpretentious atmosphere. A small but satisfying selection of Georgian wines is also available.  On Sundays, the restaurant does an Asian brunch with international takes on dishes such as hot and sour soup, dumpling, and Pad Thai. If you love Asian food or if you love amber wine, don’t miss the chance of tasting the pairing of both at Culinarium. Like champagne, we believe amber wine is the most food-friendly style of wine that can go well with just about any kind of cuisine, including spicy Asian food.

Georgia is a mecca for pure flavors, natural wine, and organic food. In a year, we’ve witnessed how the country evolved into an iconoclast in gastronomy. Georgia has so much freshness and purity to its credit that the lives conducted by the rest of us from modern cities seem tainted.

More Government Support, More Specialized Wine Tourism Operators

The wine industry is one of the most important sectors of Georgia’s economy. In 2014, the National Wine Agency of Georgia was established as an entity under the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia with a mandate to aid in the development of the wine and wine tourism industries.  This has led to a higher level of collaboration between the government and private sectors.

During our recent trip to Georgia, in the span of two months, there were two wine-centric events organized by the National Wine Agency. The construction of a wine museum is also underway.

At one of the events organized by National Wine Agency. Charine met with Archil Natsvlishvili, from Kerovani Winery, and Givi Chagelishvili, Stalin’s last living winemaker.

Besides the local support, international government agencies such as USAID are also having their presence felt through their support in economic development. While they do not work directly with the wine sector, wine tourism is an indispensable product of the tourism and agricultural sectors, both of which are key generators in the sustainable economic development of Georgia.

“We are working on a regional tourism development initiative in Samtskhe-Javakheti, wherein we are facilitating public and private sector stakeholder mobilization and coordination, new product development, and regional marketing and promotion support. The expected result of this work will be the creation of a sustainable public-private destination management organization for the region that can coordinate and implement regional strategies for tourism development and regional promotion moving forward. More broadly, we are working to improve operational and marketing capacity of rural guesthouses in Samegrelo, Shida Kartli, Samegrelo, and the Pankisi Valley,” said Brian King, Chief of Party for the USAID Zrda Activity in Georgia, implemented by Chemonics International, Inc.

Further, there is also an uptick in specialized wine tour operators like Taste Georgia and Living Roots.

All these mean wine travel in Georgia is more accessible and more comfortable than ever before.

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

Related:

1. Our Stint on Georgian National Television

John Wurdeman, the co-founder of Pheasant’s Tears winery is an advocate for traditional Georgian winemaking. He’s also a co-host of the mid-day talk show at Georgia Dream Studios. During our stay in Tbilisi, he invited us to be his guests and gave us the opportunity to talk about our book on the show. This was the first time that we had to work with translation in an interview and was thankful for John being a great steward of the conversations. You can see the 21-minute clip of our cameo below.

2. For a listing of Exotic Wine Travel’s 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.

3. Humble Magic in Georgian Capital’s Restaurant Renaissance

The post The Unstoppable Progress in the Georgian Wine Scene appeared first on Wine Travel.

Part of this article was originally published on Wine Folly. This article has been repurposed with their permission. This version of the article includes wine recommendations. The writing is done by Exotic Wine Travel and all images are produced by Wine Folly. 

Somewhere in what is today’s Transcaucasia, mankind planted a new chapter in history. There’s more to wine than Old World and New World; welcome to the Ancient World of wine.

Areni

“ah-reh-nee”
This red grape hails from a town of the same name in south Armenia. Its thick skin protects it from the summer sun and the harsh, high-elevation, continental climate. It makes red wine with medium ruby hue, fresh acidity, and soft tannins. Wines made from this grape can have sour cherry, herb, spice, and grassy flavors–which, at times, remind us of a cross between Pinot Noir and Sangiovese. The grape gained some international fame when Zorah Karasi, a varietal wine made from Areni, was featured in the list of Bloomberg’s Top Ten Wines of 2012.

Khndoghni

“khhhung-douh-nee”
The name Khndoghni is derived from the Armenian word “khind”, which means laughter. This is a native red wine variety from the controversial Nagorno-Karabakh area, which–depending on the source–is considered a region of Armenia, a separate nation, or a part of Azerbaijan. This grape has high tannins and offers interesting characteristics of black and blue fruits, cotton candy, and earth. Wines made from this grape have grippy tannins, precise structure, and exhibit aging potential. Khndoghni is usually aged in Caucasian oak barrels that are sourced from the same area.

Voskehat

“voh-ski-hut”
If Areni is the signature red grape of Armenia, then Voskehat is the poster child of Armenian white wine. Voskehat translates to “golden seed”. It is a hardy and thick-skinned grape that gets along well with the hot summer and bitterly cold winter of the high Armenian Plateau. Almost all the winemakers in Armenia who make a white wine use this grape, either in varietal wine form or in a blend. It makes smooth- and medium-bodied white wine with floral, savory, tropical fruit, and stone fruit notes. We have a recommendation for a Voskehat varietal wine in Voskevaz: A New Face in the Armenian Wine Scene.

Exotic Wine Travel’s Choice: Kataro Reserve 2013

A true product of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh. This wine is made from an indigenous variety called Khndoghni and is aged in local oak sourced from the same area. A dark, rich, and massively structured wine. It is more of an earthy (than fruity) wine with other flavors of black fruit, chocolate, and smoke. A unique and well-made wine; it has the stuffing to age very well and can be paired wonderfully with Khorovats (Armenian barbecue).

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Goruli Mtsvane

“go-roo-lee mahts-vah-nay”
This is a different variety from Mtsvane, which grows in almost every region in Georgia. Goruli Mtsvane means “green from Gori”, and Gori is a city in south-central Georgia. A late-ripening grape that oxidizes easily, only a few winemakers make wine from this rare variety. When made in the qvevri, it delivers one of the most interesting experiences in wine. Its high-toned aromas range from peach, lime, apricot, wildflower, pine, and nut. On the palate, the weighty body is reminiscent of a light red wine.

Rkatsiteli

“rah-kats-ee-teh-lee”
Rkatsiteli, whose name means “red stem,” is a ubiquitous white wine variety that comprises nearly half of Georgia’s vineyard plantings. It is a hardy and easy-to-grow grape as it is resistant to cold and maintains a high level of acidity and sugar as it ripens. It can be made into dry, semi-sweet, and fortified wines, and also brandy. This variety is treated in both the traditional Georgian qvevri-style with extended skin contact and conventional-style white wine technique. In the conventional style, it becomes a well-balanced, medium-bodied white wine with a touch of spice. When made in qvevri style, it takes on an amber tone, a forceful structure, and beautiful creaminess on the palate. What Chardonnay is for California, this grape is to Georgia. Check out Exotic Wine Travel’s 16 Wines Of 2016 for the tasting notes on Okro’s Wine Rkatsiteli 2010.

Saperavi

“sah-per-ra-vee “
Saperavi means “color/dye.” This is the most widely planted red wine variety in Georgia. Like Alicante Bouschet, it is teinturier with red flesh and red juice. This dark-skinned and dark-fleshed grape makes deep red, inky, and often opaque wine with heavy body and profound texture. Some wineries in the country label it as black wine instead of red. Due to the grape’s marked acidity and myriad characteristics of black fruit, licorice, chocolate, earth, smoked meat, tobacco, savory spice, and pepper, it is extremely versatile and can be made into rosé, dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and fortified wines. A dry red Saperavi wine resembles a mix between Blaufrankisch and Syrah. Check out our tasting notes for Artizani Saperavi, Lagvinari Saperavi, and Jakeli Saperavi.

Also, here’s an episode of Exotic Wine Travel where we tasted two of our favorite Saperavi wines, Khareba Saperavi Premium Gold 2010 and Kortavebis Marani Saperavi 2014, side by side.

Usakhelouri

“oosa-hello-oory”
Usakhelouri translates to “a grape with no name.” A native of western Georgia, this is an extremely low-yielding and rare variety that grows on the slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The total annual harvest is only a few tons. It is grown in a few small, remote villages and can be made into dry red or naturally semi-sweet wine with a high price tag. The wines made from this variety are aromatic and velvety, with vibrant acidity and light tannins. The flavors are red fruit, purple flower, mint, pepper, and forest floor. The semi-sweet wine made from Usakhelouri is a wonderfully complex wine that somehow reminds us of what Pinot Noir might taste like if it were made into a dessert wine.

Exotic Wine Travel’s Choice: Soliko Our Wine Goruli Mtsvane 2015

Made from the rare grape variety Goruli Mtsvane, this wine is fermented, macerated, and aged in traditional Georgian qvevri. The wine has flavors of orange peel, peach concentrate, and wild flowers, perked up by a slight tug from the tannins. A food-friendly, juicy wine.

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Boğazkere

“bow-ahz-keh-reh”
This grape is native to the Diyarbakir area in Southeast Turkey. It prefers to grow in a hot, dry climate, at high altitude. The name Boğazkere translates to “throat burner” – a possible reference to its strong tannins and medium acidity, which is reminiscent of Tannat. Boğazkere can be used as a blending grape and can also be made into a varietal wine. In varietal wine, it expresses notes of dark berry, pepper, dark chocolate, clove, eucalyptus, tobacco, and licorice. In our interview with Turkish wine maestro Burcak Desombre, she recommends the Kavaklidere Prestige as a fine example of this variety.

Emir

“eh-meer”
Native to and grown exclusively in the famous Cappadocia region of Turkey, this grape thrives in high altitude, volcanic soil, and diurnal temperature variation (hot during the day and cool at night). Its name translates to “lord/ruler,” as the wine made from Emir was once a popular choice at the local lords’ tables. It produces a smooth and crisp white wine with yellow-green hue. The flavor profile includes apple, yellow pear, pineapple, blood orange, kiwi, melon, and a touch of pine. Emir is often compared to Albarino and Pinot Grigio; while Sarah Abbot MW describes it as “a bit like Manseng but with more aromatics”.

Öküzgözü

“ur-kuz-gur-zuh”
This grape is native to the Elazig area in Eastern Turkey. It likes hot, dry summers, and cold winters, which matches up perfectly with the extreme continental climate of the Anatolian Plateau. The name means “ox eye,” which hints at its round and fleshy appearance. Öküzgözü has high acidity and floral aromas. On the palate, it leans towards raspberry, plum, pomegranate, brown spice, and earthy flavors. The high acidity is what stands out the most in this grape. It is often blended with Boğazkere for added structure. On its own, it makes some memorable, fruit-forward wines.

Exotic Wine Travel’s Choice: Kayra, Buzbag Bölge Serisi Elazig, Öküzgözü, 2012

This is a juicy, balanced, and delicious Turkish wine made from the indigenous variety Öküzgözü. If you are looking for a red wine that’s bright, fruity and without pretense, then this is a wine for you. This is produced by a big producer called Kayra who has many vineyards in eastern Turkey. The flavors are of sour cherry, fruit punch, and earth, with nice tanginess and smooth tannins. It goes extremely well Turkish grilled meat dishes.

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For a listing of articles and videos on Armenian, Georgian, and Turkish wines and wine travel in the Caucasus Region, 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. 

https://www.facebook.com/exowinetravel/videos/1091099150987466/

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

The post Ancient Wine Grape Varieties from Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey appeared first on Wine Travel.

In November, as part of our Uncorking the Caucasus book launch and promotion, we had a signing session along with a wine tasting class at 8000 Vintages in Tbilisi, Georgia.

8000 Vintages is located just about a 10-minute ride from the popular tourist zone in the Old Town. The name represents the age of Georgia’s winemaking history. There are over 150 Georgian wine producers represented in this wine shop and bar. Patrons can enjoy wine degustation, wine by the bottle, and wine-pairing dishes (mostly cheese and cold cut) in an Instagram-worthy setting here. If you are new to Georgian wine, don’t fret. This place boasts an in-house sommelier, Zaza Grigalashvili, who is knowledgeable about Georgian wines and is able to guide you through the wide selection. Take a peek at this stunning-looking wine outlet in this YouTube video appended:

For the book event, we had a perfect turnout of 40 people—a size large enough to create a festive mood and small enough for an intimate tasting session. The crowd consisted of locals, expats, enthusiasts, casual drinkers, diplomats, and winemakers. Four Georgia wines were presented and tasted at the session. These four wines were thoughtfully selected to:

• Show the participants that amber wines can be elegant and accessible. Contrary to popular belief, they aren’t always mousey, tannic, and challenging to unfamiliar palates.
• Present the work by a mix of big producer (Teliani Valley), artisanal qvevri wine producer (Tchotiashvili and Pheasant’s Tears), and new-generation young gun (Artizani).
• Let the participants experience the different expressions of a grape variety (Saperavi).

The tasting notes below are simpler than our usual style, with limited technical notes. The reason for this is during the session, we wanted to drop most of the detailed descriptors and help participants to “feel” the wines and articulate why they like or dislike each wine.

Exploring Georgian Wine at 8000 Vintages

1. Pheasant’s Tears Winery Mtsvane 2015
An aromatic nose dominated by orange peel and ripe stone fruit. On the palate, it is juicy, harmonious, and soft. A crowd pleaser and an easy introduction to amber wine as it is light and crisp. Pheasant’s Tears is mentioned in our book Uncorking the Caucasus as one of our favorite wineries in Georgia.

2. Kakha Tchotiashvili Rcheuli Qvevri Rkatsiteli 2013
This wine has a deep tangerine hue even though the label states it’s a white wine. The nose is more muted than the Pheasant’s Tears Mtsvane, but don’t be fooled because the protagonist is in the mouth. This wine is structured, expressive, with tannins that kick in on the mid-palate, and the end palate is precise and long. Flavors of apricot, peach, forest leaves, and a touch of earth. Rkatsiteli wines that have gone through extended periods of skin contact can be unique and delicious. They can be grippy but are incredibly food-friendly wines. Specifically for this wine, it can be paired well with many robust meat dishes.

3. Artizani Saperavi 2015 
Fermented with wild yeast in stainless steel tank and temperature control; no sulfite or additive was added;  unfiltered wine. The aroma takes awhile to open up. After some aeration, this wine expresses an honest interpretation of Saperavi—fresh burst of berries, forest floor and licorice in its aroma, with a surprising twist of floral characteristics on the palate. Great structure and balance; a well-made wine that can see many years of aging in the bottle and continue to blossom. This is the first vintage of Artizani and comes in a small production of 1,100 bottles.

4. Teliani Valley Georgian Winery Kindzmarauli 2013
This wine is mentioned in our book. Kindzmarauli is an appellation found in the Kvarli, Kakheti part of Georgia. Wines that bear the name of this appellation are always semi-sweet red made from the indigenous variety Saperavi. This wine is well-received by almost everyone, even the non-sweet wine lovers, at the event. On the nose, it’s full of toffee and tart plum; and in the mouth, it is reminiscent of a dark berry pie. With 35g/l of residual sugar, it surprisingly leaves no heaviness or coating sensation in the mouth. A perfect match for Churchkhela (traditional Georgian but candy) or a gamey stew.

Click here to view more photos from our book launch events.

Learn More About the Indigenous & Ancient Grape Varieties from Georgia

Mtsvane

“mits-vah-neh”
Short for Mtsvane Kakhuri, an ancient variety indigenous to the Kakheti region of southeast Georgia. Mtsvane means “green” in Georgian. This white variety is diverse and ramified, with many derivatives growing throughout Georgia. Mtsvane maintains a relatively high level of acidity even as the sugar level goes up. It is a hardy variety that can survive the cold winters in Georgia. The varietal wine made from Mtsvane is slightly greenish in color, with characteristics of peach, apricot, pineapple, citrus, and flowers, supported by delightful crispness. When produced in the qvevri, it produces a dark amber, sometimes reddish, wine. The body and flavors vacillate back and forth in the mouth between the semblances of red, rosé, and white wines. As a relatively aromatic variety, Mtsvane often plays a part in white blends. In some of the most famous appellations for Georgian white wines such as Manavi and Tsinandali, Mtsvane is blended with Rkatsiteli.

Rkatsiteli

“rah-kats-ee-teh-lee”
Rkatsiteli, whose name means “red stem”, is a ubiquitous white wine variety that comprises nearly half of Georgia’s vineyard plantings. It is a hardy and easy-to-grow grape as it is resistant to cold and maintains a high level of acidity and sugar as it ripens. It can be made into dry, semi-sweet, and fortified wines, and also brandy. This variety is treated in both the traditional Georgian qvevri style with extended skin contact and the conventional-style white wine technique. In the conventional style, it becomes a well-balanced, medium-bodied white wine with a touch of spice. When made in the qvevri style, it takes on an amber tone, a forceful structure, and beautiful creaminess on the palate. Rkatsiteli is to Georgia as Chardonnay is to California.

Saperavi

“sah-per-ra-vee “
Saperavi means “color/dye.” This is the most widely planted red wine variety in Georgia. Like Alicante Bouschet, it is teinturier with red flesh and red juice. This dark-skinned and dark-fleshed grape makes deep red, inky, and often opaque wine with heavy body and profound texture. Some wineries in the country label it as black wine instead of red. Due to the grape’s marked acidity and myriad characteristics of black fruit, licorice, chocolate, earth, smoked meat, tobacco, savory spice, and pepper, it is extremely versatile and can be made into rosé, dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and fortified wines. A dry red Saperavi wine resembles a mix between Blaufrankisch and Syrah.

Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia
is available on Amazon.

Thank you 8000 Vintages for hosting the event and providing tasting samples of the wines. 

You May Also Enjoy
Simon Woolf: Amber Revolution
The Unstoppable Progress in the Georgian Wine Scene
Exotic Wine Travel’s 16 Wines of 2016 (Georgian wine scored two spots out of 16!)
Tsitska-Tsolikouri Amber Wine from Imereti, Georgia
A Brief History of Wine from the Caucasus

The post Exploring the Different Expressions of Georgian Wine appeared first on Wine Travel.

For a listing of articles and videos on Georgian wine and other wines from the Caucasus region, 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.

Georgia, the Country of Ancient Winemaking

At the intersection between Eastern Europe and Western Asia lies an important key to the origins of wine: Georgia. It is a mountainous country that has survived many millennia of conflicts and somehow managed to hang on to its traditions including its love for wine.

In Georgia, wine production has been going on uninterrupted for 8,000 years. The qvevri is the symbol of Georgian winemaking. As early as in the Neolithic age, grape juice was fermented in buried qvevri. It is fascinating that thousands of years later, Georgia is still making wine in the same way as it did in the past. For that reason, drinking Georgian qvevri wine is similar to tasting the flavors of the ancient past. The Georgians who make wine in qvevri believe in the laissez-faire approach, where nothing is added and nothing is taken away. By putting the grapes into a qvevri and burying it underground, the winemaker allows nature to do most of the work.

 

What is Qvevri?

The qvevri (pronounce “kway-vree”) is an egg-shaped, beeswax-lined terracotta vessel used for making wine. The qvevri is filled with grapes, their skins and pips, and sometimes the stems too. Fermentation in the open qvevri relies on wild 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. They are opened anywhere between a few months and a few years later for the wine to be transferred into another qvevri or bottles for further aging, or to be consumed immediately.

Outside of Gerogia, it is more common in the wine industry to use the term anfora or amphora (amphorae for plural) to refer to the clay vessel used for making wine. However, in Georgia, it is important to call a qvevri a qvevri as it is a symbol of their culture. In 2013, the UNESCO declared Georgia’s ancient tradition of making wine in qvevri as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Qvevri found outside the Pheasant’s Tears winery in Kakheti, Georgia. The size of qvevri can range from a few hundred to thousands of liters.

 

What is Orange Wine?

Let’s get this straight first: in Georgia, it is more common for people to refer to this style of wine as amber wine. We, too, prefer to use the term amber wine. However, outside of Georgia, people generally call it orange wine.

Nothing to do with the citrus fruit, orange wine is made from white wine grapes. While white wine is fermented from white grape juice with little to no skin contact, orange wine is fermented with the skins and seeds, and sometimes even with the stems. The color of a wine comes less from the flesh and juice than from the skin. For that reason, the skins of white grapes impart an amber hue to orange wine.

Besides imparting color, the seeds, skins, and stems provide tannins—a dry, grippy quality found in some red wines—to orange wine. When drinking orange wine, expect the slight astringency of a red wine and the crispness of a white. Just like all other wines, orange wines differ widely depending on the grape variety, terroir, and winemaking style. But as a general guide, they are medium- to full- bodied, with robust characteristics of nuts, tea, and dried fruit. By virtue of its bold flavors, medium to high acidity, low alcohol, and significant body, it can be paired perfectly with various dishes—from the spicy, to umami, and salty.

Today, orange wine is being made in all parts of the world including Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Italy, Mexico, Slovenia, and the United States.

 

Introducing Georgian Qvevri Wine to Croatian Wine Lovers

After several months of promoting our book Uncorking the Caucasus in Georgia and Armenia, we finally left the region in November and made a brief detour to Macedonia to attend the inaugural Skopje Wine Salon (organized by our dear friend Ivana Simjanovska), before returning to Croatia. From Tbilisi the capital of Georgia, we brought along four bottles of Georgian qvevri wines that we were planning to share with a special group of wine lovers in Croatia. The group consisted of the top Vivino users in Croatia as well as Nenad Trifunović, an established wine blogger who runs the website vinopija.com (in Croatian).

While not new to amber wine (there are several Croatian winemakers who are making white wine with some skin contact), this was the first time that all eight Croatian wine lovers are tasting Georgian amber wine made in the qvevri. 

Our Selection of Georgian Qvevri Wines

The wines were served in an intentional sequence: from a few days of skin contact (something we expect everyone will enjoy) to deep amber, tannic wine that saw many months of skin contact (something that challenges conventional beliefs).

Nikoladzeebis Marani, Tsitska-Tsolikouri, 2015
Winemaker: Ramaz Nikoladze
Miscellaneous Notes: Ramaz Nikoladze is one of the big names in Georgia. He makes only around 3,000 bottles every year. His Tsolikouri was selected by Carla Capalbo as the Favourite Wine of 2015 at the Decanter’s 40th Anniversary celebration. For a mammoth-looking guy, his wines are surprisingly gentle.
Tasting Notes: Prominent but workable volatile acidity that flatters the aroma of dried flower and ripe apricot. A little volatile acidity really highlights the typical ripe or dried fruit flavor of amber wine; too much will obviously swamp the beauty. Gentle tannins and green tea-like astringency hit the mid-end palate. A delicate amber wine that makes a safe introduction for those who are new to this wonderful world of skin contact.

With winemaker Ramaz Nikoladze at Vino Underground in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Gotsa Family Wines, Chinuri, 2015
Winemaker: Beka Gotsadze
Miscellaneous Notes: Recently, Beka pioneered a heat treatment system to clean his qvevri and combat the big, bad brett—most commonly known as the “funky smell” in amber wine. He’s also one of the few winemakers in Georgia who is currently making pét-nat wines. The first vintage of his pét-nat was released in December 2016.
Tasting Notes: Allegedly one of the most popular wines to be served at the recent RAW WINE New York 2016. Tropical juiciness perked up by summer citrus brims the nose! What fun! The flavors are juicy, too, in the mouth and flawlessly moves into an imminent white-tea finish. A touch of gingery bitterness lingers. This is an amber wine that can be easily dismissed as simple and approachable, but start shifting attention to the structure and transition, let it aerate for awhile, and you can find many nuances to it.

Gotsa winery’s Beka Gotsadze opening a bottle of pét-nat that is still fermenting in the bottle. Do not try this at home. Seriously.

Lagvinari, Goruli Mtsvane, 2013
Winemaker: Dr Eko Glonti
Miscellaneous Notes: Cardiovascular surgeon-turned-geologist-turned-winemaker, Eko is arguably our favorite wine producer in Georgia. He started making wine five years ago with the encouragement of Isabelle Legeron MW (organizer of RAW WINE).
Tasting Notes: The smell of a Chinese celebration—goji berry, gooseberry, orange peel, fig, and an undefined red fruit underlying. The palate reflects the nose with complementary tannins that outline the ripe fruit notes.

The Lagvinari wine cellar is located in the basement of Dr Eko Glonti’s house in Tbilisi, Georgia. Here’s him selecting the treats for the evening.

Tsikhelishvili Wines, Rkatsiteli, 2013
Winemaker: Aleksi Tsikhelishvili
Miscellaneous Notes: No background information as we haven’t got the chance to visit the winery.
Tasting Notes: Raisin and prune on the nose. Sherry-like with pronounced volatile acidity. Almost hard to differentiate from a red wine if tasted blind. The front palate is gentle and the body is medium. When the wine sets in the mouth, draw some air in and you’ll notice the citrus and stone fruit flavors along with tannins hitting hard on the mid palate, defying the earlier assumption that it could be a light red. A powerful amber wine with black tea-like astringency and mouth-coating ripe fruit flavors.

We didn’t get the chance to visit the Tsikhelishvili’s winery yet, but this was the night when we fell in love with his wine. We were having dinner at Azarphesha restaurant in Tbilisi and our dear friend John Wurdeman picked out a bottle of Tsikhelishvili Rkatsiteli for us to try.

Georgian Qvevri Wine Against the Croatian Palate

Many of our Croatian friends commented on how “alive” and how much “energy” the Georgian qvevri wines possessed.

We continued the night with a blind tasting of six different varietal red wines made out of Teran, an indigenous variety from Istria, Croatia; the round-up will be shared in a future article. As for the qvevri wine tasting: surprisingly, it was the last bottle, Tsikhelishvili Wines Rkatsiteli 2013, that was crowned the favorite of the night. We said “surprisingly” because we had assumed that the wine would be the most difficult to understand—with its extreme oxidative style, black tea-like tannins, and dried fruit characteristics. As it turned out, most people appreciated that wine most because it reminded them of a red wine. Overall, everyone enjoyed at least two out of the four wines, except one person who drinks only reds. Many of our Croatian friends commented on how “alive” and how much “energy” the Georgian qvevri wines possessed. We were delighted with the way the wines showed overall.

One of our favorite things to do is introducing new wines to enthusiasts and experienced palates. It is always fun to share gems from the unheralded regions of the wine world with fellow wine lovers. Georgian qvevri wines are the most fun, yet challenging, to present to wine lovers. When these wines are done well, they give flavors and experiences that are unparalleled. At a time when words like “raw wine”, “natural wine”, and “wine with a sense of place” are gaining traction on the world stage, the Georgian wines are the perfect candidate to offer diversity and novelty that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

You May Also Enjoy
The Unstoppable Progress in the Georgian Wine Scene
Saperavi: Georgia’s Flagship Red Wine Grape
A Brief History of Wines from the Caucasus
UNESCO: Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method

Special thanks to Bornstein Wine Bar and Shop for hosting us.
The ideas expressed in this article are personal opinions and are not associated with any sponsors or business promotions.

The post An Introduction to Georgian Qvevri Wine in Zagreb appeared first on Wine Travel.

Hello, thirsty readers. It’s the time of the year again. Round-up, conclusion, evaluation, assessment, goal setting… what a load that only wine can make it lighter and better! Let’s make WINE great again.

We’ve been traveling full-time for wine for nearly two years now, but 2016 is particularly significant because it marks our first official year in the wine industry. In 2016, we visited the wine regions of Armenia, Baja California (Mexico), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Santa Barbara County (California, USA), Serbia, and Virginia (USA). With all the travel, work, dinner parties, and self-study, this year we’ve tasted around 3,000 wines in total. That’s a lot to recall for two ethanol-soaked brains.

But what has to be done has to be done: the veritable internet-breaking listicle. This year, in addition to the hundreds of excellent exotic wines, we’ve also managed to cross out a few bucket-list wines from the illustrious part of the wine world. As advocates for diversity in wine and the lesser-known wine regions, we hope our list reveals the ever-expanding variety available to consumers today. With wines from eight countries and across different styles—from the classic Old World red to the defiant amber wine—this list is nowhere close to being comprehensive but yet should appease every palate: from the refined to the adventurous.

Ultimately, this is our way of paying homage to the wines we enjoy drinking the most this year. The choices are not affected by the speculation of ageabilitiy, the reality of price, or the limiting availability. The choices are also subjective; there’s no Dawkin-esque, rational notion of truth or big-data mathematics here. Most importantly, the wines are chosen for their sensory merits. In some cases, the stories matter as well.  However, the common denominator they all share is the unique memory each wine evokes. Every wine on this list is a time machine in which we can be transported back and recall the experience of the wine and the people whom we shared the bottle with.

Exotic Wine Travel’s Best Wines of 2016

Here are our top 16 wines of 2016. The wines are listed in chronological order based on when we tasted them, starting with the beginning of 2016. We’ve deliberately left out the scores, rankings, and detailed tasting notes in order to focus on the underlying enjoyment of wine.

THE CLASSIC

• Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, Hermitage, 2002 (Rhone, France)

One of the finest wines we’ve ever tasted. We drank this at a Michelin-starred French restaurant in Singapore called Odette. It was Charine’s birthday gift from our dear friend, also called Matt. We were a party of four and all of us spent a significant amount of time just smelling this wine.

To Matt, it is Syrah at its finest. To Charine and her food-motivated brain, it is herbal chicken & mushroom soup in a bottle.

This family-owned domaine is one of the finest and oldest estates on the Hermitage hill in Northern Rhône. The first generation of vine growers in the family can be traced back to sometime around 1480. In the movie Somm: Into The Bottle, Jean-Louis Chave was the cool guy who opened a bottle of 1969 Ermitage, which was made by his grandfather.

If you are a Syrah lover, put this on your list of wine goals now!

 “When it comes to Hermitage, there is one name that most aficionados utter with a sense of reverence: Chave.” –  Jeb Dunnuck

 

• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Échézeaux, 1997 (Cote de Nuits, France)

It was Charine’s homecoming in Singapore where she was treated to a special bottle from her wine collector-friend’s stash: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, typically abbreviated to DRC, is the holy grail of Burgundy reds. In 1988, DRC switched to organic farming in the vineyards. With the 2008 vintage and onwards, the wines are fully biodynamic.

The bottle was left to decant as the night continued with many well-aged French wines. After many hours of aeration, the DRC shed its shy countenance and developed into a full-fledged powerhouse. The consensus favorite of the night was this wine, with a Margaux 1982 (below) coming in a close second.

Charine calls this “the life-ruining wine” because one can never look at Pinot Noir with the same lens again after tasting this.

“Not all pinot noirs are constructed to express their terroirs, and, indeed, not all terroirs have anything of interest to say.” – Eric Asimov

• Chateau Margaux, 1982 (Bordeaux, France)

As mentioned, this was tasted next to the DRC Échézeaux 1997. This appeared to be more intense and present than the DRC at first, with its smokey edge on the nose and ever-evolving flavors. Charine spent more time smelling this wine than drinking it; not that it didn’t taste good but the aroma was telling the story of Margaux’s long pedigree.

If decadence has a smell, then this is it.

• Domaine Dujac, Chambolle-Musigny, 2004 (Cote de Nuits, France)

This wine arrived a tad late in the night for a full, honest appreciation. Nevertheless, it was tasted side by side with a Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Chambolle-Musigny 1999 and the Dujac was the one that shook Charine out of her stupor. Succumbing to further indulgence and collective enthusiasm, an order for tuna belly sashimi was put forth.

Fat always has a way around wine—either it brings out a certain elusive trait in a wine or in this case, it harmonizes the interplay between feisty and funky.

• Chateau d’Yquem, 1986 (Sauternes, France)

Neither of us is partial to sweet wine but this is Charine’s favorite wine of all time. Liquid gold in a bottle! To her, this is chocolate & coffee, bacon & cabbage, potato & onion, and perfection of all forms. It seems fitting to dedicate this wine to a pair or sort that seems to partake in a higher order of compatibility. We reckon it’s the same deal as saying you’d never date that neighbor of yours based on what you assume to be typically “your kind”, or not. And then one day you realize that this neighbor is as magical as the work of Picasso in your bedroom or Big Green Egg in your lawn.

CULT WINES FROM SERBIA, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, AND CROATIA

•  Matalj, Kremen Kamen, 2011 (Negotin, Serbia)

This is through and through a cult wine and the most difficult wine to get in Serbia’s frenzied domestic market. The winery is located in the isolated far east of the country. The production of this cru wine is 5,000 bottles in good years. It is a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of Merlot.

We drove all the way out to meet this producer, and as it turned out, he didn’t have a single bottled wine left in the cellar. Now, that is real demand and popularity. The owner and winemaker, Nikola Mladenovic Matalj, was very kind to let us taste samples of the new vintages from the tanks and barrels. Afterward, he took us to a local restaurant where he bought back his own wines so that we could try them. Unfortunately, the restaurant too had run out of this magnum opus. A few days later when we arrived in Belgrade (the capital city of Serbia), our friend Zoran met us with a bottle of this beast in hand. He had serendipitously found a bottle of Matalj Kremen Kamen 2011 as it was left forgotten on the top shelf of a wine bar. The latest vintage of this wine available on the market was 2012 at that time. So we really did score big time with this bottle.

This wine has a tireless end palate. An evocative combination of strength, elegance, and playfulness. Our friend Daniel Curovic, who is importing Croatian wine to Sweden, puts it well, “I tasted the Kremen Kamen, and it might be the finest wine coming out of the entire Balkan area.”

We would confidently bring this wine to serious Napa Cab or Bordeaux drinkers and have them taste it blind.

Read – Matalj Kremen Kamen: A Vertical Tasting

• Brkić, Mjesećar, Žilavka, 2013 (Western Herzegovina, Bosnia-Herzegovina)

We visited this boutique producer and were lucky that time was on our side. He makes only one barrel of this wine in good years.

This wine is so unusual and refreshing. It starts out tasting like an archetypal amber wine with flavors of nuts, dried apricot, and dried peach. Then, the oxidative style completely vanishes and the wine becomes perfectly crisp. The acidity is pronounced and shows up buoyantly with citrus flavors. A sensory experience that is ready to dazzle any bored palate.

Read – Brkić Plava Greda 2015 and Brkić Limousine 2007

This wine by Brkić is called Mjesečar, which means “moonwalker”. Made from an indigenous grape called Žilavka, it is a biodynanamic wine that was fermented, aged sur lie, and left for 9 months on the skins in Bosnian oak barrel. No added sulfite and bottled without filtration. The label design aptly represents how this wine is made–in accordance to the lunar calendar.

A video posted by Exotic Wine Travel (@exoticwinetravel) on May 25, 2016 at 5:50pm PDT

“Mjeseċąr feels pure and fresh to the end.” – Simon Woolf

• Clai, Ottocento Crni, 2013 (Istria, Croatia)

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Teran, and Refošk. We first heard about this producer on Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV. The proprietor Giorgio Clai is considered by many to be “the godfather of Istria”. We visited the winery with our wine-loving Croatian friend; when he drank this wine for the first time, he said, “Fucking Clai, I don’t want to spend so much money on wine. But this is so good, I want it all the time.”

We’ve drunk three more bottles of this wine since our winery visit, and each new bottle managed to emerge like a victorious new variety clone—always enchanting and surprising. And somewhat always better than the previous bottle; that’s a huge feat.

Read – Cracking Croatian Wine: A Visitor-Friendly Guide

• Jonata, Fenix, 2007 (Santa Barbara, California USA)

Jonata shares ownership with its cooler, fancier cousin: Screaming Eagle of Napa. We got to taste this wine during our “Sideways” Santa Barbara pilgrimage at a hip wine bar downtown called Santa Barbara Wine Collective.

A blend of 88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot; this was dense, ripe, and incredibly structured. Charine, being a scornful taster towards most big and ripe wine, was utterly confused by the wholeness of this. She kept sniffing and drinking, yet could find no fault or unhappiness in this wine. In the end, she decided to divorce her critical side and proclaim this wine as one of her favorites of all time.

Read – Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail: Highlights & Tips

• Brewer-Clifton, Acin, 2013 (Santa Barbara, California USA)

The trip through Santa Barbara Wine Country was a fulfilling one, both for the mind and palate. Matt was checking off all the places that appeared in Sideways in the most loyal fanboy manner. All of the wineries were so impressive that it took painful concentration to mark the wines. That said, the tasting at Brewer-Clifton was the top wine experience in Santa Barbara County for both of us. All 10 wines that we got to taste were spectacular. We could understand why Antonio Galloni was impressed.

This Chardonnay stands out the most because it’s oily and tastes gently oxidative. An immediate, boundary-pushing attitude is erected. It is whole-cluster pressed and aged in neutral barrels for 12 to 18 months. Somewhat a cross between a Mâconnais—with starfruit and ripe melon and gentler oak influence—and a breed of its own unique kind, this is a deviant with a wacky vision.

The partnership between Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton started more than 20 years ago when they pioneered single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines in Santa Rita Hills. The duo split up in 2015 and Steve Clifton now owns a different winery while Greg Brewer continues to take the helm at Brewer-Clifton.

Read – Brewer-Clifton: Combining Expertise, Gravitas, and Nature

• Chateau Camou, El Gran Vino Tinto, 1997 (Baja, Mexico)

Chatea Camou was one of the first in Baja Mexico to kickstart the boutique, high-quality wine movement.

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes harvested from the desert part of Baja; but don’t let that fool you, there is a lot of wine being made there.

1997 is widely considered to be a stellar vintage in Mexico. We tasted a number of stunning wines from that vintage and this one came out on top—narrowly above a Cavas Valmar’s Cabernet Sauvignon. This was the first of many outstanding Mexican wines we tasted during our two and half month stay in Mexico’s most prominent wine region. For this particular wine and vintage, it was made by Dr Victor Torres-Alegre, who received his doctorate in enology from the University of Bordeaux, and with the assistance of Michel Rolland. Both Dr Torres-Alegre and Michel Rolland have moved on from Chateau Camou.

GOING BACK TO THE CAUCASUS

• Okro’s Wine, Rkatsiteli, 2010 (Kakheti, Georgia)

We tasted this on a press trip through Georgia with journalists from all over Europe. This wine was aged for three years in the qvevri (buried terracotta vessels). Just as we were about to sample this wine, a huge storm rolled in and knocked out the electricity. The wine was eventually drunk under the candlelight and everybody in the press group was awestruck by this sensory treat. Incredibly clean, full of earthy notes, and firmly structured. A wine so outspoken and so distant from its other well-mannered, generic cousins.

Shout-out to our dear friend John Wurdeman from Pheasant’s Tears for introducing us to this life-defining wine!

Read – Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia

• Lagvinari, Goruli Mtsvane, 2015 (Kartli, Georgia)

Goruli Mtsvane means “green from Gori,” and Gori is a city in south-central Georgia. A late-ripening grape that oxidizes easily, only a few winemakers make wine from this rare variety.

Eko Glonti, the owner and winemaker at Lagvinari, is a heart surgeon, turned geologist, turned winemaker. The first time we drank this wine, we were at his home with classical jazz music playing in the background. The second time we drank this was with a group consisting of an Australian winemaker, a sommelier, and a Master of Wine. After the first sip, the Australian winemaker said, “This is fucking sexy.”

This is a qvevri amber wine with high-toned aromas of peach, lime, apricot, wildflower, pine, and nut. On the palate, the weighty body is reminiscent of a light red wine.

Hunting down a Goruli Mtsvane wine can be challenging but also incredibly rewarding.

Read – 2015 Lagvinari Wine from Georgia

• Zorah, Yeraz 2013 (Vayots Dzor, Armenia)

We drank this wine from a cask sample at the beautiful Zorah cellar. The winery is situated in a vast, open space 1,200 meters in altitude and may be the most beautiful wine estate we have ever seen. Zorah is famous for its flagship wine, the Zorah Karasi. The Yeraz is their cru wine, named after the owner’s wife. The word Yeraz also means “hope/dream” in Armenian.

This wine is made from the indigenous variety called Areni, with grapes harvested from ultra-centennial bush vines that are planted at 1,600 meters above sea level. It is fermented with natural yeast and partially aged in amphora. The vines of Areni are ungrafted as they’ve never been affected by phylloxera. By dint of the location and elevation, vineyard management is relatively natural with minimal intervention. The Zorah Yeraz 2013 brings a whole new canon of exquisiteness that demands a quiet mind to understand. Reticent at first and requires some coaxing, it is ethereally gentle—like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you might miss with a blink. This is a wine that can challenge many Burgundy Grand Crus.

If you’ve tasted the Zorah Yeraz 2012: the 2013 is a celestial kin to its first-born sibling; at least that’s how they are showing right now.

Read – Zorah Wines: Depicting Armenia’s Ancient Wisdom

A trip of any kind in Armenia is never complete without a taste of Zorah wine. Here’s a quick capture of Zorah winery, inside and out. For more detailed notes on Zorah and Armenian wines, check out our book; link in bio. #UncorkingTheCaucasus

A video posted by Exotic Wine Travel (@exoticwinetravel) on Oct 11, 2016 at 10:16am PDT

“Yeraz has a lovely ethereal nose and fine, elegant, pure lingering flavour, it’s like a blend of cru Burgundy mixed with top Sangiovese in character but with its own distinctive hints of spice and crushed raspberry.” – Caroline Gilby

FINISHING 2016 IN CROATIA

• Roxanich, Antica, 2009 (Istria, Croatia)

Made with organic Istrian Malvasia grapes that went through spontaneous fermentation, 60-day maceration, 3-year aging in big oak cask, and another year or so in the bottle, this is the brainchild of a bonafide natural winemaker. This is an unfiltered, amber Malvazija (the Croatian name for Malvasia) wine that we got to enjoy while doing a podcast with our Croatian wine importer friend Daniel (mentioned above). We flipped our lid drinking this.

This is an amber wine that can handhold many conventional wine drinkers to the orange side. Imagine an amber wine so expectedly jam-packed with flavors of cinnamon, sliced almond, dried apricot, dried fig, forest floor, and a touch of savory spice. And then it hits the palate with welcoming juiciness and stern acidity. Balance, intensity, length, and complexity are all checked. The tannins are noticeable yet discreet as it goes shoulder-to-shoulder with the dominant notes of clementine orange and ginger powder, backed by still alive yet subtle secondary, toasty flavor. This is currently holding a spot on our “top 10 amber wine” list.

Read – 15 Amber Wines (Orange Wines) to Try in Croatia

• Tomac, Amphora Pjenušac Brut, 2010 (Plešivica, Croatia)

A winery located just outside the capital city of Zagreb, Tomac is the de facto name for sparkling wine in Croatia. Allegedly, Tomac is the world’s first producer to make a méthode traditionelle sparkling wine with amphora. His first vintage of amphora sparkling wine was in the 2000s. Today, the influence of Tomac and the beauty of amphora sparkling have spread all over Champagne as several renowned grower Champagne houses begin to take inspiration from him.

Right on the same day when the latest issue of Decanter magazine was released and in which this wine was listed under “75 Stellar Buys of 2016”, we visited Tomac and he took us through all of his wines. Decanter magazine describes this wine as a bit rustic, with strong and almost burnt caramel and orange aromas and nuances of autumn fruits with vivid acidity. We agree and also notice some notes of lemon rind, brioche, pleasantly oxidative tone, and a drying finish. It is only lightly effervescent but has a wonderfully tiny bubble structure.

Read – Tomac Winery: Leading the Charge in Croatia

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 Exotic Wine Travel’s 16 Wines of 2016 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 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.

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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.