On 7 August 2017, we were invited to lead a one-hour panel discussion at Twitter’s #winemktmonday. In this article, we’ve stitched all our responses together as coherent answers and added defined contexts and examples to them. We choose against sharing the original transcript due to Twitter’s 140-character limitation—which can lead to awkward sentence structure, annoying formatting stuffed with acronyms, bad spelling, and seemingly terse responses. So this is the “cleaned up version” of the discourse. Bear in mind that #winemktmonday is meant to be a brief and candid discussion about a chosen topic; the conversations and answers are not all-encompassing.

How does one even begin to approach and learn about lesser-known wine countries and regions?
Through the following approaches:
A. Online research
B. Reach out to country/regional specialists, e.g. writers, sommeliers, MWs, winemakers.
C. Connect with the local communities via social media.
D. Read extensively. Wine Grapes and The Oxford Companion to Wine are two must-have resources for wine lovers.

Key areas to understand:
A. Autochthonous and international grapes grown in the country.
B. Its wine regions and appellations.
C. Climatic and geographical features.
D. Heat map of the wine cultures, viticulture philosophies, and wine styles. These include people’s relationship with wine (do the locals pair wine with food, do they drink homemade wine or bottled wine, how much do they spend on wine, etc.), farming practices (are growers moving towards biodynamic or organic practice, how do they train their vines, etc.), and winemaking approaches (any carbonic maceration, stem inclusion, newfangled technique, etc.)

The last point, D, has to be observed, learned, and concluded through first-hand experiences, which is why wine tourism is so important and eye-opening.

Visiting a vineyard in the Fruška Gora wine region of Serbia.

How do you promote the lesser-known wine regions?
We write multimedia reports, long-form articles, short tasting notes, and bite-sized social media updates. We also produce videos and books. We manually input information about lesser-known wines on Vivino for people to discover. The key is to create and share information that intrigues, entertains, informs, and educates wine lovers of all levels.

How did you begin to work with a book publisher?
Our first book Travel Learn Earn, which is not wine related, was published by a Canadian publisher. Since then, we’ve moved on and registered our own publishing company. Now we run the entire process ourselves. This set-up gives us more flexibility to respond to market needs and promote our books the way we want. It also gives us the space to make mistakes as early as possible, learn our lessons, move on quickly, and become better at what we do. The process of writing a book, publishing, and marketing it creates so many opportunities for us to learn about the industry and gain business acumen.

What kind of content is in the wine books?
Every single book follows a different style and format. Uncorking the Caucasus is a part-narrative and part-wine travel guide. Some readers say it’s like Eat Pray Love for wine lovers. Sipping Santa Barbara is a practical wine tourism guide, quite Lonely Planet in style. For Cracking Croatia, we are a tad ambitious, we try to emulate the format of Wine Bible.

In all our books, we provide information about the autochthonous and key international grapes planted, an overview of the wine regions, an introduction to general wine styles, insider tips and anecdotes, and of course, wine recommendations.

Who is your target audience?
The vinous curious, including wine enthusiasts, importers, and winemakers.

Do governments help spread the word about wine regions?
Absolutely. Ideally, there should be collaborations between the government and private sectors. We do work with some of these teams from both sides. In Croatia, the academia is involved as well.

How does social media play a part in your promotion of these regions?
We post videos twice a week on our YouTube channel and publish articles at least two times a week on our Exotic Wine Travel website. We also update our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter every day. As mentioned earlier, we use Vivino, which is a social wine app.

Social media is great for connecting with casual wine drinkers and explorers on a personal level. We love sharing our vinous experiences in the lesser-known wine regions with locals and wine lovers from all over the world. It’s an efficient way to garner awareness for these regions and cross-pollinate interest within our community. For example, if someone likes Georgian qvevri wine and finds out that Croatia makes minimal-intervention, skin-contact wine too, the person will now be keen to learn more about Croatian wine.

Social media plays a huge role in the promotion of our books and brings customized, updated information to our readers. It’s an environment that demands value-driven conversations. We are also active on wine forums, which gives us the opportunities to learn from people in the industry and understand the mindset of wine collectors.

Essentially, social media acts a platform for research, education, communication, customer service, and sales. On that note, the idea of social selling is still a very new concept to many industries, including wine. But simultaneously, social media is not rocket science. It’s a platform for people to be decent and curious human beings, connect with each other, and learn from each other.

What is the content of your video?
Live tasting, visits to wineries and vineyards, and general wine tourism shots. We call it “edutainment”.

What are the emerging wine styles and regions?
There’s no singular wine style dominating the wave of the next big thing. But generally, we see more diversity and openness from both the producers and consumers.

There are now more wines being made from native cultivars. There are more varied flavor profiles because of those autochthonous grapes. There are also more options in winemaking—skin contact, stem inclusion, aging wine in the sea, fermentation in clay, vessels, etc.

For emerging regions, they are everywhere and every place gets a relatively fair chance at excelling. The differentiators are a region’s ability to create a strong brand narrative and enable stakeholders to work in unison. Having a wide price range doesn’t hurt either. Georgia has been great at all that.

How can an emerging wine region stand out from the crowd?
The wine and wine tourism industries don’t grow in silos. Think of a wine region as a part of an eco-system that encompasses history, nature, gastronomy, and agriculture. The most sustainable approach is to develop wine tourism as a component of gastronomy tourism, agrotourism, or ecotourism. Experience for the consumers is key here. But there’s also more to that. Think of it as a Consumer’s or Traveler’s Hierarchy of Needs: first comes the purchase or possession, second is the experience. The next level of revelation is, in fact, found in the value of learning. To get to the apex of excellence and turn consumers into evangelists, wine regions need to offer experiences that make them feel proud of what they’ve learned so they’ll be inspired to become vocal advocates and teachers.

Native grapes and a long or fascinating wine history can contribute greatly to the brand identity and unique selling proposition too. Armenia has an edge in this regard.

What are the wine regions you are currently most passionate about?
Of course, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Santa Barbara, and Croatia take up a huge chunk of our passion and attention. We’ve written books about all these wine countries! We’re aiming to execute our projects on Cyprus, Mexico, and Serbia in 2018. We’ve already visited those three countries and did preliminary research trips. We’re definitely keen to explore Central Europe like Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

A view of the Dingač vineyard in Croatia.

Have you been to a South American wine region? Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay?
Not yet. We are very interested in what’s happening in Brazil. Like Indonesia, they get two to three harvests a year. We might be able to visit Argentina and Uruguay soon. Peru is fascinating as a gastronomy destination. Of course, we would love to explore Chile and drink Don Melchor every day when we are there.

What are the key challenges that up-and-coming wine regions face?
Production side: price. Many producers have to procure land and modern equipment. Unlike established wine countries in Western Europe, like Italy, those necessities are not passed down from the previous generations. High-cost price triggers high retail price that consumers don’t always agree with. Many international consumers associate lesser-known wine regions with poor wine, generally poor, and maybe a few good ones. They may think that even if the wines are good, they should be cheap, because they are “not famous”, not Antinori-famous. So why should they have to “risk” $100 buying an Armenian wine when they can spend $40 buying the always-consistent wines from Santa Barbara that they are familiar with? Most consumers are afraid to pay a premium price to explore the “adventurous territory”. As a result, lesser-known, high-quality wines get stuck in the wine geek zone and struggle to cross the line into the international mainstream. Or it could very well go the other way where lesser-known wine regions feel compelled to export only the cheap wine; their reputation gets hurt and they get stuck with the wrong brand perception for decades.

Communication side: lack of information online, e.g. websites are hard to navigate or lack SEO support (don’t appear in search results), information is not consolidated or categorized appropriately, and the information is not in English.

Product development side: Lack of infrastructure for wine tourism, e.g. accommodation, road signs, paved roads.

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At the Demeter-certified, biodynamic vineyard of Weingut Rebenhof Hartmut Aubell, in Sudsteiermark, Austria.

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 How to Promote Wine Tourism and Wines of Lesser Known Regions appeared first on Wine Travel.

To learn more about the wines from Armenia or the Caucasus, check out our book on Amazon. From now until 30 April 2017, 50% of the proceeds from our Amazon store will be donated to Armenia Tree Project.

It’s been over a year since we made our first trip to Armenia for Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia. In 2015, we spent one month in the country tasting wines and meeting producers. In 2016, we returned for a second visit and had the entire trip scheduled around the harvest festival in Areni. After the festival, we decided to set aside another six weeks in Armenia to promote our book, taste wines of the new vintages, and check out the up-and-comers that have popped up between the two trips. Before we commenced the heavy lifting, two of our friends from Hong Kong came to meet us in Armenia. We rented a 4×4 and drove through what seemed like every last inch of the country. The journey took us into the deep southeast, including the disputed territory of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh and finally up to the highlands of the Lake Sevan region before we returned to Yerevan. After a week of roving through the country for leisure, it was back to work.

10 Developments in Armenia’s Wine Industry

1.  A concerted effort to develop Vayots Dzor as an enotourism hotspot. During our first week in Armenia, we attended a few harvest events held in the Vayots Dzor wine region. For the seventh year, these events were organized by the Areni Wine Festival Foundation. It seemed as if all the residents of the region had turned up at the event. Children were singing and young adults were dancing. The colors of the stalls and traditional costumes painted the village in technicolor. The aromas of barbecued meat filled the air. The sound of traditional instruments—such as the dhol, duduk, oud, and qanon—magnified the festivities.

The Areni Havest Festival was held in Vayots Dzor, Armenia.

The Areni Harvest Festival offers an ideal platform to promote Armenia’s history and culture, showcase the local wines, and stimulate the development of rural tourism. While the festival is billed as a wine event, not only will visitors have the opportunity to taste the commercial wines, but also homemade wine (okay… you won’t really enjoy this), fruit vodka, local produce, and traditional dishes.

Most of the festivities are held in the Rind and Areni villages. Both villages are located at around 1,000 meters in elevation and set amid a backdrop of higher mountains. Two historical landmarks, the Noravank Monastery and Arpa River, are within a short driving distance from the villages.

Vayots Dzor is the most famous wine region in Armenia and a place steeped in wine history and tradition. Just a few kilometers from the village of Areni is the Areni Cave Complex, which dates back to 4100 BC and is touted to be the oldest winery in the world. This region is also home to some of the oldest vineyards in Armenia and the cultivar Areni, which is named after the village.

With all these unique selling propositions, several groups are capitalizing on Vayots Dzor to stimulate tourism. A long-term development plan is currently in place and the initiatives include the creation of a wine route, stakeholder coordination, destination branding, and capacity building of providers.

2.  Aligning enotourism with ecotourism. The terms “enotourism” and wine tourism”  may be used interchangeably. Enotourism can also be considered a component of gastronomy tourism and ecotourism. And Armenia is the perfect candidate to develop these different facets of tourism.

Located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, Armenia is home to beautiful landscapes and rich biodiversity. Many organizations—from governmental, to non-profit, and private—are cognizant of Armenia’s potential as a travel destination and aim to develop the various tourism touchpoints with economical sustainability and cultural vitality in mind.

During our stay in Armenia, we had the opportunity to participate in a wine tourism workshop organized by Smithsonian Institution.

The most significant project happening right now is My Armenia. Funded by USAID and implemented by the Smithsonian Institution, according to its website:

“My Armenia harnesses the power of storytelling to strengthen cultural heritage sustainability through community-based tourism development. This collaborative project between the people of Armenia, the Smithsonian, and USAID will unfold over the next four years.”

Wine tourism is a key product under My Armenia’s project and the project team is spearheading the development of Vayots Dzor as an enotourism hotspot. Other notable initiatives related to enotourism, gastronomy tourism, and ecotourism include:
–  The Ministry of Agriculture has set up the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia to help with the development of Armenia’s wine industry.
–  An NGO called Development and Preservation of Armenian Culinary Traditions is organizing three gastronomy festivals in 2017.
–  A few social enterprises and private companies are in the infancy stage of creating tours, treks, and facilities in the rural areas of Armenia. The Ministry of Nature Protection has also recently assembled a team to work on ecotourism.

3.  The intention to make wine into a democratic product. We believe that the baseline of Armenian wine is relatively high. With over 30 wineries, it is surprisingly easy to find a pleasant wine in Armenia, which is not something we can say about many other countries. As for fine wine, a few may stand a good chance of winning at international competitions, but the range of Armenian fine wine still needs work.

What’s impressive about the current selection of Armenian wines is that there’s a good mix of big producers who have the resources and scalability to make affordable wine, and there are also the artisanal producers who are single-mindedly experimenting with native grapes. Even among the bigger producers, there are the entry-level bottling and the premium bottling to suit different palates, expectations, and budgets. Armenia Wine Company, Karas, and Voskevaz are some of the biggest wineries in the country. All three offer high-level wines and also serviceable wines that can cost as little as USD5 at cellar price.

The caveat is that, in terms of the quality of the entry-level wine, a few producers admit that much improvement is required to achieve a compelling quality-price ratio; and we agree: there needs to be a segment of well-made, affordable wines to attract the general public. Bear in mind that Armenia’s GDP per capita is USD3,500. As a reference point: in Croatia, a country with a GDP per capita of USD11,537, the premium wines are priced up to around‎ €150/.75-litre bottle, while a decent bag-in-a-box can be found at under €3/liter.

The wine culture of Armenia was lost during the Soviet period and much work is needed now to reacquire it. The idea of “bringing wine to people” (having wine events in the city) instead of “people going to wine” (having people travel to wineries) is a practical approach to catapult wine education. As it seems, some wineries agree with this way of promoting their own wines and nurturing wine- drinking and appreciation behaviors too; both Voskevaz and Maran wineries have set up wine bars in town, called Voskevaz Wine Time and Enoteca EVN respectively.

4.   The potential for growth in wine exports. During the Soviet times, Armenia, unlike Georgia, was perceived as a brandy-producing country instead of wine. The legacy of the Soviet continues to be felt in Armenia today. As reported by several local news agencies, Armenian wine exports saw 20 to 30 percent increment in 2016.  However, to put things in perspective: Armenia exports about 2 million bottles of wine per year, while the neighboring Georgia exports close to 50 million bottles.

The challenge is that up until now, Armenia does not have the resources to produce cheap wines (CIF: <$2 per bottle), which are in the greatest demand in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. However, the country is looking beyond the Eurasian Economic Union and good-quality Armenian wines can now be found in several European Union countries including Belgium, France, Italy, and the Netherlands, and also lucrative wine markets, such as China and USA.

Exotic Wine Travel recording an episode about the wines from Karas winery.

We believe that there’s no worthwhile strategy in or urgency for Armenia to go into the low-price and high-volume red ocean; instead, it should opt for brand building and sustainable development through the export of wine that adequately represents Armenia’s unique terroir and background story. A quick search on the internet shows the delicious and polished Karas Red Wine is going at USD$13 in the United States, and the prime example of the native Areni grape Zorah Karasi can be found at under £20 in the United Kingdom.

5.  International press and awareness. In the past year, Armenian wine has been garnering significant attention from the international press, thanks to a few individuals and organizations. Julia Harding of JancisRobinson.com wrote a tasting article after visiting Zorah Winery in September 2016. Miquel Hudin, who runs a wine blog called Wine on VI, wrote a concise introduction to Armenian wines. The magazine Saveur published a multi-page spread dedicated to wine and travel in Armenia. And most recently, The Vine & Wine Foundation sponsored a group of international bloggers on a tasting visit. Most of those who were invited have already blogged about their experiences with Armenian wines.

The Van Ardi winery was a big winner at the 2017 Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Awards.

Media coverage aside, Armenian wine companies are also making great strides in gaining industry recognition. Just last month, 19 Armenian wine producers participated in the 2017 Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Awards. Among the 58 wines presented, 23 of them received a medal. This outstanding result was reported on the Mundus Vini’s website:

“At the 20th anniversary event of MUNDUS VINI, which is regarded all over the world as one of the leading competitions for sparkling, still and liqueur wines, wines from abroad also received 275 medals, while those of less well-known origins such as Armenia, Mexico, Russia or China appealed for their excellent qualities.”

6.  Going organic, going karas. Armenia is located at the intersection of the European and Arabian tectonic plates. As a result, the country experiences frequent seismic activities, which bring along volcanic soil that is great for viticulture. Armenia’s high altitude and extreme continental climate make for a truly special environment for grape cultivation. The intensely hot summers and biting cold winters give the grapes bold characteristics and high acidity. The highlands produce a range of microclimates. This high elevation also breeds a high concentration of polyphenols in the grapes, which may help to prevent degenerative diseases. With these climatic, geographical, geological uniqueness from nature, many wine producers are already creating wine through sustainable farming and minimal intervention in the winery. And now with additional governmental support, some of these wineries are on the way to becoming certified-organic in the coming years, with Trinity Canyon Vineyards currently in the lead.

Red wines are stored and aged in these buried clay vessels at the Zorah winery.

The usage of clay vessels is another movement in wine production that we’ve observed. In 2015, when we first visited Armenia, only Zorah winery was working with karas (Armenian clay vessels). By 2016, Voskevaz had launched its first vintage of premium bottling called Karasi Collection. There are currently two other producers who are experimenting with karas and concrete vats.

7.  An influx of winemaking talent. Armenia is home to one of the oldest winemaking traditions in the world. Add that to the unique grape-growing conditions, it is easy to understand why many winemakers aspire to make wine here. Assisted by the outreach efforts of Vahe Keushguerian from Semina Consulting, an influx of winemaking talent has gone hand in hand with the country’s new chapter in wine. Vahe is currently working with French oenologist, Michelle Rolland, on the Karas wines. Another superstar winemaker Paul Hobbs—who was previously with Robert Mondavi, Opus One, and Simi—has also started a project in Armenia. Other foreign talents that are working with the Armenian grapes include:
– Alberto Antonini (Zorah winery)
– Emilio del Medico (ArmAs winery)
– Jean-Baptiste Soula (Armenia Wine Company)
– Jean-Luc Isnard (Trinity Canyon Vineyards)

The existing portfolio of wines produced by Qotot winery.

Last year, we were also thrilled to discover a new winery created by a French-Armenian partnership. Called Qotot (translates to “little bear”), the winery is making a white wine from the Voskehat grapes, and a rosé and red from the Areni grapes. The winemaker Didier Cornillon used to make wine in France, Tunisia, and Uruguay.

8.  The grape Voskehat continues to scale new heights. In Armenia, the flagship red wine grape is Areni and flagship white is Voskehat. Voskehat is also blended with Kangoun and several other grapes to make the famous Armenian brandy that Winston Churchill loved dearly. The grape Voskehat was favored during Soviet times because of its resistance to the cold and fungus. It was used to make “sherry-type” wines that were beloved by the old USSR.

The day when we got to taste the excellent Zorah Voskì 2015 (a blend of Voskehat and Garandmak). 2015 is the second vintage of the Voskì bottling and a tremendous improvement from the first vintage. We highly recommend this wine!

When we did our preliminary research trip through Armenia in 2015, almost every winery was already making a white wine with Voskehat. However, there were less than a handful that we liked. At that time, many of the Voskehat-based wines were overpowered by earthy flavors, with little fruit characteristic, and has low acidity and high ph.

What a difference one year of experience makes! The newest vintage of Voskehat wines is impressive, with mineral and stone fruit flavors, held together by higher acidity. The abundance of volcanic soil throughout the country adds a certain mineral flavor to many Armenian wines but this shines through in the whites made from Voskehat. Last year, we were ready to dismiss the variety but this vintage has given us a surge of confidence that Voskehat can make great white wine.

9.  Indigenous grapes continue to show up. In addition to Voskehat, there are efforts underway to revive other indigenous varieties as well. During our last trip, we saw many new, monovarietal wines made from the red wine grapes Tigrani, Tozot, and Haghtanak. Of the three grapes, Haghtanak, which translates to “victory”, was the most impressive. Based on the small sample size we tried, Haghtanak wine tends to be rich, dense, and beautifully structured. In a few years, we believe that Haghtanak may make Armenian wines that can be just as impressive as those made from Areni. Keep a lookout for the varietal Haghtanak wines made by Zara winery and Voskevaz winery.

A map of Armenian indigenous cultivars. Semina Consulting is using DNA technology to identify grapes found in abandoned monasteries and villages, then cultivating those grapes in nurseries. The group has been successful at recovering some historic wine grapes and bringing them back to life.

Throughout the world, there’s a growing demand for obscure varieties that offer different flavor profiles and challenge the palate. While there’s no promise of commercial success for all the Armenian grape varieties, only trials and tribulations will show us the right path.

10.  New wine bars and restaurants. The capital city Yerevan is the best place to explore wine in Armenia. Outside of Yerevan and the wineries, it’s a challenge to find an exciting bottle and have it served in a civilized manner. A different challenge remains in Yerevan as it is difficult to find non-smoking establishments—just like in Tbilisi, Georgia. We saw at least five new wine bars this year and unfortunately, many of them allowed smoking so we didn’t patronize them. But hooray, a good news: we were told that a developer is working on a mobile app that identifies non-smoking places in Yerevan.

Our three favorite places to enjoy wine are In Vino EVN, Wine Republic, and Anoush Restaurant. These three places offer similar wine lists but vastly different experiences.

In Vino is a quintessential wine bar for day drinking with lots of natural light, cafe-like interior, and compact selection of cold cuts and cheeses. Of course, not limited to the day, this place is open until late and ready for your long wine-out with friends. In Vino boasts the biggest selection of Armenian and international wines out of the three.

Wine Republic is a place to spend an evening over wine and dinner (open for lunch too). It offers a good selection of local and international wines, a full course menu, and a casual-chic ambiance. Many winemakers frequent this place. Our food recommendations: bruschetta, mushroom cream soup, french onion soup, foie gras, and beef bourguignon. The management of Wine Republic has recently opened a Pan-Asian restaurant called Thai Wine Republic and it’s located right next to Wine Republic.

Exotic Wine Travel posing for a picture with the brains behind Armenia Tree Project at our book launch.

Finding a restaurant to enjoy local food and wine without smoke is like wondering when to open the last bottle of your priced Barolo. Agonizing, and the outcome is just never quite right. This is why Anoush really shines. It is located in the Republica Hotel and makes a great alternative to the reputable, high-end Dolmama restaurant. Anoush’s menu is exciting and offers many Armenian dishes that can’t be found anywhere else. Do try the grilled eggplants, salt-crusted fish, as well as the traditional dessert made from pistachios and mascarpone cheese. The wine list here is humble but enough to show you a good time.

We liked all three places so much that we did one book launch at each venue.

Conclusion: Creating A Narrative for the Future

Vahe Keushguerian, founder of Semina Consulting, is a dear friend of ours. He was instrumental in helping us put together the “Armenia” chapter of our book. As we were chatting one evening, Vahe shared that he believes Armenia would be able to produce three world-class wines within the next 10 years. By world-class, we mean a wine that we can enjoy every night over dinner, but would rather take it out of the cellar once a year after a period of aging. By world-class, we mean a wine that will no doubt do well at competitions. A wine with balance, structure, depth, length, and aging potential. Looking at the rate of improvement between 2015 and now, we agree with him.

Armenia’s winemaking culture has endured the test of time for good reasons. It has the right climate and soil characteristics that suit wine grape production. The modern Armenian wine industry is weaved by modern accessibility, historic connection, craftsmanship, practicality, and business acumen. But it will be the spirit and vision of the Armenian people that will ultimately drive its industry forward.

Our Interview in Armenia

In November, we were invited to join news anchor Roubina Margossian for a segment on CivilNet TV Armenia. In this interview, we shared the many background stories of our book including its genesis, our travel experience in Armenia, and anecdotes about the history of wine. CivilNet TV is headquartered in Yerevan, Armenia and is dedicated to bringing relevant, credible news to the region. When we enquire about the positioning of CivilNet, a staff said,”Like CNN, but more credible.” The news channel also models after a new movement of journalism—with livestreaming and on-demand coverage about Armenia and the Caucasus. We’ve enjoyed many of the videos on their website and are humbled to be featured.

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The post Armenian Wines: One Year Later appeared first on Wine Travel.

Exploring Georgia through the Vines

While several countries  may have evidence for being the birthplace of grape wine, Georgia is the most outspoken about it. Some historians and linguists believe that “gvino/ღვინო”, the Georgian word for wine, is the precursor of vino, vin, wein, and wine. Scientists have found residue of wine in clay jars in Georgia dating back to 6000 BC, which means the country’s wine history could very well be over 8,000 years old. According to a source on the ground (we weren’t able to validate this claim): in the 6th century, Georgia became the first country to establish viticulture as an academic major. To date, there are more than 500 indigenous grape varieties identified, though only about 30 varieties are used in winemaking and a handful is used widely. The traditional Georgian way of making wine in buried clay vessels called qvevri is a UNESCO-listed tradition.

About Saperavi

“sah-per-ra-vee “
True to its name which translates to “dye” in English, Saperavi produces wine that’s inky, deep red to black in color, often accompanied by a full body and profound texture. Like Alicante Bouschet, it is teinturier with dark skin, dark flesh, and dark juice. But different from the fate of Alicante Bouschet, which is rarely used to make varietal wine, Saperavi is known to fly solo more often than not in Georgia.

Originated from Kakheti in eastern Georgia, this is the most widely planted red wine variety in the country. Today, Saperavi can also be found in the vineyards of Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Moldova, Russia, and USA.

Due to the grape’s sapid tannin, marked acidity, and myriad characteristics such as black fruit, licorice, chocolate, smoked meat, and savory spice, it is extremely versatile and can be made into rosé, dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and fortified wines. A well-made, dry Saperavi wine is redolent of a mix between Blaufrankisch and Syrah. A well-made Saperavi wine can also express an astonishing amount of energy in the mouth and potential for aging. It’ll compel you to find that moment, that person, and that dish with the same amount of intensity to match with the wine.

With over 4,000-hectare of Saperavi vines planted, it is understandable that the Georgian Saperavi wines cover a range of quality. In this article, we’ll highlight the ones that have impressed us over and over again.

Lisa Granik MW mentioned in an interview that Saperavi wines made in the traditional qvevri style are getting most of the attention. While we, too, are supporters of Georgian winemakers who fight to preserve their identity and tradition through the qvevri, we’d like to shed some light on the ones that don’t fully conform to the traditional method and yet are just as spectacular in their sensory merits and story-telling capability as their laissez-faire counterpart.

Lagvinari, Saperavi, 2011

Dr Eko Glonti is a true renaissance man who has an affinity for art, history, literature, and music. A medical-doctor-turned-geologist-turned-winemaker, his wines are often described as clean, balanced, and distinctly Georgian yet suitably easy for any wine lover to enjoy. He makes between 15,000 and 30,000 bottles of wine every year.

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.

Eko currently works with a group of local grape growers to craft his wine in the vineyards, though he has plans to acquire a few plots of his own in the near future. All of his wines are monovarietal, made from indigenous varieties of the Imereti wine region in western Georgia; the grapes are fermented in qvevri with natural yeast; the Lagvinari wines are unfined, unfiltered, and a small amount of sulfur is added only before bottling.

The only exception is this Saperavi, which is indigenous to Kakheti and fermented in steel tanks. This is the first and the last vintage of Saperavi that Lagvinari is producing; but fret not, there are still quite a few bottles circulating in the market.

The Lagvinari wines have gained international attention as it is featured on the menus of several Michelin-starred restaurants in London and media outlets like Jancis Robinson and Financial Times.

Tasting Notes

A quick sniff gives the impression of tiramisu! Mocha and marzipan, spiced by pepper. A second, deeper sniff reveals plum, blackberry, black pepper, and earthy notes. The palate reflects the bouquet—fruit driven with traces of peppery and savory characteristics. An inky, deep red, almost opaque wine with huge body and texture. Structure and balance are precise, with medium-plus acidity, and powerful but ready tannins. A wine that has the potential for long cellaring. It tastes better with at least two hours of decanting prior to drinking.

We tasted this wine multiple times, on multiple occasions, with multiple permutations of people. The feedback from those who drank the wine for the first time range from “This is fucking sexy,” to “How is it possible that there’s no oak in this,” and thoughtful notes like “This could easily appeal to Croatian red wine, specifically Plavac Mali, lovers. Sour cherry, prune, ripe dark fruit, fragrant and clean expression of variety and oaky spiciness; complex and refreshing, with youthful tannins—would be very interesting to taste after a few years.”

Jakeli, Saperavi, Unfiltered Dry Red, 2014

We had the 2012 and 2014 vintages and loved both but preferred this newer release. For practicality sake, it also makes more sense to review the latest vintage due to market supply and availability. The 2012 vintage received 89 points from Wine Enthusiast.

Both are great wines. 2012 gives the immediate impression that it’s more tart, more savory, spicier, and driven by black fruit whereas 2014 is more luscious, more sweet brown spice instead of piquant black pepper, and has both black and red fruit notes.

Photo taken from facebook.com/jakeliwines

Established in 2001 in the village of Khashmi in Kakheti, Jakeli is a pioneer of certified organic wine in Georgia. The first commercial vintage is 2008 and the first organic vintage is 2009. The total vineyard size is 5.5 hectares, with vines planted at 760-meter above sea level on the southwest foothill of the Tsiv Gombori mountain range. The vineyards are never irrigated and are sprayed with copper and sulfur at most five times a year. Some biodynamic practices are also incorporated. The grapes are hand-picked. Fermentation is done in steel tanks without the addition of synthetic chemical or cultivated yeast. Sulfur is used in the small amounts only after the malolactic fermentation. All Jakeli wines are aged for at least 18 months in both the steel tank and bottle before release.

 

Tasting Notes

The wine is extremely dark, almost black, with a luscious and silky mouthfeel. It exudes beautiful notes of chocolate, tobacco leaf, game, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, red plum, red currant, blackberry, and licorice—which makes me think of Mexican mole sauce poured over Christmas pudding. Funky, but definitely an intriguing idea. The acidity leads the flavors into a long finish, highlighted by grippy, sweet tannins. This wine benefits from a few hours of decanting before consumption.  This is an exemplar of Saperavi’s potential. 

Want More? Need More? Can’t Get Enough of Saperavi Now?

Another qvevri wine to check out is Satrapezo Saperavi. Jamie Goode wrote a review about the 2006 vintage and described the wine as “astonishingly good”. This wine is produced by Telavi Wine Cellar, one of the largest wineries in Georgia. And with a large company comes a large distribution network. Check out its worldwide distribution list here and you might be able to procure a bottle of Georgian Saperavi wherever you are. We’ve tasted the more recent vintages of Satrapezo Saperavi, enjoyed them, and wrote about them in our book Uncorking the Caucasus.

It’s a wine that would offer a favorable first impression to people who are new to Saperavi or qvevri wine. It is also the most conventional-, European- and oaky- tasting wine among all the qvevri wines that we’ve tasted—which can be a good thing, or unexciting.

Also, check out this episode of Exotic Wine Travel where we tasted two other Saperavi wines, Khareba Saperavi Premium Gold 2010 and Kortavebis Marani Saperavi 2014 side by side.

Search or buy Saperavi on Wine Searcher.
Learn more about Georgian wine in our article The Unstoppable Progress in the Georgian Wine Scene.
This article is not associated with endorsements of any kind.

The post Saperavi: Georgia’s Flagship Red Wine Grape appeared first on Wine Travel.

In sharing our interviews, we hope to show you a more intimate side of us, our struggles as wine travelers and entrepreneurs, and our passion for the same magic-in-a-bottle that you love. A reminder for ourselves and perhaps relevant to you too: as we tackle the new year, don’t forget how important it is to celebrate the small victories in your life, and also be open about your shortcoming and weaknesses. In this new year, let’s all learn to be more relatable, more human, and invite each other to be a part of our own stories.

 Wine Two Five Podcast

The Wine Two Five podcast first caught our ear in May 2016.  The first episode we listened featured the famous wine educator Karen MacNeil. Several months later, we were asked to be guests on the podcast. With a slogan like “Everyday drinking for everyday people”, Wine Two Five fully delivers on its mission of highlighting personalities from the wine industry and making wine simple and fun. The podcast is run by two enthusiastic hosts, Stephanie Davis and Valerie Caruso.

Thanks to technology! We were in Armenia, Stephanie was in Italy, and Valerie was in Colorado, USA at the time of recording. In fact, we were in the middle of a wine-fuelled party at the ArmAs winery (it was the owner’s birthday party) when the call happened. Big thanks to the team at ArmAs that helped us to look for a private room without ambient noise to do the call and for being accommodating to our needs! We had a wonderful time chatting with Valerie and Stephanie and could have gone on for hours.

GDS TV, Georgia

In 2016, we spent five weeks in Georgia to get updated on the changes in the wine industry, acquaint ourselves with the wineries that we missed out during our one-month research trip in 2015, and also to promote our book, Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia. On the last few days of our stay, our dear friend John Wurdeman had just come back from Ukraine to Tbilisi, Georgia. It was very thoughtful of him to invite us to a national TV daily show that he was hosting.

https://www.facebook.com/GDSofficial/videos/1208306375924662/

During this live talk show, we share our experience traveling through Georgia, why the Georgian wines are quite different from wines from the rest of the world, our favorite winery in Georgia, our favorite Georgian dish, the mission of Exotic Wine Travel, what keeps us going and what tears us apart as a couple traveling and doing business together.

CivilNet TV, Armenia

As in every wine country that we traveled through, there’s always a generous friend who believes in our work and goes above and beyond to help us with forwarding our project. In the case of Armenia, it was Vahe Keushguerian, winemaker at Keush winery and project manager at Karas winery. Vahe introduced us to Roubina, the presenter at CivilNet and from there, an interview segment was arranged. When we enquire about the positioning of CivilNet, a staff said,”Like CNN, but more credible.” CivilNet.TV is platform that champions a new movement of journalism—with livestreaming and on-demand coverage about Armenia and the Caucasus. The presentation is done in both Armenian and English. We’ve enjoyed many of the videos on their website and are humbled to be featured on the channel.

In this interview, we talk about how we ended up traveling through the Caucasus, our travel experiences in Armenia, thoughts on Armenian wine, the definition of “the birthplace of wine”, and the anecdotal stories we gathered from our wine exploration.

#UncorkingTheCaucasus: Most Shared Articles of 2016

After seven months of traveling through the wine regions in Western Europe and the Caucasus, Exotic Wine Travel was established in December 2015 with the objective to promote wines from the lesser-known wine regions. You can read more about the genesis of Exotic Wine Travel and our transition from our past life to present here.

Uncorking the Caucasus is the first of a series of wine travel books that we will be releasing. This book is designed to serve as a foundational introduction to the wines of Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey. The book was released on 1 October 2016. In the two months prior to the title hitting the shelf, we started writing articles about the wines from Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey. Many more articles were released after the book was published.

Here are the top three most popular articles based on the number of shares on social media.

Trendsetter: Vahe Keushguerian from Armenia

Trendsetter: Oliver Gareis from Amadeus Winery, Turkey

A Brief History of Wine from the Caucasus

The post Making #UncorkingTheCaucasus appeared first on Wine Travel.

There was nothing wrong with our lives, but we wanted more. Less routine, more adventure, and more travel.

Eating out in Singapore, one of our favorite past times in the Lion City

Our first book was published and we held the launch party one day before we left Singapore. The book was entitled Travel Learn Earn: Let The World Be Your Guide To Freedom. The book was based on my first experience traveling around the world. It summed up my six-month solo experience through India, Pakistan, Tibet, Thailand, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Singapore. It highlighted my journey from being a broke backpacker, to broke young professional, to finally a successful businessman. At first, I thought that we wanted to go into the business/personal development, training and speaking business.

After a few months on the road, Charine and I decided to move into a different direction.

On The Road

The first few months on the road were fantastic. We started in Switzerland and traveled from Geneva to Central Italy with my parents. The trip was an anniversary present to my parents and it was very rewarding to see them have a great time. Both of my parents are not big drinkers but had no qualms washing every meal down with a few bottles of wine.

After two weeks, my parents flew home. We set off for Barolo and Barbaresco eating and drinking until our heart’s content. After enjoying the culinary and wine gems of the region, we dropped off our rental car and flew to Sicily. The island of Sicily was amazing and we sampled incredible street food, found Charine’s favorite beach (Cefalu), and climbed Stromboli at sunset to watch it erupt. All of those experiences were great, but our real focus was to visit the famous Etna wine region.

Nearing the top of Mt. Stromboli as the sun sets over the Mediterranean

Tasting wines on Mt. Etna is exciting and fascinating. How often do you get to taste wine while viewing a smoking volcano? We spent our last night on Etna finishing up dinner, only to watch a fresh basket of porcini mushrooms come into the restaurant. There was no choice but to order a second round of porcini infused dishes.

Our next stop was Portugal and the romantic Douro Valley – where we tasted a number of stunning dry reds. From there we moved on to Galicia in Northern Spain and drove across the country. We drove to meet our friend in the foodie mecca of San Sebastian. In San Sebastian, we ate until our heart’s content in the old town, where streets are lined with wonderful Pintxos (tapas) bars.  After northern Spain, we tasted our way through the famous Rioja region on the way to Madrid.

The Genesis of Our First Wine Book

After Spain, we flew to Turkey to begin our three-month jaunt across the Anatolian Plateau into the Caucasus Region. Traveling through Turkey was exhilarating and delicious. The food, culture, and people fascinated us. On the other hand, being an enotourist through Turkey was incredibly frustrating as wineries are not allowed to market or advertise their wines and locations.

We were extremely diligent in trying to locate wineries and taste as much as we could. In the middle of our journey through Turkey, Charine suggested that we should be part of the wine industry in some way, shape, or form. As we made our way across the plateau and into Georgia it became evident that wine was our destiny.

We arrived in Georgia in the Fall of 2015 and made our way up to the magical mountains of Svaneti. Traveling through Georgia had always been a dream for me and I wasn’t let down. Georgia is magical, beautiful, and intoxicating at the same time.

Crossing a mountain pass in Georgia on our way to Kazbegi

The only thing that was difficult in Georgia was finding information on the wines. There was a boom of information available about Georgian wines published in early 2016 – but we were there a few months too early for that. Our Georgian wine research was limited strictly to trial and error.

By the time we crossed over into Armenia, the seed we had planted in our minds began to sprout. We arrived at the right time in Armenia. With the modern wine industry being a few years old, there were mavericks all over the country with big visions. So many fascinating people were doing amazing things and their stories needed to be told. After tasting through Armenia we made the choice to dive into the wine industry head first – focusing on “exotic” wine regions.

The Official Start of Exotic Wine Travel

The Christmas and New Year Season of 2015 saw us spending time with family. We flew to the USA to spend time with my family and then to Singapore to celebrate New Years in the Lion City. After 2016 began we relaunched our website Exotic Wine Travel which was formerly known as The Blue Roster. We also started our YouTube channel “Exotic Wine Travel.” The first few episodes were as expected… terrible.

Charine needed more time to be with her family so I went off to Bali to finish the first draft of what would become Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines from Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia. I spent one month in the co-working space Hubud in Ubud, Bali. After one month, writing every day for eight hours, the first draft was finished.

We packed our bags once more and headed back to the USA for a few weeks for a wedding. After the wedding, we went to a part of the world that both of us were always fascinated with, Ex-Yugoslavia. More specifically the countries of Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia.

Our apartment in Montenegro had a spectacular view of the Bay of Kotor.

Three months of tasting wines in that part of the world was unforgettable. Yes, there many breathtaking wines, but the food, culture, and people were showstoppers. Tasting in some of these countries felt like walking back in time. Many of the tasting sessions in the region lasted all afternoon. Stories about the history and culture flowed more freely than the wine during those long afternoons.

Croatia was the last country on our itinerary. We had met a wonderful Croat during our stay in Ubud, Bali and he is an avid wine enthusiast. With his help, we were really able to reach into the underbelly of Croatian food and wine. We fell in love, it became obvious that we needed to write a guide to the wines of Croatia.

Back to the USA

When you are traveling around the world full-time, weddings can be difficult. This was the second time in 2016 that we scheduled our entire lives around a wedding. There were a few things that worked out when we flew back to the USA in May 2016. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC hosted a tasting of Armenian wines. We got a chance to see many of our friends/producers and taste some newly released vintages.

After the wedding, we decided that since we were back in the USA, we should check out the wine scene in Baja Mexico. And since we were going to Baja, it only made sense to make a side trip to my favorite American wine region, Santa Barbara County. We spend a wonderful week in Santa Barbara County reliving my interpretation of the film Sideways. Tasting in SBC was awesome, we tasted over 350 wines during the week. Our electronic book on the Wines of Santa Barbara County will be out this year.

Oh Mexico

James Taylor’s single Mexico was on my mind as we crossed the border and headed towards the port town of Ensenada, Mexico. The city is next to the largest wine producing region in Mexico, the Guadalupe Valley. Baja California produces nearly all of the fine Mexican wine and Ensenada was a perfect place to set up shop for a few months.

We spent two and a half wonderful months in Ensenada. It may be the best food city in the world, period. The fresh seafood from the Pacific prepared with Mexican spices proved a lethal combination. The Mexican wines were very interesting, they ranged from rich and over extracted to extremely well made and elegant.

Good day! We’ll be starting our prelaunch campaign for Uncorking The Caucasus today. Expect tons of info on wines from Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia! But before that, here are some more recent and timely updates on our wine discovery in Baja, Mexico. In the upcoming episode, we introduce the portfolio of @torresalegre and make recommendations on the must-try and must-buy from the winery. 🍷To view full episode or learn more about unique wines from lesser-known wine regions, follow us on Facebook.com/exowinetravel or subscribe to YouTube.com/c/exoticwinetravel🍷

A video posted by Exotic Wine Travel (@exoticwinetravel) on Aug 1, 2016 at 12:37pm PDT

It was a real challenge as Charine was finishing the editing, design, and layout of our first wine book while we had to research the Mexican wines. We managed to get everything done and ready for printing while tasting all of the wines we needed to. Baja wines are garnering a lot of attention and we hope to have our guide out in late 2017.

Back to the Start

We crossed the border and flew from San Diego, California back to Tbilisi, Georgia. Our mission was to attend the United Nation’s first ever Wine Tourism Conference. Launching our book in both Georgia and Armenia was also a high priority. Being back in the country also meant tasting the new vintages. Charine made the two-minute video below that sums up our stint back in the Caucasus.

Closing out 2016

As the days started to grow cold in the Caucasus we made our move to back to Macedonia. Our friend in wine, Ivana Simjanovska, organized the first ever Wine Salon Skopje. It was a marvelous two-day event and we got the chance to taste through new vintages of the Macedonian wines we had earlier in the year.

Our eyes were on Zagreb to finish out 2016. In Croatia, we finished our Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level III Advanced Certification. The end of this year ended in a flurry as we were published on JancisRobinson.com, Wine Folly, and Uncorking the Caucasus received the Gourmand Award for “Best Wine Travel Book.”

As 2016 comes to a close we look to 2017 and the release of three new books. They will be guides to the wines of Santa Barbara County, Baja, and Croatia. Looking ahead into 2017 is scary and exciting, it’s a make-or-break year for us. We have to make the business work this year. Our site continues to grow but we are working towards big breakthroughs that will make everything we gave up in our previous life worth it. Family and financial pressure continue to mount but we that believe that things will be great this year.

This year we start off by tasting through the Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the northeastern corner of Italy before doing a two-week project on the island of Cyprus. I hope that you’ll follow us and learn more about this magical beverage we all know as wine.

20 months of wine travel–from Switzerland, to Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Indonesia, USA, Mexico, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was hard to condense everything into a minute-long preview but here’s a peek. We hope you’ll join us as we continue our journey in 2017. Follow us here on Instagram and Facebook (Exotic Wine Travel). Next year, our journey begins in Friuli, then Cyprus, and… well, who knows!

A video posted by Exotic Wine Travel (@exoticwinetravel) on Dec 30, 2016 at 4:09pm PST

Follow Us

You can follow all our videos, articles, and updates here on the website. We are also extremely active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Vivino.

Our books Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines of Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia and Travel Learn Earn: Let The World Be Your Guide To Freedom are available on Amazon.

Related Articles:
The Start of Something New 
Climbing Mt Stromboli
Travel Lessons from Quitting a Lucrative Career to Chase a Dream
Reflections: Long-Term Travel and the Journey to Becoming Location Independent 

The post The Story of Exotic Wine Travel After 20 Months On The Road 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.

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.

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Sarah Abbott is a Master of Wine who comes from a food-loving family. After working in the IT software industry for several years, she decided to change her career trajectory and immerse in wine in 1996. Her first foray into wine was as a sales and marketing representative at an importing company of domaine-bottled Burgundy. She describes the pay as meager but she “drank like a stockbroker”.

After working with many inspiring people in the wine world and encouraged by them to further her expertise, Sarah enrolled in the Masters of Wine program. In 2008, she earned the academic title MW and off she went with following her heart and working her tail off. She founded Swirl, a wine education and events company that works with customers of different levels — from end-consumers, to corporate clients, importers, and producers. Regardless the setup, her goals are to empower consumers, celebrate the stories of wine, and harness the power of wine to unite people.

Conversation with Sarah Abbott, Master of Wine
& Champion for Lesser-known Wine Regions

• What is the difference between a Master Sommelier (MS) and a Master of Wine (MW)? 

They are two different exams run and awarded by two different organisations. Both require the highest levels of wine knowledge and insight, but they have different emphases and the style of exam is different too. Master Sommeliers have demonstrated their ability and excellence with wine in an on-trade environment. That means verbally showing their knowledge, and displaying physical skill and dexterity when it comes to actually serving wine. The MW exam is all written, there’s no spoken element, and I suppose it’s more theoretical. The syllabus for MW is broader. We don’t go into the depth of wine service that MS does.

• What’s the most valuable lesson you have learned as a Master of Wine?

Cultivate cheerful humility and relentless curiosity. Get organised. Allow yourself to be helped. Be ready to help others. Being a Master of Wine isn’t about proving how great you are. Rather, it is about surrendering yourself to understanding a natural and cultural way in which the world is expressed. During the course of my study, I’ve received first-hand experience of depending on those who came before me, the generosity of producers, and my fellow classmates.

• What does wine mean to you?

Wine is an ambassador for civilisation. It is a symbol of hope, stability, and cultural refinement. More importantly, it represents hospitality and togetherness. It’s a way of understanding our beautiful world. Wine is a way of connecting with friends, soon-to-be friends, and humanity. And it’s really great fun to drink.

• That’s a beautiful way to put it. It’s one of the many reasons why we always enjoy talking to you: we can feel the romance and tenderness in your words. But how do you keep your love for wine from becoming too technical and work related? Is it challenging to have what’s predominantly a hobby and passion to most people as your everyday work?

No, I’m inherently frivolous so keeping fun in my work is really easy for me. I did have ‘if a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing well’ drummed into me as a kid. I’m very lucky to be working with something I love and find so endlessly interesting.

• You’re known to champion lesser-known wine regions. When we traveled through Georgia and Turkey, many winemakers spoke fondly of you. So let’s talk about Turkish wine. Can you tell us a few of your favourite Turkish grape varieties and how they perform next to international, well-known grapes?

Öküzgözü is great fun. It is fleshy, sumptuous, and aromatic. It reminds me a bit of Syrah, but with the aromatics and lift of Sangiovese. Bogazkere is a moody but potentially great variety. I guess you could compare it to Tannat or Nebbiolo because of its tannic structure. But the fruit is darker and less floral. Kalecik Karası is a gorgeously alluring red wine grape. Some people compare it to Pinot Noir, but if so it’s like Pinot Noir on holiday –  very relaxed and not at all neurotic. Narince is like what Pinot Grigio would be if it was more interesting – delicate and sneakily aromatic. Emir is steely – a bit like Manseng but with more aromatics. Sultaniye is really good fun and very drinkable – reminds me of good Pinot Blanc, which I think is a variety much underestimated for uncomplicated pleasure.

• Yes, we are fans of those grapes that you mentioned. There are many distinguished Turkish wine grapes that show a lot of potential. What would you like wine lovers to think or feel when they drink Turkish wine?

Be open, be bold, be hopeful.

• Let’s move on to Georgian wine and specifically, Georgian wine made in the qvevri. What do wine lovers need to know and how can they enjoy it?

Qvevri is one of the oldest winemaking methods in the world, but in Georgia it is an unbroken tradition that exists in both traditional and modern forms. Qvevri are buried clay vessels in which freshly harvested grape bunches are placed and then fermented. Qvevri solve a lot of winemaking problems, so are popular among producers who favour a ‘less is more’ approach when it comes to intervention and additions.

Grapes getting fermented in a buried qvevri at the Pheasant’s Tears winery in Georgia.

• What is the next stage for you? What ambition do you have for your own development and for these lesser-known wine regions that you work with? 

I want to continue to help lesser known and underestimated wines secure their future and find their market. I know that sometimes ‘selling’ is seen as something that is less poetic than the creation of the wines or the tradition of these unique varieties and places. But nothing happens until something is sold. We need to match these quirky, beautiful wines with people who love them and are delighted to buy them. That’s how we keep this sort of wine biodiversity, and link to the past, and give to the future. And create memories. Life is short, and we’re here to enjoy it.

You May Also Enjoy
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How to Promote Wine Tourism and Wines of Lesser-Known Regions
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Trendsetter: Burcak Desombre, Turkish Wine Maestro
Trendsetter: Oliver Gareis From Amadeus Winery, Turkey

The post Trendsetter: Sarah Abbott, Master of Wine appeared first on Wine Travel.

Bozcaada is a tiny Aegean island off the coast of Turkey. It used to belong to Greece and was known as Tenedos. Tenedos is reputed to be the hiding place for the Greek ships in the famous battle for Troy, which happened on the Turkish mainland about five kilometers away.

Bozcaada has always been covered in grapevines. The Greeks understood the magical alchemy for grape growing and tended the vines on the island to make copious amounts of wine that fueled their wild parties dedicated to Dionysus. The island sits in front of the point where the Sea of Marmara empties into the Aegean Sea. It is always windy on the island, and these crosswinds between the two seas seem to magically tend the vines and offer the most pleasant wine tourism experience. The locals love Bozcaada because they say it feels like a big sailboat in the middle of the sea and it never stays still.

Some of our favorite memories in Turkey are made while riding scooters around the island, from winery to winery, and then beach to beach. The pleasant Mediterranean climate flatters the inconspicuous beaches and crystal-clear seawater. The center of the island is lined with rows and rows of vineyards covering the gently rolling hills. The overall atmosphere in Bozcaada is ethereal, and exploring Bozcaada feels like falling into a dream. In 2012, Katie Parla of The New York Times wrote an article entitled On a Turkish Isle, Winds Tend the Vines which paints a magnificent picture of this place.

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While the history of winemaking in Armenia dates back to ancient time, its modern wine industry is still in its infancy stage. As of now, the two head honchos are the critically acclaimed  Zorah Winery and the goliath-sized Karas Winery, which has Michel Rolland as a lead consultant. The rest of the fledgling industry is made up by around 25 commercial wineries, which are constantly improving and are worthy of attention.

In October 2016, we returned to Armenia for a month to gauge how the wineries have been evolving and were delighted to discover a new personage in the fine wine scene.

Voskevaz Winery is named after a village of the same name. It is located on the slopes of 4090-meter-tall Mount Aragats, the highest mountain in the Lesser Caucasus Range. The winery was established in 1932 and was making predominantly Sherry-type wine for the Soviet Union. For a number of years between then and now, the winery fell out of fashion and then bounced back to produce simple table wine and semi-sweet wine for Russia. The wines of Voskevaz were not available in the local market when we visited Armenia in the fall of 2015–as we were tasting and researching for our book Uncorking the Caucasus: Wines From Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia. As of 2016, Voskevaz is rebalancing its focus and putting considerable effort into creating a presence in its domestic market in Armenia. Simultaneously, recent investments have modernized the winery and have given the property an integral facelift.

The head winemaker Alexey Sapsay has spent time in France, Italy, and Spain. His last stint was in the much-heralded Spanish wine region of Priorat. Alexey said that, besides the new focus on the Armenian domestic market, Voskevaz will also be shifting towards making high-quality wines. The harbinger of this shift is its Karasi Collection. The first batch of this premium line is made up of around 3,000 bottles; the winery aims to increase the production to 60,000 bottles, which will include varietal wines made from indigenous Armenian grapes Areni, Voskehat, and the rare Haghtanak.

The winery is less than a half-an-hour drive from the capital city Yerevan. The modern facilities–which includes a restaurant and guest house–are not finished but the new stone buildings are already covered in hand-carved decorations. The winery has the charm of new medieval-inspired architecture coupled with old Soviet buildings. As the village of Voskevaz is a tiny and lesser-developed area, there are high hopes that the finished one-stop compound of Voskevaz will bring much-needed jobs and economic growth to the village.

EXOTIC WINE TRAVEL’S PICKS

•  Voskevaz Rosé 2014 – 100% Areni

Salmon in color. The aromas are muted with a hint of strawberry and mineral. In the mouth, the flavors are packed with characteristics of melon, strawberry, earth, spice, and flower. A shy yet charismatic rosé.

• Voskevaz Areni 2013

Inviting aromas of cherry-coated sweetness, brown spice, smoke, and a slight earthiness. The palate is loaded with tastes of sour cherry, red kool-aid, and smoke. The end-plate is noticeably grassy. With all these characteristics packed in a glass, this is one of the few Areni wines that bear a strong resemblance to a Californian Pinot Noir, yet distinctly different because of its smoothness, earthiness, and spice. A fantastic food wine.

• Voskevaz Karasi Collection Voskehat 2015 – 100% Voskehat

The first vintage of its kind with only less than 3,000 bottles released, this premium line of Voskehat wine is crafted with grapes from 60-year-old vines. Made with whole-cluster pressing, fermentation in the karas (clay vessels) with 1% skin contact, and four-month aging in the barrel, the delicateness and depth jump right out in the first contact. On the nose, it delivers a long chain of subtle aromas like tropical fruit, ripe melon, star fruit, plywood, butter, and spice. On the palate, it shows signs of tart Asian pear, starfruit, pineapple, and wet stone. The texture is light, smooth, and buttery. Overall, we find this wine to be an absolute stunner that reminds us of some Burgundy white. Despite its relatively high retail price in Armenia, we think it’s worth every cent and serves as an exemplar of what the variety Voskehat can achieve.

• Voskevaz Karasi Collection Areni Noir 2014 – 100% Areni

Just like the Karasi Collection Voskehat, this is the first vintage of its kind, made in a single karas that yielded only 800 bottles. This wine is made from the indigenous grape called Areni. The grapes are harvested from 120 year-old vines that are planted at 1,600 meters in elevation. Fermentation and maceration happened in karas and then the wine was transferred to age for 14 months in new Armenian oak sourced from nearby Nagorno-Karabakh. The nose is an immediate showstopper–with characteristics of freshly cut grass, strawberry, red cherry, caramel, chocolate, and a touch of tobacco. The taste is dominated by red fruit and rubber, led by a tight tannic backbone. On the end palate, it swings harmoniously into a still fruit-driven, but also slightly spicy and slightly green finale. This has won a gold medal winner from Mundus Vini 2016 and is one of our top picks for Armenian red wines. However, more joy can be achieved in this wine if the body was bigger. 

For a listing of articles and videos on Armenian wines and wine travel in Armenia, 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.

You May Also Enjoy
A Brief History of Wines from the Caucasus
Armenian Wines: One Year Later

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

The post Voskevaz: A New Face in the Armenian Wine Scene appeared first on Wine Travel.