Wines of Georgia: names, features, history of winemaking in the region

Winemaking in Georgia is not a skill or even an art: it is a way of life and one of the most carefully guarded traditions in the country. Although most popular brands today are not even 100 years old, the first Georgian wines appeared more than 30 centuries ago.

Historical information

A thousand years before our era, on the lands of modern Georgia (then the kingdom of Colchis), they knew how to produce wine using the Kakhetian method – keeping the drink in kvevri vessels dug into the ground. More than 3000 thousand years have passed, but the ancient recipe has been preserved and is successfully used by modern winemakers.

In the IV century. n. e. the country adopted Christianity, after which the wine began to perform not only medical, but also ritual functions. Despite an active foreign policy and many military conflicts, Georgians have always found time to develop their wine culture, creating more than 500 unique types of wine, most of which are almost never exported.

In the 1889th century, the most famous wines of Georgia appeared: dry Tsinandali, Mukuzani, Napareuli, semi-dry Tbilisuri. The Russian government spared no expense to support winemaking in the country: wineries and special schools were founded, local winemakers were trained abroad, and in XNUMX the Georgian prince Ivane Bagration-Mukhransky produced Chateau Mukhrani on his estate, a sparkling wine that won the First Prize at the Paris exhibition .

The Soviet “top” also understood the importance of preserving Georgia as the “wine capital” of the USSR, so the XNUMXth century saw the peak of the heyday of Georgian wines, which were known far beyond the borders of the Union. Today, there are four main wine-growing regions in the country: Kakheti, Kartli, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi. Each of these territories includes a number of microzones with famous representative varieties.

Features

Georgian wines are noticeably different from European ones for several reasons:

1. Autochthonous grape varieties, little known outside the country (for example, Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane).
2. Ancient production technologies (Kakheti, Imerta). The pulp is only partially separated from the juice, the wines are more tannic, full-bodied and acidic (Sviri, Dimi).
3. A unique subspecies of wines are naturally semi-sweet (Khvanchkara, Pirosmani, Kindzmarauli). In most regions, ripe grapes are harvested late, in mid-autumn. The berries are full of juice and very sweet, and due to climatic conditions (low temperature), fermentation is slow, so part of the sugar is retained in the finished wine. Such drinks are considered elite.

Classification of Georgian wines

In Georgia, there is no multi-stage system for categorizing wines by quality, as, for example, in France or Italy. Georgian vintage wines (considered the best) are controlled only by origin – the names are assigned to areas with unique soil and climatic conditions, where certain grape varieties are grown and the traditional winemaking technology for the region is observed. Vintage wines are aged for at least 2-3 years. The young wine is called ordinary, goes on sale the very next year after bottling, has a soft bouquet and an affordable price.

In addition, Georgian wines are varietal (made from only one grape variety) or blended, consisting of a mixture of juices or finished wines, which are usually mixed before aging.

Attention! The following are only names that are exported or known among tourists.

White Georgian wines

Dry, vintage (alcohol 10-13%, sugar <0,3%):

• Tsinandali (combined with fish, poultry, pkhali, has a pronounced floral and fruity bouquet, tea rose tones are felt).
• Gurjaani (spicy with bitterness, served with meat, cheese, fish).
• Napareuli (gentle “feminine” wine).
• Rkatsiteli (goes to barbecue, spicy cheese, bouquet with sourness).
• Manavi (“summer” refreshing alcohol).
• Vazisubani (in taste – tones of wild flowers and honey).
• Tsitska (aging up to 12 years, bright bouquet).
• Tsolikauri (aged 20 years, almost never exported).
• Bakhtrioni (pride of the Akhmeta region).
• Tibaani (produced according to the Kakhetian technology, the tone of a withering tea rose).

Real dry Georgian wines cannot contain more than 3-4 g of unfermented sugar per liter of product, the lower this figure, the better the drink is considered.

Dry, ordinary (alcohol 10-13%, sugar <0,3%):

• Kakheti (made according to Kakhetian technology).
• Shuamta (tart fruity taste).

Semi-dry (alcohol 10-13%, sugar 0,5-2,5%):

• Tbilisuri (raw materials – a mixture of several varieties of grapes, a soft and delicate drink).
• Alaverdi (sweet fruity taste, served with goat cheese, fish).

Natural semi-sweet (alcohol 9,5-11%, sugar 3-5%):

• Tvishi (rich fruity aroma, opens slowly, so you should drink slowly).
• Akhmeta (flower-berry aftertaste).
• Tetra (nuances of mountain flowers, honey, served with dessert).
• Chkhaveri (refreshing and invigorating).
• Savane (sweetness is especially pronounced).
• Alazani Valley (a blend of several varieties of white grapes).

Red Georgian wines

Dry, vintage (alcohol 10-13%, sugar <0,3%):

• Mukuzani (suitable for sheep cheese, barbecue, spicy dishes, has a thick bouquet with hints of ripe cherries and oak).
• Teliani (made from the Cabernet Sauvignon variety, nuances of violet, morocco are felt in a velvety taste).
• Napareuli (the bouquet consists of red berry flavors: currants, cherries).
• Kvareli (distinguished by a delicate and refined bouquet, in which tones of red berries, freshly cut grass, young greens are felt).

Dry, ordinary: (alcohol 10-13%, sugar <0,3%):

• Saperavi (later, “autumn” wine with tones of prunes and blackcurrant, goes well with meat and greens).

Semi-dry (alcohol 10-13%, sugar 0,5-2,5%):

• Sachino (rather pink than red, raw – berries from the western vineyards of Georgia).
• Pirosmani (produced from the Saperavi variety, named after the famous Georgian artist, it tastes like “drunk cherry”).

Natural semi-sweet (alcohol 9,5-12%, sugar 3-5%):

• Khvanchkara (thick “raspberry” taste, fruity-floral tones, served with blue cheese, nuts, game).
• Kindzmarauli (vintage, complex tart bouquet, often served with dessert).
• Barakoni (fresh wine with notes of mountain violet, made from autochthonous varieties of Mudzheretuli and Aleksandrouli).
• Akhasheni (produced only in Eastern Georgia, not far from the village of the same name, after which it received its name. It has notes of exotic fruits in the taste, it is combined with desserts and cheese).
• Ojaleshi (produced from the grape variety of the same name).
• Usakhelauri (made from a rare variety of the same name, distinct strawberry taste).
• Alazani Valley (in the “red” variation, the wine has tones of physalis and cornelian cherry).

Sparkling wines of Georgia

Georgia has not yet given the world its “Champagne”, as well-known as the French prototype or Spanish Cava, however, there are already local variations of “effervescent” wines (alcohol 9,5-12%, sugar 3-5%):

• Aishi (pink, a blend of several varieties).
• Atenuri (white, mild refreshing taste).
• Terjola (very young wine – produced since 2005, named after the city in which it was born).

Strong and dessert

Many of the wines of this section are not aged in cellars, but under the scorching sun, and therefore acquire a “roasted” rich taste (alcohol 15-19%, sugar 7-10%):

• Anacha (white, similar to Madera).
• Kardanakhi (Georgian “port wine”, in taste – tones of honey and bread).
• Marabda (fruity flavor, only 5% sugar).
• Saamo (honey notes, sugar content reaches 13%).
• Salkhino (With a strength of 15 degrees, it contains as much as 30% sugar. Thick liquor with a rich bouquet: strawberries, creamy chocolate, caramel, quince and other fruits, oily taste).
• Khikhvi (nutmeg nuances, sugar content – 18-20%).

Almost all of the listed wines are made from the Rkatsiteli variety.