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Wine Tasting & culinary
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Video - 8000 Years of Wine Making
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St. George & The Cradle of Wine
As the world’s oldest known wine-making culture, Georgia is home to hundreds of native grape varieties.
Tbilisi-based sommelier Guram Maisuradze shares his insights on the local wine scene.
There’s nowhere on earth that scientists have found older evidence of wine production than in Georgia, where they’ve discovered sediment from wine dating back 8,000 years.
Don’t expect to find too many merlots and chardonnays here, though; while those varietals are used in some wines, the focus in Georgia is on grapes indigenous to the country – bold saperavi and ancient rkatsiteli among them (the latter dates back to the first century) – and, traditionally, on a style of wine production that uses qvevri.
These large earthenware jars are buried underground to age the wine, resulting in a particularly aromatic vino.
Guram Maisuradze, sommelier and manager at Tbilisi wine bar g.Vino, gave Culture Trip his Georgian wine 101: from rich, hearty reds to rustic, crisp amber wine.
The region’s long winemaking tradition is closely interwoven with Georgian culture. Vast quantities – one to two litres per person aren’t unusual – are traditionally put away at supras: lavish, hours-long banquets where it’s not out of the question to see someone drinking out of a horn (kantsi).
On the more low-key end, wine bars, a relatively recent development, are popping up across Tbilisi. These establishments offer a great introduction to the products of Georgian vines, with many wine bars serving bottles that can’t be found anywhere else, thanks to the country’s traditionally small-scale production.
Nonetheless, production was at a record high in 2018.
There were 86.2 million bottles exported that year, with most going to Russia, Ukraine, and China.
Slowly, however, they’re making their way to shelves to farther-flung places like the US and UK.
There’s been a growth of 73% since just 2012, driven in large part by encouraging government policies – along with record numbers of tourists.
Also, just because Georgia is typically billed as a budget-friendly destination doesn’t mean the wine is cheap – it knows it’s good, and it’s priced accordingly.
While wines are available at a range of prices, says Maisuradze, “If you want really good wine with quality, it should cost approximately at least 15 euros (£12.50) per bottle. Natural wines in Georgia usually cost from 15 to 25 euros (£12.50 – £21).”
Besides the unique grapes and dynamic taste of Georgian wine, it’s long been rumoured to have health benefits.
Local winemakers say that the qvevri process, where grapes are fermented on their skins and seeds, the parts of the grape that typically retain antioxidants and other nutrients, results in wine that’s actually good for you.
“If it’s industrial and full with chemical additions then there is no point talking about superpowers, but most of our traditional wines are really very healthy,” says Maisuradze, adding that this healthy quality is by virtue of the vitamins and minerals in the wine, as well as the lack of artificial yeasts and sulfites.
