Georgia for wine lovers

By Taste Georgia

Update: Both Dr. José Vouillamoz of Wine Grapes and Georgian winemaker Ramaz Nikoladze were quick to point at that Rkatsiteli Vardo is not the name of the wine grape, the official name is Rkatsiteli Vardisperi.

Ettore knows he way around a vineyard.  My much loved and missed intern Katie took these photos of him.

Wine Wednesday: Be Wild, Be Otskhanuri Sapere

By Taste Georgia

Otskhanuri Sapere might always remain a bit on the obscure side simply because it very name is difficult to pronounce for anglophones. In fact, perhaps I need to start a series on Georgian wine grape pronunciation.

Otskhanuri Sapere is a red wine grape from the west Georgian region of Imereti. According to grape experts, it is a transitional variety, a hybrid if you will, between wild and domesticated varieties. This may account for its often gamey aromas.

This week, my wine of the week is a qvevri made 2013 Lagvinari Otskhanuri Sapere. Lagvinari founder Eko Glonti produced this wine from organic vineyards and then fermented in traditional Imeretian qvevri. I first tried this wine in its infancy, in the spring of 2014, and it was difficult and quite rough with lots of bramble and meaty notes that hadn’t really integrated. I kind of brushed it off and decided I didn’t like this variety. But then I tasted it ever few months and over the past three years, it has be tamed; domesticated if you will.

Deeply hued and inky ruby/garner red. A beautiful, rich, earthy wine that explodes of aromas of black currant and black berry, meaty notes followed by earthy, mushrooms tones and even a hint of smokiness. On the palate it is high octane acidity, balanced by very smooth tannins and soft alcohol. Dry, fresh, well integrated and balanced with many years of life ahead of it. Delicious on its own. Elegant.

Eko Glonti is one of our feature winemakers for our Dinner with a Winemaker experience. 

Wine Wednesday: Purity in Chinuri

By Taste Georgia

Of all the wine producers in Georgia that I know and love, Beka Gotsadze of Gotsa Family Wines represents the future of Georgian natural wine. He makes multiple wines from different varieties, has low yielding vineyards at higher than average elevation, has Biodynamic certification, makes an ancestral sparkling wine AND is not afraid of a little Flor happily growing on his wine.

He thinks about wine much like the architect that he is. Always building o sturdy foundations. And, a rarity, he saves bottling for later. Most Georgian winemakers bottle wines when they open the qvevri and then put them on the market. It’s why you can see 2016s already in the market. No Beka. He allows his wines to mature before selling them.

I will write more on Beka in another post. His 2015 Chinuri is a marvel.  Indeed, it is the best qvevri wine I tasted from the 2015 vintage. Now, while I am a huge fan of the funky, heavy skin contact wines from Kakheti, the Chinuri, still amber and made “natural” in qvevri is by far one of the purest expressions of Chinuri I have had. It is full of complexity on the nose and in the palate and it is fun. Full of citrus peel, sage, hints of nutty aromas, wet alpine stones, green plums. With each swirl it becomes so much more lively. The taste is magic. Lots of citrus and mineral toy. It recalls the sound of pure church bells, racy acidity, well balanced alcohol and just a hint of tannins. A wine for food. Actually it reminds me of some of the best Petite Arvines from Switzerland.

We organise wine tasting dinners with the Gotsa Family Winery. His wife Nina is a fabulous host and it is always the highlight of my visits. Send us an email! Info@tastegeorgia.co

Georgia is the cradle of wine

By Taste Georgia

In a study that was published on Monday, researchers lead by Dr Patrick McGovern, a molecular archaeologist from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and lead author of the study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, discovered telltale signs of wine residue on pottery shards from two archaeological sites in Georgia that date back to 6000 B.C. these are the earliest findings to date of wine made from grapes.

This research definitively confirms the country of Georgia as the cradle of wine, with evidence dating back 8000 years.

Instagram Live with Iago

By Taste Georgia

Instagram Live with Taste Georgia

By Taste Georgia

Wine Boutique in Tbilisi

By Taste Georgia

Wall of wine at Wine Boutique in Tbilisi

I recently had to come to Tbilisi for a span of a little less than three days. We had to sign documents at the Bank of Georgia. It was a last minute trip, so I didn’t have any real plans to do anything such as going out to Kakheti and visiting winemakers for wine tours or checking out whatever hot new restaurant has opened up. These inhumane hours that bring you in and out of Tbilisi are murder on your energy. I wanted to take it easy.

On Saturday night I joined friends for a producer tasting at the ten month old Wine Boutique, which is just up the street from Rooms Hotel. It’s a small wine ship with one large table and two smaller ones that can accommodate a nice group for wine tastings. We arrived early, and the first thing I notice is the amount of wines for sale at very reasonable prices. There are the usual classics, and a number of new producers.

We enjoyed an interesting horizontal tasting of 2018 wines with Father Michael. He calls his winery Utskinari, which means humble in Georgian language. After a few minutes, we all understood why that name was so fitting. He presented each wine, and let the wines speak for themselves, a great skill in these days of social media shouting, and every winemaker clambering to get a piece of the action, unwilling to listen to critique. Father Michael allowed us, the drinkers, to decide for ourselves which wines we liked. It was fun to be a tasting of Amber qvevri wines with Georgians. After all, these wines are their heritage, they’ve been drinking them since time immemorial and they have am ease of description that doesn’t come so easy to those of us with formal Western wine education.

After the tasting, when most of the people left, I stated behind with Irakli and then the bottles started popping. One of my favorite of the evening was a delicate Rkatsiteli from Tsarapi. Even though it was made in the traditional Kakhetian way (six months of skin contact), it didn’t have a heaviness to it that I often find to be the case with amber qvevri wines from Kakheti.

Giorgi Kobiashvili, the owner, explained that this was due to where it was grown, an area with clay and limestone soil that leant itself to a fresher, brighter wines that was more to my taste. I have always preferred the Amber wines of Imereti over Kakheti because they tend to be fresher and more elegant, so this was a great surprise for me.

It was great to be able to sample wines with knowledgeable people who were friendly and, if I am honest, a LOT of fun to spend time with. A great wine evening for me is one that lends itself to great conversation. Qvevri wines seem to facilitate a more philosphpibcal mindset.

If you are in Tbilisi, head on over to Wine Boutique, have a chat and buy some wine. Tell then Sarah from Taste Georgia send you, and he will give you a 10% discount.

Wine Boutique

17 Anastasia Eristav-Khoshtaria Street
0108 Tbilisi, Georgia

Uplistsikhe: Discover one of the ancient cave towns of Georgia

By Taste Georgia

By Baia Dzagnidze

Georgia boasts a diverse landscape. You can find high peaks of the Caucasus, a desert, colorful hills in Kakheti, gorgeous lakes, and medieval defense towers in rural regions to name a few. It also boasts with ancient cave towns – Vardzia, Uplistsikhe, and David Gareji. They are different from each other, both with the construction and the period it was built. In this post, we’ll discover the oldest one – Uplistsikhe. An ancient cave city that makes a great day tour from Tbilisi.

What makes Uplistsikhe so special? Occupying 10 ha of land, it is the only remaining landmark in Georgia, which dates back to the Classical antiquity period. Located in Shida Kartli, around 9 km from the town of Gori, the area was a functioning town. It had streets, squares, irrigation pipes, various buildings, four gates, a secret tunnel to the Mtkvari river, and a defensive wall. Today, it serves as an open-air museum everyone can visit.

It’s believed that a mythical Uplos, the son of Mtskhetos and grandson of Kartlos, built Uplistiskhe in the 10th-6th century BC. In Georgian mythology, Kartlos is the eponymous ancestor of Georgians. Hence comes the name and translates as the “castle of Uplos.”

The legend has it that slaves built Uplistsikhe. They used metal pickaxes to curve the town. Underneath that metal was gold. They had to wear out the metal to get the gold and freedom.

According to the archaeological excavations and items found here, the town was inhabited during 16th-15th centuries BC. From the 4th century BC to 3rd century AD, Upliststikhe was a religious and administrative center of Kartli. But when Georgia adopted Christianity in the 4th century, the settlement in Uplistsikhe decreased. Thus, it still remained as a well-fortified castle.

The proximity to the main trade route of Georgia resulted in many invasions both from local kings and foreign nations. Conquering the town, meant ruling over the Kartli region.

In the 10th-13th centuries, Uplistsikhe was again restored into a town and the population equaled to almost 20,000 citizens. When Tbilisi became the capital of Georgia once again, the number of inhabitants reduced again. During the Mongol invasions in the 13th-14th centuries, Uplistsikhe was completely abandoned. Afterward, it was occasionally used as a shelter during other attacks in the country.

When visiting Uplistsikhe with Taste Georgia, you can wander through those ancient streets and buildings, imagining how life used to be back in the day. You can visit the rock-hewn halls, theater dating back to the 2nd century, the 6th-century basilica carved into the rock, and many more.  You can also walk through a small part of the 41-meter long secret tunnel, used during the invasions to supply it with water and food.

Outside of the church, you’ll notice so-called sacrificed qvevries. When a child was born in the family, they stored wine in qvevri until he/she reached the age of 16. Then, the family would bring it to the church and leave right there.

How to get to Uplistsikhe: Taste Georgia arranges day trips to Uplistsikhe that include the Stalin Museum in Gori. If you are traveling on your own and planning on using public transport, then you’ll first need to get to the town of Gori. Minibuses, marshrutkas, run daily every half an hour from Didube Bus Station. The journey takes around one hour. Then, you’ll need to take another marshrutka towards Kvakhvreli village. Tell the driver to drop you off at the road leading to Uplistsikhe. From here, you’ll need to walk around 2 km to get to the box office and entrance of the museum. You can easily do everything in a day, making Uplistsikhe a great day trip destination from Tbilisi.

19 Reasons to Visit Georgia in 2019

By Taste Georgia

For those of you who are not looking for budget travel, Georgia offers luxurious experience too. There are many resort-like hotels with international standards to make your holiday here as much fancier as it can be. However, don’t expect villas with infinity pools you might have seen or been to in South East Asia.

Georgian cuisine

Georgian cuisine is as diverse as its nature. Each region of the country has its own distinguished meal and a variety of Khachapuri, a pizza-like cheese pie. Meals are heavy on dought, fat, meat, and walnuts, however, there are several plant-based meals to satisfy any vegetarian. Food tours are a great way to experience Georgia.

Not that long ago, Georgia broke World Guinness Records by being the very first country to produce wine in the world. Scholars have found wine residue left on qvevri during the archeological excavations, which became the proof that the country has been making wine for at least 8000 years. Therefore, you’ll find different types of wine here, but the amber-colored kind made with traditional methods in qvevri is still number one that attracts many tourists.

Due to the diverse nature of the country, Georgia has marvelous hiking opportunities for those who love spending days into the wildness. Whether you are a professional or a beginner, you can easily find a trail that suits your need and possibilities.

Even though Soviet architecture might seem dull and simple at one glance, there are some beautiful buildings scattered across the country. And some even feature gorgeous mosaics showcasing the ideology of the regime.

While you may have heard about sulfur baths of Tbilisi, that’s not the only place you can have a hot spring water experience. One of the natural treasures of the country lays in water resources, therefore there are several small towns and townlets that were turned into hot spring water retreats during the Soviet Union. Today, many continue to operate in Borjomi, Tskhaltubo, and Sairme to name a few.

Among many things, Georgia boasts with its seaside resorts. Even though Batumi is the most developed one of the area with a bustling vibe during the summer months, there are other coastal cities for those who are looking for a relaxing holiday at the sea. Moreover, some of those resorts are beneficial for health, especially the magnetic sand in Ureki and Shekvetili.

The mountain landscape and climate of the country make it an ideal spot for ski and snowboard lovers. Currently, there are four ski destinations within this small country. Gudauri is for young crowds who want to be closer to the capital, Bakuriani is good for children as the slopes are covered with pine forest, while Svaneti and Goderdzi are for those who like to escape the crowded Gudauri and Bakuriani, as well as enjoy a bit extreme sports.

One of the many reasons what makes Georgia a unique place is the flora and fauna that can’t be seen anywhere. For instance, Kobuleti Nature Reserve preserves an extraordinary plant, the only filtering sphagnum bog in the world.

There are three most remote areas in the country – Tusheti, Khevsureti, and Svaneti. Besides their stunning mountainous landscapes, they are distinguished by their old dwellings. Due to the fact that Georgia was a subject of continues attacks and invasions, each and every family in those areas had their defense towers. Today, most of those medieval towers still stand intact and attracts hundreds of visitors to the communities.

Bakhmaro and Gomis Mta are both nested between the mountains, above more than 2000 meters above the sea level, and surrounded by pine forests. They both offer picturesque views of the sun rising above the clouds.

Unlike Tusheti and Svaneti, a mountainous area of Adjara is less developed and more rural. When everyone heads to Batumi, you can spend a couple of days exploring this beautiful part of the country, while eating much more interesting local cuisine which is not the boat-shaped Adjaruli Khachapuri.

Besides the well known Okatse and Martvili canyons, there are other natural wonders that see fewer tourists throughout the year. One of them is Dashbashi canyon and its gorgeous waterfall located in Samtskhe-Javakheti region.

Georgia is also home to various karst caves, some of which are not even accessible for visitors. The most popular ones are Prometheus and Sataplia caves, but a couple of weeks ago, a new one opened in Terjola, Imereti region called Navenakhevi Cave. Similar to other’s, Navenakhevi cave has a walking trail and lighting system installed to easily admire the beauty of the underground nature.

Katskhi pillar, located not far from Kutaisi, is one of the most popular natural wonders of the country. This 49-meter high limestone stands in the village of Katskhi and has a monastery built on top of its surface. Another one that might be of your interest is the Birtvisi rocks. These are high volcanic hillocks formed millions of years ago as a result of the volcanic eruption. There also is a least accessible fortress on those rocks.

Georgia is also known for its cave towns like Vardzia, Uplistsikhe, and David Gareji. Out of those three, Vardzia used to be the biggest and most inhabited town back in the day. The cave town was created in the 12th century as a hiding place during the invasions. It used to have thirteen floors, hidden escape tunnels, and special rooms to stray the enemies.

Chiatura, the manganese town of Georgia is known for its dozens of cable cars, which used to help locals and mine workers to get from their homes to their working place. Today, most of those cable cars are not operating, but there are several that still serve the original purpose free of charge. And for those of you who are willing to boost their adrenaline, we’ll say that those cable cars have been operating for more than 55 years without any renovation!

Are you convinced already? Come Taste Georgia with us!