Description
Tasting Georgian wines for the first time will most likely turn all your pre-existing knowledge and experience about wines upside down. The products of this country with an 8000 year – old viticulture will resemble nothing you ever tasted before. The deep amber and purple coloured, seemingly endless variety of mind-boggigly complex and flavour-rich wines, that ferment spontaneously in the ground in amfora-shaped clay vessels ( qvevri-s) will, if you let them, lead you to a mistical-mythical realm, where being shaken to your core by ancient, inexplicably familiar flavours is a high probability.
The modern-age fate of the grape variety khikvi in Georgia is somewhat similar to that of Somló’s juhfark. Both white, both re-discovered after nearly being lost to Soviet mass production policies. By 1953 the size of khikvi vineyards fell to just a mere 57,5 hectares, the variety being replaced by more prolific vines. Characteristic mostly of Khaketi region, around Telavi, can be used for both sweet and dry wine production . Currently it is cultivated on about 200 hectares. Ruispiri’s 2019 vintage khikvi shows the well recognisable style of the winery. It is a medium body, outstandingly stabile and neat, slightly lighter amber coloured natural wine.
From the clay for the qvevris to wine – the Georgian story beautifully told in 8 minutes: https://fb.watch/8uZ7-FgmUJ/
Watch UNESCO’s short film about how qvevris are mad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN5ziogyxP0
