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The splendor of Georgian cuisine is complete with delicious Georgian wines. Georgia is the land where wine has been produced for at least 8,000 years. Local climate and soil contribute to growing grapes and making unique wines. Natural springs and Caucasian Mountain streams bring mineral-rich water into the Georgian valleys.
Series of excavations in Georgia have found the evidence of world’s earliest winemaking within clay pottery-Qvevri, dating back to 6,000 BC, thus suggesting that the practice of producing grape wine began hundreds of years earlier than previously believed.
The Georgian tradition of fermenting and storing wine in kvevri has been added to UNESCO’s Intagible Cultural Heritage List.
Georgia has five main regions of viniculture:
The principal wine region is Kakheti, where approximately 70% of all Georgian grapes are grown.
Here are the examples of some most renowned Georgian wines:
Atenuri- a white sparkling wine, made of Chinuri and Gori Mtsvane grape varieties. It is characterized by straw color, harmonious taste, fruity tones and energetic flavor. The micro-zone is located in Shida Kartli, in Gori administrative district.
Akhasheni- naturally semi-sweet red wine, made of Saperavi grape variety. It is characterized by a dark-pomegranate color, harmonious taste, velvety sweetness, fruit tones and varietal aromas. Akhasheni micro-zone is located in Shida Kakheti region, in the middle belt of the Alazani River.
Gurjaani- dry white wine, made of Rkatsiteli grape variety. It is characterized by a light straw color, harmonious, full bodied and refined taste with varietal specific aromas and well-developed bouquet. The micro-zone includes villages of Shida Kakheti in the middle part of the river Alazani.
Vazisubani- dry white wine, made of Rkatsiteli and Kakhetian Mtsvane grape varieties, with complete fermentation the must. It is characterized by a light straw color, harmonious taste and cheerful, developed bouquet with floral tones. The micro-zone is located in the middle part of the Alazani River.
Teliani- dry red wine, made of Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety, cultivated in Teliani zone, on the territory between Kisiskhevi and Vantiskhevi, with complete must fermentation. It is characterized by a dark red color, pure varietal specific aromas and spicy, harmonious, developed bouquet. The micro-zone is located in Kakheti, in the middle belt of the Alazani River.
Kardenakhi- a fortified white wine, made of Rkatsiteli, Khikhvi and Kakhuri Mtsvane grape varieties, leaving behind the crushed grapes and fermentation with must in the process. The wine is characterized by an amber color, varietal specific aroma, harmonious honey fragrance. The micro-zone is located within the territory of the village of Kardenakhi of the Gurjaani district in Kakheti.
Manavi- dry white wine, made of Kakhetian Mtsvane grape variety, the use of about 15% Rkatsiteli is allowed. The wine is characterized by colors ranging light straw to straw, with a greenish tint, gentle taste, harmonious and delicate fruity tones, varietal specific aromas and developed bouquet. The micro-zone is located in Gare Kakheti.
Mukuzani- dry red wine made of Saperavi grape variety. It is characterized by dark pomegranate color, full bodied taste, harmonious, velvety, delicate, well-expressed variety specific aromas and bouquet, high-extract flavors. The micro-zone is located in Shida Kakheti, Gurjaani district, on the right bank of the Alazani River gorge.
Kakheti- dry white wine, made of Rkatsiteli and Kakhetian Mtsvane grape varieties, with fermentation the must. It is characterized by amber colour, fruit aroma, velvety and harmonious pleasant taste. The micro-zone is located in the basin of Alazani and Iori Rivers.
Kisi- dry white wine, made from Kisi sort of grape variety in Qvevri-clay jug. . It is characterized by dark straw color, original sorted aroma and harmonious pleasant taste. The micro-zone is located in Kakheti region - East Georgia.
Napareuli- dry white and dry red wines. The white wine is made of Rkatsiteli, characterized by light straw-color, well-defined bouquet and wild flower tone. The red wine is made of Saperavi and is distinguished by dark red color, varietal specific aroma, velvety with well-developed bouquet. The micro-zone is located in the upper part of the Alazani River, on the left bank.
Sviri- dry white wine, made of Tsolikouri and Tsitska grape varieties. It is characterized by a dark straw-yellowish tint, fruity tones, developed and extracted fruit bouquet, harmonious, with fermentation the must. The Sviri micro-zone is located in the Imereti region, on the left bank of the Kvirila River.
Tvishi- dry to semi-sweet wine, made of Tsolikouri grape variety, with incomplete fermentation the must. It is characterized by light straw to straw color; a tender, delicate, harmonious taste; fruity tones; varietal aroma and pleasant sweetness. The vine growing micro-zone is located in Lechkhumi, Tsageri district, on the right bank of the Rioni River.
Tibaani- dry white wine, made of Rkatsiteli grape variety with total fermentation, using traditional Kakhetian methods. It is characterized by a dark amber color, sort-specific aroma, well-defined and extracted bouquet, velvety taste and raisin tones. The micro-zone is located in Shida Kakheti, the eastern part of the right side of the Alazani Valley.
Kindzmarauli- nation's leading, naturally semi-sweet red wine, made of Saperavi grape variety. The wine is characterized by dark garnet red color, harmonious taste with full, velvety, delicate, pleasant sweetness, fruit tones and varietal aroma. The micro-zone is located in Shida Kakheti, Kvareli region.
Kvareli- red white wine, made of Saperavi grape variety, with complete fermentation the must. It is characterized by dark red color, varietal aromas, balance and a distinctive bouquet. The micro-zone is located in Kakheti, Kvareli region, on the left bank of the Alazani River.
Tsinandali- dry white wine, made from grape varieties: 80% of Rkatsiteli and 20% of Kakhetian Mtsvane. The wine is characterized by its light straw color, harmonious, refined, developed bouquet and specific varietal aroma. The micro-zone is located in Kakheti region, on the right bank of the river Alazani.
Khvanchkara- high-quality naturally semi-sweet red wine, made of Aleksandreuli and Mujuretuli grape varieties. It is characterized by dark red color, harmonious taste, velvety, pleasant flavor, fruit tones and varietal aroma. The micro-zone is located in Racha, in the Ambrolauri district.
Kotekhi- white and red dry wines. The white wine is made of Rkatsiteli grape variety with complete fermentation the must. It is characterized by light straw color, varietal-specific aromas and pleasant taste. The red wine is made of Saperavi grape variety, with complete fermentation the must. It is distinguished by red color and varietal aroma with pleasant velvety taste. The micro-zone is located in the middle stream of the Alazani River, on the right bank.
Saperavi Khashmi- red, dry wine, that should be produced only from the Saperavi grapes variety, harvested in Khashmi micro-zone. It is characterized by a flawless, microbiologically healthy, body-minded, velvety and harmonious, with distinctly expressed varietal aroma. The bottling is allowed outside the micro-zone on the territory of Georgia.
Bolnisi- dry wine, can be white, amber, red or rose. Its micro-zone is located in Kvemo Kartli.
Bolnisi White is a light beige wine characterized by flawless, gentle, soft, harmonious, cheerful, variegated flavor of this geographical area, flowering tones of the field, and the wine develops sharply expressed bouquet of fruit tones;
Bolnisi Amber is a dark amber wine distinguished by complex, well-expressed varietal flavor with fruit tones, shaped, energetic, extractive, velvet well-developed bouquet;
Bolnisi Red is a dark red wine characterized by flawless, bold, extractive, velvety, harmonious, variegated flavor of this geographical area, developed with a sharp expression bouquet of fruit tones;
Bolnisi Rose is a dark rose wine distinguished by flawless, gentle, soft, harmonious, cheerful, variegated flavor of this geographical area, flowering tones of the field. The wine develops sharply expressed bouquet of fruit tones;
Bolnisi White and Amber should be made only from the following grape varieties planted in Bolnisi micro-zone: “Rkatsiteli”, “Chinuri” and “Goruli Mtsvane”.
Bolnisi Red should be made only from the following grape varieties planted in Bolnisi micro-zone: “Saperavi”, “Tavkveri”, “Shavkapito”and “Asuretuli Shavi”.
Bolnisi Rose should be made only by processing colorful wine grape varieties harvested in Bolnisi micro-zone, white grapes fermented in red grapes or mixing white and red wines.
Bottling is allowed outside the micro-zone on the territory of Georgia.
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