You may not be familiar with the wine scene in Georgia but believe me when I say it’s as exciting and dynamic as any wine region in the world right now.
There are some aspects of Georgian wine which are unique to the country - such as the qvevri(the large earthenware pots used for the fermentation, storage and aging of traditional Georgian wine).
In the past few years this unique style of winemaking has captured the imagination of UK wine buyers and adventurous wine drinkers. Georgia has been making wines for centuries through over 8000 harvestsand is steeped in traditions with over 500 native grape varieties. This makes it very hard for the consumer to understand which grapes/wines to order (and hard to pronounce the names of the wines!). Every letter is meant to be pronounced in the name, which some readers may find helpful!
Georgian white grapes to look for areKhikhvi and Rkatsiteli - as the wine is aged in qvevri the wine is a beautiful amber colour.
Some of you might know that I’m not a big fan of natural and orange wines - however, amber wine from Georgia is absolutely delicious and I love it. Why? Because the flavours from the qvevri and the fruit purity is absolutely beautiful - this is a wine to definitely be open-minded about and enjoy.
A Georgian red grape to watch is called Saperavi, which can be made into more classical style like a gamay or a cabernet sauvignon, with red bright fruit flavours. These are premium wines in a thriving sector and if you see a wine from Georgia on the shelves of the supermarket - buy it!
My Georgian wine recommendations: White: Khikhvi from Lea and Sanderman £20.50 White: Rkatsiteli from Lea and Sanderman £16.50, Oddbin Red: Saperavi from Clark Foyster £25. This is my favourite, a gamay style meant to be served chilled.