BLACKBOOK THE OENOPHILE FILES BACK TO THE SOURCE Long known for sweet wines catering to Russian palates, Georgian vintages are re-emerging as unique – and surprising – elixirs with peerless provenance BY JEFFREY T IVERSON In the early 1990s, a young American artist named John Wurdeman was travelling through Russia when he stumbled across a bottle in a Moscow wine shop marked Rkatsiteli. The wine resembled nothing he’d ever seen – or tasted. A white wine that wasn’t white at all, but a fiery, golden amber colour, its nose was redolent of honey, but in the mouth it revealed itself to be pleasantly dry, with deep notes of apricot and walnut. “I’d only drank so many wines at that age, but immediately it struck me as something that was absolutely alive, and it shook me: it seemed like something that one shouldn’t be able to purchase,” Wurdeman recalls. “That was my first Georgian wine experience … and I’ve been searching for that perfect relationship ever since.” What Wurdeman unearthed was a wine all but unknown in the Western world, originating from what is now considered the birthplace of wine, the Republic of Georgia. Produced in the region of Kakheti, it boasted astonishing flavours not only because it was made with the ancient rkatsiteli grape, but because it was made in a manner entirely unique to Georgia: crushed grapes (juice, skins, seeds, stems, wild yeasts and all) are fermented for six months in clay vessels called qvevri (like a large amphora with a pointed tip), which are previously lined with melted beeswax and buried up to their necks in the ground. A technique in use at least since 6000 BC, the prolonged skin contact imparts deep colour to the wine, from pink to orange, as well as tannins and complex aromas atypical in white wine. Today, more than 20 years after his discovery, Wurdeman is co-owner of Pheasant’s Tears Winery in Kakheti, and is helping to lead a movement to bring rkatsiteli and other qvevri wines to oenophile thrill seekers around the world. For years most commercial wineries in Georgia had been making over-oaked cabernet or cheap, cloying sweet wines for the Russian market, but in the wake of a 2006 Russian embargo, a group of artisan winemakers began advocating a different path. “When Georgian winemakers export they always feel they need to dress their wines up in a French corset. Yet these qvevri wines are what Georgians truly love – refreshing wines, yet with depth, structure, minerality,” says Wurdeman. “So we started a project to showcase villagestyle Georgian wines made in qvevri, and DERMOT FLYNN 32 departures-international.com
Uncork the world’s emerging wine regions online DEPARTURES-international.com BLACKBOOK see more at show how they can be very elegant, and needn’t be considered rustic.” Following a fortuitous meeting with winemaker Gela Patalishvili while painting through the Georgian countryside, Wurdeman launched Pheasant’s Tears in 2006 and now makes eight wines from eight varietals, with plans for eight more. And that’s but a sliver of Georgia’s unparalleled grapevine diversity – some 525 varietals. “These varieties tell us a story of terroir and culture,” says Ramaz Nikoladze, who revived his greatgrandfather’s 0.7ha vineyard in the Imereti region in 2007 to create just 1,000 bottles of beautiful white qvevri wines annually from the rare tsitska and tsolikouri grapes. In Nikoladze’s eyes, passion for wine in all its myriad expressions is as intrinsic to Georgian culture as its polyphonic singing and earthy cuisine. “I think wine must be in our genetic code,” he says. Which apparently is why Georgia’s winemaking avant-garde believes it can carve out a better future by returning to its roots. Take winemakers like Kakha Berishvili, who in 2006 abandoned modern techniques and oak barrels to start making fiery, qvevri-fermented reds from two hectares of organically farmed saperavi, a distinctive varietal yielding dark purple wines with notes of leather and spice. Or Nikoloz Antadze, whose multi-generation winemaking family lost everything during Soviet-era land expropriations, and who since 2006 makes regal rkatsiteli once again after repurchasing his family’s most treasured vineyard, the so-called Royal Cru, named after the wine once produced there for the royal family. Finally, at the Alaverdi Monastery, since 2007 the monks have reopened their 11thcentury qvevri cellar and are rekindling a monastic tradition extending back to 1011 by creating deliciously authentic, flamecoloured rkatsiteli wines. Today, these rare Georgian crus are appearing on wine lists across Europe and beyond. Pheasant’s Tears alone reaches 20 countries today, appearing in restaurants like the UK’s Michelin-starred Hibiscus, and venerable wine shops like Caves Augé, the oldest in Paris. To thank are importers like France’s Thierry Puzelat, UK’s Caves de Pyrène, or Italy’s Nicola Finotto, who see no end to Georgia’s potential. “It’s a land so rich and so well-suited to skilled winemakers, even if wine is produced in small quantities,” says Finotto, whose company I Am Wine has been importing Georgian qvevri wines since 2010. “It’s surprising how easy it is to find real wines … unadulterated, startling, incredibly diverse wines.” After 8,000 years, it seems the Georgian wine renaissance might only just be starting. ♦ THE DETAILS Start your immersion in Georgia’s multimillennial wine culture in the country’s capital, Tbilisi, followed by a trip to the medieval hilltop town and UNESCO world heritage site of Sighnaghi, located in the Kakheti region – Georgia’s viticultural heartland. TBILISI SLEEP Tbilisi Marriott Hotel +995 32 277 92 00; marriott.com In the heart of the old city, the former Hotel Majestic – the grande dame of Tbilisi’s hotels – still boasts all the gilded charm that over a century has drawn VIPs from Jean-Paul Sartre and George Balanchine to Margaret Thatcher. Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel +995 32 2 402 200; radissonblu.com Tbilisi’s newest luxury hotel offers 18 storeys of sleek, spacious rooms and suites, numerous restaurants, bars and a lavish spa with panoramic views over the city. EAT & DRINK Vino Underground +995 32 230 96 10; vinounderground.ge Wine bar in a 19th century cellar boasting artisan cuvées from all across Georgia and local cheeses Azarphesha Wine Restaurant +995 579 70 40 80; 2 Ingorokva Street A wine lover’s restaurant offering local, seasonal fare in a chic urban interior KAKHETI REGION SLEEP Hotel Kabadoni, Sighnaghi +995 32 2240400; kabadoni.ge A 21-room boutique hotel in the historic centre of Sighnaghi with views of the Caucasus EAT & DRINK $ Pheasant’s Tears Kitchen, Sighnaghi +995 355 23 15 56; pheasantstears.com Pheasant’s Tears Winery also boasts the city’s best wine bar/restaurant, offering Georgian fusion cuisine TOURS Living Roots Tours, Sighnaghi +995 599 58 11 75; travellivingroots.com Living Roots offers wine-, culinary-, cultureand nature-themed tours in Sighnaghi and throughout the Kakheti region Alaverdi Monastery & Vineyard, Akhmeta, Kakheti region, +995 599 155 002 since1011.com/en/wine-tour.html Tour the cellars of a monastery where wine was first made in 1011. CONTACT PLATINUM CARD SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS departures-international.com 33
