In 1947, the Nobel Prize-winning American writer John Steinbeck wrote in his Russian Journal, ‘Wherever we had been in Russia… the magical title of Georgia got here up always… And so they spoke of the nation… as a sort of second heaven.’
The perfect a part of a century on, that sense stays. When in 2021 I travelled to Imereti in western Georgia to make wine, my impression was of someplace virtually Arcadian, of snowcapped mountains that skirted each horizon, of lush inexperienced hills and delicate valleys, of timber bejewelled with ochre-hued persimmons, fiery pink pomegranates – and, in fact, vines heavy with grapes.
Georgia’s wine heritage and tradition are like no different. Its language gave us the very phrase “wine” (from the Georgian “gvino”), whereas archaeological finds point out that winemaking started there at the very least 8,000 years in the past. It’s also house to one of many largest variety of indigenous grape varieties on this planet.
Tied to its distinctive wine tradition is an equally distinctive meals tradition. Virtually all the pieces I ate whereas I used to be in Georgia was a scrumptious discovery, revealing a wealthy number of elements and recipes, usually assimilated from empires which have tried (and failed) to beat this warrior nation (NB: the often-heard Georgian phrase for cheers, “gaumarjos”, interprets as “to your victory”).
For any gourmand planning a Georgian journey, under is a collection of my favorite locations to go to in my prime three wine locations: Kakheti, Imereti and the capital of Tbilisi.
1. Kakheti
Roughly an hour’s drive east from Tbilisi, Kakheti is Georgia’s largest and best-known wine area, the place you will see that wines produced from Georgia’s most-planted pink and white grapes: Saperavi and Rkatsiteli. Owing to its hotter local weather and simpler ripening circumstances, Kakheti can also be the area the place you will note extra proof of pores and skin and stem-maceration, with white grapes and thus extra of the deep, tannic amber wines with which Georgia is synonymous.
With its hilltop location overlooking the huge Alazani Valley, cobbled streets and chic, terracotta-tiled historic buildings, Sighnaghi presents a convincing case for being the quaintest village in all of Georgia. It’s the good place from which to discover native wineries and eating places – most notably Pheasant’s Tears, the vineyard of “Georgianised” American winemaker and artist, John Wurdeman. A brief drive away in Tibaani you will see that the Pheasant’s Tears-owned Loopy Pomegranate restaurant. Overlooking the Pheasant’s Tears vineyards and with the Caucasus mountains as its backdrop, this is among the loveliest eating settings in Georgia. Chef Ketevan Mindorashvili’s creatively ready Georgian delicacies makes use of seasonal elements from the property’s farm and the native space.
One other vineyard eminently worthy of consideration, simply half an hour’s drive north from Sighnaghi, in Kardenakhi, is Nikalas Marani. Proprietor Zurab Mgvdliashvili is considered one of Georgia’s most-respected pure winemakers, producing wines from the Kakhetian grape varieties Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane, Kisi, Saperavi and the uncommon however resurgent Khikhvi. These are wines of uncommon vitality and character, and to style via the vary is an expertise you’ll not overlook.
2. Imereti
Baia’s Wine – the dynamic younger sibling trio of Baia, Gvantsa and Giorgi Abuladze are the poster fashions of a brand new technology of Georgian winemakers – entrepreneurial, outward-looking, however with a deep dedication to their winemaking heritage. Ebook a go to to their charming household vineyard – full with 1,000-2,000-litre underground qvevris – within the bucolic village of Meore Obcha and you may be left in little question about Georgia’s famed hospitality.
Baia’s Wine. Credit score: Darren Smith
Conventional home-cooked Georgian dishes similar to tabaka (pan-fried hen of essentially the most more-ish variety), nigvziani badrijani (aubergine rolls filled with walnut paste), lobio (a soul-nourishing, coriander-spiced bean stew) and khachapuri (Georgia’s ubiquitous cheese-filled flatbread) will probably be served alongside the household’s scrumptious wines, produced from lmereti’s principal grape varieties, Tsitska, Tsolikouri, Krakhuna (whites) and Otskhanuri Sapere (pink). In case you’re very fortunate, the three siblings’ father may open a bottle of his domestically well-known chacha (a Georgian pomace brandy).
One other helpful Imeretian title to notice is Gaoiz Sopromadze. Throughout the Soviet period, households who for a lot of generations had made wines have been compelled to desert their cellars and hand over their vineyards. When Georgia received its independence in 1991, Sopromadze was amongst a small group of conventional winemakers, together with the likes of Ramaz Nikoladze and Simon Chkheidze, who set about restoring the heritage that Soviet Russia had sought to destroy. A go to to Gaoiz Sopromadze Wine Cellar in rural Bagdati will probably be rewarded with a few of the purest-tasting terroir wines Imereti has to supply. All of the extra particular when loved on the terrace, in entrance of the household’s open-air qvevri cellar.
3. Tbilisi
Begin your tour of this historical metropolis at Tbilisi Wine Museum (8 Sioni St), situated on the left financial institution of the Mtkvari river. Guided excursions in English can be found. Right here, protected by a plastic case, you will see that an important clay pot – a qvevri, round 1,000l in quantity, which is the inspiration to Georgia’s declare to being the birthplace of wine. Grape pips and acid residue discovered on this vessel reveal that wine was being made on this a part of the Caucasus 8,000 years in the past.
Wine bars nicely price a go to embody the appropriately named 8,000 Vintages. This widespread mini-chain of 4 wine store//bars is an indication of simply how rapidly Georgian wine has grown commercially. It opened six years in the past providing 250 wines from 50 completely different wineries. Now it sells greater than 1,250 wines from round 400 producers. The flagship venue is at 60 Abashidze St, the place you possibly can browse the seemingly infinite partitions of Georgian wine and style with educated and enthusiastic younger workers.
In case you’re seeking to immerse your self within the pure wine scene of Georgia, one unassuming subterranean bar near Freedom Sq. guarantees the motherlode, Vino Underground. This hallowed venue was opened in 2012 by a collective of eight Georgian winemakers to showcase native wines made naturally, with out compromise. You might nicely discover your thoughts and tastebuds blown as you style via their flights of wine (4 provided, the wines at all times altering relying on availability and the whim of whichever workers member is on obligation). Lots of them are micro-cuvées that you just received’t discover anyplace else.
‘Every part was scrumptious…’
Steinbeck acquired it precisely proper when he wrote about Georgian meals, ‘Every part was scrumptious. The flavours have been all new, and we wished to style all of them.’ Like all nice meals nations, Georgia’s richness comes from its messy historical past. Because of its location on the Silk Route and to the empires that attempted (and failed) to beat it – Russian, Greek, Ottoman, Persian, Mongol (notably scrumptious are the broth-filled khinkali dumplings, so paying homage to Chinese language xiaolongbao) – it has absorbed a massively various larder of elements and flavours. In case you’re looking for meals and refreshment in Tbilisi, these three venues could serve you nicely…
Positive Georgian eating
Beautiful meals, an impeccable wine listing and exquisite décor, Ninia’s Backyard in Previous Tbilisi (97 Dimitri Uznadze St) has not been open lengthy, but it surely has quick change into the restaurant of selection for Tbilisi’s city professionals. Laid-back and spacious, it’s good for relaxed lunches or intimate night eating. Chef Meriko Gubeladze’s menu reinterprets the normal flavours and recipes of Georgia, throwing in unique hints of the Center East. The restaurant’s title – and its elegant walled backyard – was impressed by Ninia Zaridze, a Georgian service provider who, at a time when folks needed to pay to go to Tbilisi’s public gardens, invited them to get pleasure from hers free of charge (without cost).
Avenue meals with fashion
For easier however no much less scrumptious sustenance, Tamtaki (22 Dimitri Bakradze St) is not going to disappoint. For a number of years chef-proprietor Tamta Kikaleishvili lived in London, working in superb eating eating places together with The Ritz and the Michelin-starred Pied à Terre. When she returned to her house nation, she opened Tbilisi’s first “road meals meets superb eating” venue, serving road food-style dishes with top-quality elements and the delicate aptitude you’ll count on from a chef used to working in world-class kitchens.
Riverside retreat
With its labyrinthine (and infrequently perilously steep) streets and plenty of locations to pattern wine, Previous Tbilisi is generally is a heady and disorientating place. In case you lose your method or just really feel the necessity to retreat, head for the Nook on the River (Dedaena Park, Tbilisi 0105). This charming café perched on the financial institution of the Mtkvari river affords relative repose and probably the most privileged views in Tbilisi. If all that wine is turning into a bit an excessive amount of, attempt a sobering espresso and the café’s absorbent and scrumptious honey cake.
Gaumarjos!
