Experiment, experience and explore: the Georgian story has only just begun

17 July 2015: “Georgian wines are trendy. They feature in Michelin-starred restaurants and are sought after by top sommeliers.” opening remark by Debra Meiburg MW as she began the trade seminar on Georgian wine on a scorching day in Hong Kong. With 8,000 years of viticultural history, 525 indigenous varieties and the much-studied traditional qvevri winemaking method that was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013, Georgian wine has a very interesting story to tell.

Bordered by Turkey (South-West), Russia (North), Azerbaijan (East) and Armenia (South), Georgia is 4/5 mountainous, with the most notable mountain ranges known as the Lower Caucasus Range and the Upper Caucasus Range, separated by about 100 km across the country.  85% of the production of Georgia (and 65% of the plantings) is found in the two eastern regions of Kakheti and Kartli, between these two mountain ranges, in the cool foothills between them, where 35,000 rivers flow to naturally keep the vines well-supplied with water.  Soil type in the Upper Caucasus Range is largely sedimentary whereas Lower Caucasus Range is mostly composed of volcanic soil.  Kakheti has the lion share of the 18 AOCs in Georgia, claiming 14 of them. 

During this seminar, we focused on 5 of the 525 indigenous grape varieties, 4 whites and 1 red. Rkatsiteli, with thick skin, and racy acidity, giving it great ageing potential. It is also the most planted white variety in the world, with most of the plantings in Russia. Mtsvane also has crisp acidity, with nutty and pear character, and forms a great blending partner with Rkatsiteli, especially in the case of Goruli Mtsvane.   (Mtsvane Kakhuri grows well on the calcareous soils in Kakheti, whereas Goruli Mtsvane is mainly grown in Kartli, planted in alluvial soils.  It has delicate high-toned aromatics and oxidises easily.)  Krakhuna, indigenous to the Imereti region in West Georgia, is full-bodied and boasts honey, ripe banana and apricot character. Kisi is found in Eastern Georgia, with its characteristic ripe pear, green tea, walnuts and French marigold character.

The 7 wines tasted at the seminar: Bagrationi 1882 Gold Sparkling Brut NV, Chateau Mukhrani Goruli Mtsvane 2013,
Winery Khareba Krakhuna 2013, Marani of Telavi Wine Cellars Satrapezo 10 Qvevri Rkatsiteli 2012,
Tbilvino Mukuzani Saperavi 2012, Winery Khareba Otskhanuri Sapere 2012 and Qimerioni Alazani Valley Semi Sweet Red 2012

I was rather impressed by the 2013 Château Mukhrani Goruli Mtsvane. At 12.5%, this certainly delivered character, crisp freshness in an elegantly vinous manner. The 2012 Marani of Telavi Wine Cellars Satrapezo 10 Qvevri (100% Rkatsiteli) would make interesting pairing with food, with strong nuances of apricot, mango, canned peach, ginger and marzipan, with hints of crushed rose petals and lilac, and phenolics from fermentation and ageing in qvevri followed by a brief period of oak ageing, there was a rich texture to balance the depth of character. Such persistent finish.

As for the reds, I rather liked the freshness and fruit-focused nature of the 2012 Tbilvino Mukuzani Saperavi, with judicious oak treatment. Saperavi is the pride of Georgia, with great ageing potential, typically endowed with full body, high acidity, high tannins, deep purple colour in youth, with ripe cherry, forest berries, dark chocolate, grilled meat and liquorice, with hints of bay leaf. Saperavi can be found in diverse styles: unoaked, oaked, qvevri, qvevri and oaked!

Qvevri capacity ranges from 2 - 3 litres to 6,000 - 8,000 litres.  The exterior of qvevris is treated with lime wash, which enables the qvevri to preserve and sustain temperatures at higher than the ambient temperature, resulting from fermentation.  The interior needs to be thoroughly washed, dried and sanitised before using.  For highly porous qvevri material, the interior is coated with a layer of beeswax to avoid leaking.  Traditional qvevri winemaking is based on extended skin contact between the must and the chacha (skins, pips and stems) during alcoholic fermentation and often after (see below reference to Kakhetian winemaking), a process that helps extract phenolics (notably tannins) into the wine and improve its ageability, stability and resistance to oxidation.  At the end of the fermentation, the grape seeds settle into the pointed cone-shaped bottom of the qvevri, covered by the lees, leaving the skins floating on top, propped up by the carbon dioxide from the fermentation.  The wine is thus able to extract phenolics from the skin for a period of time to further enhance wine stability, including the removal of excess proteins that could later lead to protein haze.  The end of the completion of fermentation also coincides with the falling of ambient temperatures and the onset of colder weather, thus facilitating the precipitation of tartrates. Silicon (a high quality crystal) in the qvevri walls also acts as an agent to precipitate tartrates, with the same effect as addition of tartrate crystals.  The lids are only put on at the end of the fermentation.  The qvevris are kept underground at 7 degrees, so that the wine can be kept at a constant temperature range of 13 -15 degrees Celsius.  This ability to maintain stable temperature is important for the initiation and completion of malolactic fermentation.

The eastern or Kakhetian-style winemaking for the whites, uses all the pomace from the crushed grapes and ensures extended contact with chacha in the qvevri throughout the spring (beginning of March).  Wine made this way acquires a dark straw or golden colour, and is clear and bright, with fruity tones, and has been rendered stable naturally.  For Kakhetian saperavi, the wine is typically separated from the pomace as soon as the fermentation is completed and the wine, clear of pomace, is returned to the qvevri.   The western or Imeretian-style winemaking (with the clay vessel known as churi) only uses a third of the pomace, which is poured into the qvevri from the wine press, and the must is left in contact with the chacha for one month for both red and white varieties.  It is believed that the traditional qvevri winemaking methods in Kartli and Meskhet-Javakheti would be similar, using a part of the pomace for a period of time.

Only wine that has been fermented and aged for some time in the qvevri can be called Georgian traditional wine.  Qvevri wine can be stored unspoiled in qvevris for a long time (2 or more years) if conditions concerning storage, marani design (marani is a traditional Georgian wine cellar) and sanitation are met.  Wine quality is influenced by many factors, including quality and cleanliness of the qvevri, post-fermentation temperature, grape variety, location of vineyard (soil types, local customs), vintage and climatic conditions, phenolic ripeness of grapes at harvest, length of fermentation with pomace, and hygiene of the marani.

Georgians are very insistent that their wines are not orange! They are amber wines.  Qvevri-making is a skill that now only belongs to a limited few and If anyone wants to try experimenting with a qvevri, you need to start ordering one now, as there appears to be a 5-year waiting list for these precious egg-shaped clay vessels that are almost impossible to clean properly due to their large size and underground position!!

Saperavi is the pride of Georgia, but I rather admired the whites from this tasting......such thriving acidity and character......the diverse styles (oaked, unoaked, with or without qvevri) would make versatile pairings with our diverse cuisine types in Asia!  As this is still an emerging wine region, the quality is not as consistent as one would hope.  With some, the wineries get it so right with the qvevri winemaking, that it's like the greatest thing since sliced bread (or in this case, since Cabernet Sauvignon?!)!  With others, technical improvement and winery hygiene may be necessary. If you can keep an open mind, the discoveries can be very exciting and you cannot wait to spread the word!

Gaumarjos!