GEORGIAN WINE

Georgia: The Cradle Of Winemaking

Believe it or not, one of the oldest wine artefacts in the whole world was discovered in Georgia. In 2015, a group of scientists found ancient clay jars in the south-east of the country. These vessels contained traces of wine of an impressive age: 8,000 years old! Since this groundbreaking discovery, Georgia has been widely referred to as ‘the cradle of winemaking’.

For Georgians, wine is an important part of the culture. Indeed, it features in every meal. Moreover, no celebration is complete without long poetic toasts and ram horns filled with wine. In addition, vine and wine are sacred here. For example, locals believe that long time ago Georgians were converted to Christianity with… grape vine! According to the legend, in the 4th Century AD Saint Nino of Cappadocia arrived in the Kingdom of Iberia (part of modern Georgia). Nino carried a cross made of grape vine. It is with this cross that she baptised the Iberian king, Mirian III. Soon, the whole country followed. Nowadays, Saint Nino’s grapevine cross is a major symbol of Georgian Christianity. The cross is kept at the Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi.

Georgian Wine In The 20th Century

In the 20th century Georgian winemaking went through a rough time. This was because under Soviet rule the focus was on quantity rather than quality. As a result, plantings of indigenous grapes were replaced with more productive varieties. At last, the new millennia brought a much needed change. In search of the identity of Georgian wine local producers focused on native varieties and unique winemaking traditions. Therefore today Georgian wine can easily compete with the finest examples from both New World and Old World. Indeed, these are authentic wines with plenty of character and a real sense of place.

Further on, the wine is carefully moved into a clean qvevri for ageing. No additives are used and only indigenous yeasts take part in fermentation, so these are some of the most interesting examples of natural wines.

The only downside of qvevri is that they are notoriously difficult to clean and maintain. This process requires special tools and hours of hard labour (in fact, to clean the qvevri, someone needs to climb into it).

Georgian Wine Styles: Off-dry & Medium Sweet

Another thing Georgia is famous for are its sweeter styles of wines. These wines are made from the grapes picked up slightly later than usual, when sugar levels are peaking. Thus, the sweetness always comes from the natural sugar found in the grapes. Vibrant, fresh and fruity, with delicate sweetness balanced by vivid acidity, these wines work wonders when paired with spicy flavourful food. Some of the most famous examples include Pirosmani and Alazani. Pirosmani is an off-dry wine, either red, made of Saperavi grape, or white, made of Rkatsiteli grape. On the other hand, Alazani is a medium sweet red wine made of Saperavi grape. At Wine Origins, we have carefully curated a selection of top off-dry and medium sweet Georgian wines in the UK. 

In 2003 Georgia delineated its wine regions and introduced Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs). PDO is a similar concept to French appellations. In fact, the same system works not only in France, but in most wine countries in the world. Specifically, PDO is meant to ensure the high quality and the authenticity of the wines. In Georgia, for PDO wines each production stage – from vineyard work to bottling – is controlled by a dedicated state agency. Moreover, a panel of experts checks the quality of Georgian wine before it can be labeled as PDO, as well as before it can be exported. The leading Georgian PDOs include are described below. 

Georgia boasts an array of unique indigenous grape varieties. We offer Georgian wine in the UK with a strong focus on some of the most acclaimed indigenous grapes.