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GEORGIA
Georgia, a viticulture of more than 8000 years
Georgia is now recognized as the country with the oldest viticulture in the world. Remains dating back almost 8000 years attest to this such as clay jars, called "quevri" or "kvevri", used for fermentation and wine preservation. Wine is also derived from the Georgian word "gvino".
Georgia enjoys ideal climatic conditions with hot, dry summers and mild winters. The vineyards flourish in a natural environment of mountains and numerous springs of pure natural water.
For thousands of years, wine has been deeply a part of the culture, traditions and daily life of Georgians. In the 20th century, Georgian vineyards supplied the Soviet Union for 70 years and then almost exclusively Russia until the mid-2000s. It was a tragic event, the war with Russia and the Russian embargo of 2006 that accelerated the recognition of Georgian wines in the world. Ten years later, Georgia has set up a National Wine Agency and exports are booming.
Everything you need to know about Georgian wines
The vineyard, grape varieties and wines of Georgia
Georgia's vineyards cover about 450,000 hectares and 18 wine-growing regions modelled on French AOPs where grape varieties, planting density and yields are controlled.
- To the east, up to the borders with Russia and Azerbaijan, lies the Kakheti region, which accounts for nearly 70% of Georgia's wine production. It produces rich red wines, especially in the Alazani Valley, lively and aromatic white wines from the Rkatsiteli grape variety and well-structured amber wines. The great red grape variety is undoubtedly the Saperavi which gives a wide variety of quality wines, bright, lively and dominated by red fruits or rich and spicy.
- In the center, the other 2 largest wine regions of Kartli which extends to the border with Armenia in the south and Imereti. The Kartli vineyard surrounds the capital Tbilisi and is located at a high altitude, between 500 and 700 meters. It produces aromatic wines made mainly from the whites of the Mtsvane grape variety and from the reds of the Saperavi and Shavkapito varieties. The Imereti vineyard is surrounded by unspoilt wilderness and produces white wines from the rich and very fresh Krakhuna and Tsolikouri grapes and juicy and exuberant red wines from the Otskhanuri Sapere grape. Fermentation in Qvevri produces amber wines that are more refined and lighter than in Kakheti. The 2 small regions of Racha and Lechkhumi are wild and mountainous with artisanal viticulture and low volumes whose wines made from indigenous grape varieties (Aleksandrouli, Mudjuretuli) give wines that are still little exported but very appreciated by Georgians and recognized by the best restaurants in the country.
- To the west to the shores of the Black Sea, the regions of Samegrelo, Guria, Ajaria, and Abkhazia to the north. Guria is the ancient Colchis where, in Greek mythology, Jason and the Argonauts came to seize the Golden Fleece, and one of the oldest wine-growing regions in the world. The wines are marked by the subtropical climate with beautiful rosé and red wines made from the Chkhaveri grape.
Orange or amber wine and fermentation in Qvevri
Orange or amber wines are complex and aromatic white wines, rich and structured, resulting from fermentation and maceration in jars called Qvevri or Kvevri. This ancestral winemaking method gives the wines a more or less intense orange colour. It has been practiced for 8 millennia in Georgia and has just been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These terracotta jars are buried in the ground and usually hold between 300 and 800 liters.
The method of vinifying kvevri consists of pouring the juice, skins, stems and seeds of the grapes into these jars, closing it and burying it in the ground for a period of five to six months, the time necessary for fermentation and vinification.
If it is so old, it is because it can treat the many stages of winemaking in an entirely natural way: temperature control, extraction, alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, clarification and stabilization.
The Qvevri or Marani wineries can be found all over Georgia, the most famous being found in monasteries that have preserved this tradition for centuries and for which we find the name "Monastery Wines".
How do you get Georgia wines?
Go directly to our selection of Georgian wines that you can buy individually or take advantage of reduced shipping costs on our "discovery" boxes and boxes of 6 or 3 bottles: The Golden Bottle allows you to discover and taste before buying.
Wines and "discovery" cartons Georgia
Georgian wines offered individually
Find below all the Georgia wines currently on sale and buy them individually or compose your own box.
The Georgia discovery box 3 bottles
The Georgia Discovery Box 6 bottles
Buy a Georgia discovery box of 6 bottles: 3 wines and 2 bottles of each wine and only 7 euros shipping costs.
Buy Georgian wines directly
All our boxes, cartons and Georgia wines are shown below. For an express purchase, simply click on the "Add to my hood" button and the wines you have chosen will then be added to your shopping cart, accessible at the top right of this page.
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-10%
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Caucasus Red Wine Gift Set 3 bottles
84.60 €
76.14 €
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