While wandering the aisles of a Lithuanian supermarket recently I noticed the preponderance of Georgian wine on the shelves varying in price from £1 to £15 ($2 to $30). Not having tried anything from this country before, and with limited knowledge of this region of the world, I randomly chose 3 from the range on display, a cheap semi-sweet red and white (£2 each) and a more expensive dry red (£6). Sitting in the hotel room that night I uncorked the cheaper red while I browsed the internet looking for references to Georgian winemaking in general and, more specifically, what I had just purchased. Georgia has a long history of winemaking with 500 or so indigenous grape varieties, most famous being the red Saperavi and white Rkatsiteli. Wine was traditionally fermented in underground clay vessels called kvevri and it is arguable that Georgia is the birthplace of Winemaking, with archaeological evidence pointing at winemaking at least 8000 years ago. In 2006 Russia, Georgia’s northern neighbour and historical overlord from the days of the Tsarist Empire and the Soviet Union, banned all import of Georgian wine, citing health warnings. While political motivation for the embargo is widely cited it is accepted that Georgian wines suffer from a serious counterfeit problem in many of their traditional export markets, something the Georgian government and winemakers are trying to address. As well as reclaiming their reputation Georgia is now looking westwards for an outlet for its quality wines.
Back to the wine. Alazni is the main river running through the Eastern Georgia wine region of Kahketi region and the Georgian Valleys 2005 Alaznis Valley Red, by Tbilvino, is a semi-sweet red blend of approx. 60% Saperavi and 40% Rkatsiteli. This style is traditionally favoured by Eastern European consumers, but is regarded by the new wave of Georgian winemakers as unsophisticated for modern Western markets. The nose was simple but fruity, with a mulled wine aspect in the background. There is a touch of dryness in the mouth but overwhelmingly it is the “almost sweet” aspect which is apparent, however some low level complexity is coming through - a touch of chocolate, a smidgen of cherry. At £2 ($4) this was a pleasant drink and encouraging for the remaining bottles heading back to the UK with me. A quick check of the Tbilvino website shows an international influence in the first half of the decade from Australian winemakers Nick Spencer (now at - Blue Metal Vineyards) and Jeff Aston - (Even Keel Wines). The site has some good background information on Georgian winemaking and has plenty of similarity to the Wikipedia entry on Georgian wines. So, what about the other 2 wines that made it home? The white was also from the Georgian Valleys range by Tbilvino, the semi-sweetAlaznis Valleys 2005 White, a 100% Rkatsiteli. I expect this to make a nice simple weekend drink sometime before the end of the year. The red is a Tamada Mukuzani 2001 Kakheti Dry Red . Mukuzani is 100% Saperavi aged for at least 3 years in oak casks and seems to be in the vanguard of Georgian international award-winning reds. I look forward to when I eventually open this one, but plan on holding onto it well into 2008 or beyond.So how easy is it to get Georgian wines if you aren’t loitering around Eastern Europe? In the U.K. only a limited selection is available, but not surprisingly includes Waitrose, who offer the “Orovela Saperavi 2004, Kakheti” as recommended by Jancis Robinson In the U.S. WLTV offers a good selection under $15, most under $10.
Greybeard
Bordeaux is an enigma; or is it? True, it’s many things to many people but fundamentally, what is it about Bordeaux? Why is it so sought after and enjoyed throughout the world? Bordeaux is most famous for its rich and pricey reds, but fortunately, within its boundaries one can also find tremendous wines for every palette and budget. You may not know this but Bordeaux is the biggest fine wine region in the world. The region contains over 280,000 acres of vines farmed by 13,000 grape growers, producing 800,000,000 bottles of wine annually. Yes, you read that correctly, eight hundred MILLION bottles.
Lemme give you a few reasons why I’m involved with Bordeaux. When I was 17 I was introduced to a little wine called Chateau Margaux (lucky teenager eh?) and it began a life long love of the region. I studied privately and collected a bit here and there but upon my father’s death a few years back it made me realize how much I love wine and especially Bordeaux, so I changed careers, became a poor student again working on a number of certifications, including International Bordeaux Tutor. So, I guess I am now a wine professional.
As a Professional, I see many people who gushingly exclaim “I love Bordeaux!”, and yet know nothing about it. They mentally group Bordeaux as a type of wine rather than the end product of its geographic source. When I ask what they love about it? The answer is usually because it simply tastes good. Now that is an absolutely great reason to drink Bordeaux, it’s how we all start drinking wine, but we never ask ourselves, why did it taste so good? And how do I apply that knowledge to purchasing other bottles? The main question is can you mix advanced knowledge with enjoyment of drinking wine? Well, of course you can and in forthcoming articles here at Reign of Terroir give you the knowledge to make you better Bordeaux drinkers and buyers.
To understand any wine region, especially Bordeaux, you have to have a basis of where it originates and its history. The need for instant gratification creates wine drinkers who take critics at their word and instead of finding wines to their own tastes they just buy what is recommended because it’s easy. Have you ever brought home $200 of critic recommended wine and found yourself surfing the internet that night looking for vinegar jars or sangria recipes to dump the undrinkable remains of bottles you just didn’t like? Having a bit of knowledge about the wine you are buying can save a lot of heartache on your pocketbook and taste buds.
In future articles at Reign of Terroir I’m going to give you a lot of fine details regarding the region. I will include the discussion of vintages in detail and not just give you some chart. Don’t you end up hating vintage charts because they never seem to work they way you think they are supposed to? I will give you the information to develop the ability to know which Bordeaux is going to be right for you. For example did you know when the critics crow about how wonderful a specific vintage might be for Bordeaux most of the time they are referencing the left bank? But it could be a poor year for the right bank and bargains to be had as a result. We’ll enjoy a number of Cabernet versus Merlot smack downs along the way.
I’m not a wine critic. If ratings are your gig, you’re going to need to get a subscription to a critic. I’m here to give you the reasons why they get the ratings. We trust in people we’ve never met to make recommendations and hope and pray its good when we open the bottle and it just shouldn’t be that hard. Bordeaux really isn’t all that complicated once you have basic facts and its history under your thick old noggins. Now, how completely jazzed are you going to be when you walk into intimidating wine stores armed with nothing other than your brain and when they ask you if you need help you can say no and mean it!
So, take this journey with me, and together, we’re going back to hundreds of years of history, through war, peace, pestilence, tradition and discover what is arguably the most famous wines in the world…..Bordeaux.
Donna
