Last year I read in one of the Fitzroy Mclean books that he was very fond of the country Georgia. The landscapes, the people, the food and its wine. This made me curious. All I know of Georgia is that it was the birthplace of Stalin and that it is on the Black Sea. For the rest I don't know anything about this country.
A couple of weeks ago I bought six bottles of Georgian wine. These two - one white and one red - I liked best.
The 'Tavankari Saperavi' was very special. Something like a Barolo but less earthly and more round. Both wines were fermented in kvevri. These are large clay amphorae, buried below ground, used for the fermentation, storage and ageing of wine. After the grapes are pressed the juice, grape skins, stalks and pips are poured into the kvevri, which is then sealed. The juice is then left to ferment into wine for at least five months before being decanted and bottled. An empty kvevri is after being washed, sterilized with lime and re-coated with beeswax. Ready to be filled again.
Archaeological excavations uncovered in Georgia kvevri dating back to the 6th millennium B.C. Pretty old, right?
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