Wines
About forty varieties of grape are grown in Georgia, with rkatsiteli and saperavi being of central importance. The former is high in acidity, producing white wines of fine character. The latter produces full-bodied red wines which can age for up to fifty years; it is also used extensively for blending with other varieties. Mtsvane – ‘mtsvane’ is the Georgian word for ‘green’ - is another important variety, often blended with rkatsiteli to which it adds a fruity, aromatic balance
Traditional Georgian winemaking methods vary with the region. In Kakheti, in the East, fermentation of the grape juice takes place together with the pulp, grape-skins and pips. Satrepezo is made using this method. The pulp is put in clay jars or Kvevri, buried in the ground so that the temperature is kept constant. Other regions employ the European method, in which fermentation of pure grape-juice must takes place without the pulp.
Georgia’s fifty brands of table wine fall into two zones: Kakheti and Kartli in the east, and the provinces of the west including Imereti, Samegrelo, Guria, Ajara, and the break-away province of Abkhazia. In the East, the mild-tasting Tsinandali is one of the principal dry whites, while the famous Kindzmarauli dominates among the semi-sweet reds; Alazani is another notable semisweet white, made from rkatsiteli, from the river system bordering Georgia and Azerbaijan where the warmer climate leads to sweeter grapes. Western Georgian Reds include the light, semi-sweet Ojaleshi; the majestic semi-sweet Khvanchkara with its dark ruby colour; while the East produces the contrasting dry reds Mukuzani and Napareuli, from controlled appellations on either side of the Alazani river.