Did you know the country of Georgia has been making wine for 8,000 years? I didn’t until recently. At a site that’s still being excavated, clay pots from that period were found with remnants of winemaking.
Georgia borders Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Most of its terrain is wine country, and its population is small at about 3.5 million. A lot of Georgians make wine at home, as you don’t have to have a license there to make alcohol. Some of these do bottle and sell their wines, but bottles imported to the U.S. must have the proper licensing and permits.
Wines are made differently in Georgia than in most of Europe. Classic European style involves fermenting just the juice and aging in oak barrels, resulting in low tannins and a light color. In Georgia, the juice is fermented with the skins and aged in a clay amphora pot called a Qvevri. This results in higher tannins, younger wines that are more oxidized, and an amber color.
Generations of families have made these clay pots by hand, which takes a couple of months per pot. Some of these are shipped to the U.S. Some homemade wines are never bottled. Instead, people either drink them directly from the qvevri or store the wine in tanks.
There are more than 520 known varieties of endemic grapes in Georgia. Unfortunately, some varieties were lost during the Soviet occupation.
Rkatsiteli, with apple and pear notes, is the most produced white grape. Mtsvane is another popular variety. Its name means “green” in the Georgian language. Saperavi is the most produced red grape in the country. It’s sometimes so dark that the wine produced from it is called “black wine.”
While you might have to hunt to find Georgian wines in the U.S., it’s worth looking for them and trying these bottles made in an unusual way in the world’s first winemaking region. But if you want to visit the country’s wineries yourself, check out EatThisTours, which offers wine-focused itineraries within Georgia. I hope to get there myself before long!
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
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