Georgia on my Mind
There were a number of casualties from that two year period not long since past, due to the Virus-that-must-not-be-named. Amongst the airline issues caused, one of the casualties was direct flights from the UK to Georgia aka ‘The Cradle of Wine’.
Now I definitely don’t want to go into the debates here about which country is the birthplace of wine, especially with the likes of Italy, Persia and Armenia staking a claim, but I will say that Georgia makes a pretty forceful case for being the first people to ferment grapes long enough to prove the existence of God.
Alongside these etiological debates, Georgian wine has become more and more popular, particularly in the UK (one might say as a result of their historical claims). In vogue winemaking methods surrounding ‘natural wine’ such as the use of amphorae or qvevri and natural yeast fermentation is causing people to look at Georgian wine afresh with an appreciation for how things have been done there for thousands of years.
Grape varieties like Saperavi and Rkatsiteli are some of the leading grapes that are making renowned wines of high acidity and great aging potential; so much so that our old Australian friends have started to plant them (shock, I know).
So when Air Iveria announced that it would be flying direct flights from Gatwick to Tbilisi from May 2024, it was pretty clear that the main reason they were doing so was because of Georgia’s burgeoning wine scene.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any Georgian wines in our line-up here at The Wine Importers but with these flights opening up that might just have to change. If however all that talk of amphora has got you intrigued, check out our wine of the week.