“WINE CITY” AT TBILISOBA 2014
As part of Tbilisi’s 2 day Tbilisoba 2014 celebration (Georgian: თბილისობა), a “Wine City” was set up in Rike Park and the city’s residents, visitors and tourists were able to sample a range of Georgia’s fabulous wines and spirits. Georgian farmers produced 155,000 tonnes of grapes this year. From January 1 to September 30, Georgia exported 42.8 … Continue reading
QVEVRI AND QVEVRI WINE MUSEUM
The Qvevri and Qvevri Wine Museum in the historic village of Napareuli, in Georgia’s Kakheti region, is the first and only museum in Georgia dedicated to Qvevri and Qvevri wine-making. Thousands of years ago the people of the South Caucasus region discovered how to transform wild grape juice into wine by leaving it to ferment in … Continue reading
NEW WINE FESTIVAL TBILISI 2014
On May 24, the Georgian Wine Club hosted the annual New Wine Festival held at the Giorgi Chitaia Open Air Museum of Ethnography (Georgian: გიორგი ჩიტაიას სახელობის ეთნოგრაფიული მუზეუმი ღია ცის ქვეშ) in Tbilisi. The festival featured a wide range of wines from large companies and wine cellars as well as family wines from different … Continue reading
THE GRAPE HARVEST
This year’s grape harvest has begun in Georgia. The process of picking grapes and making wine, together with the accompanying celebrations, is called Rtveli (Georgian: რთველი) and marks the end of the agricultural cycle for the year. Rtveli involves almost everyone in Georgia. Wine is produced by thousands of small vineyard farmers (using primarily traditional techniques of wine-making), as well … Continue reading
KVARELI WINE TUNNELS
Kvareli Gvirabi, near Kvareli (Georgian: ყვარელი) in Khaketi region, is Georgia’s largest wine cellar – 7.7 km of tunnels and galleries that maintain a constant temperature of 12-14 degrees C and 70% relative humidity all year round – perfect storage conditions for wine. Originally built for military purposes during the Cold War, the tunnels (gvirabi) … Continue reading
WINE HOUSE IN KACHRETI
A “Wine Day” was recently held at the Wine House in Kachreti in Georgia’s Kakheti region. The Wine House is a vocational program of “Aisi” Vocational College and provides training to students in the traditional methods of wine-making and also supports local farmers with consultations, and testing, bottling and packing of their wines. In 2011, the … Continue reading
WINE FESTIVAL IN RACHA
A wine festival was held in Racha at the end of August. Organized by the regional government of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region (Georgian: რაჭა-ლეჩხუმი და ქვემო სვანეთი) it aimed to promote agricultural products and improve links between local farmers and markets. Visitors were able to taste the wines, enjoy great food, traditional folk songs, … Continue reading
KARTLI WINE FESTIVAL 2013
We attended the “Kartli Wine Festival” in the city of Gori (Georgian: გორი) in Shida Kartli region in eastern Georgia. The event aimed to promote and popularize Kartli wine. Visitors had an opportunity to speak to local wine producers, taste the wines, browse stalls displaying local crafts and also enjoy traditional music and a barbecue. The festival was held … Continue reading
CHAKAPULI (GEORGIAN: ჩაქაფული)
Chakapuli (Georgian: ჩაქაფული) is a popular Georgian stew made with lamb or beef, dry white wine, tarragon leaves, unripe (sour) green plums, green onions, green peppers, green coriander, garlic and salt. It is popular in the Spring when the plums are unripe. Ingredients (6 servings): 700 grams of diced lamb or beef. 150 grams of wild sour green plums. 200 … Continue reading
RTVELI – GEORGIAN WINE HARVEST AND FESTIVITIES
Rtveli (Georgian: რთველი) is the traditional vintage (the process of picking grapes and making wine) accompanied by celebrations that mark the end of the agricultural cycle for the year. For centuries, viticulture has been of great economic importance to Georgia. Today, there are more than 175,000 acres planted with vines. The vine also has an iconic and religious significance … Continue reading
INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL WINE-MAKING
Thousands of years ago the ancient people of the South Caucasus Region discovered how to transform wild grape juice into wine by leaving it to ferment in clay vessels called Kvevri, which they buried in the ground. It was from Georgia that the method of wine-making in Kvevri spread to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and the rest of … Continue reading
Georgian Recipes 