Top 100 wines of Georgia - Page 10

Discovering the wine region of Georgia

Georgia (the Eurasian nation, not the American state) is one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world. The main wine varieties favored in Georgia are the red Saperavi and the white Rkatsiteli. These are the classic varieties of the former Soviet republics, from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to Moldova">Moldova and Ukraine. A number of other long-established varieties are widely grown in the country.

Of these, red wine grapes are by far the most common, including Alexandrouli, Aladasturi, Keduretuli, Ojaleshi and Usakhelauri. Their white counterparts are led by Chinuri and Mtsvani, in the Goruli and Kakhuri variants. The country is also strongly associated with the continuation of ancient winemaking techniques. This includes the use of clay vessels called qvevri (or kvevri) for Fermentation and storage.

Similar to ancient amphorae, they are buried in the ground outside, or built into the floor of a Cellar to ensure temperature Consistency. Winemakers in the United States, Australia and elsewhere have also begun importing and using them. Archaeological evidence suggests that early wine production began 6,000 to 8,000 years ago in the Russia/kavkaz">Caucasus region. This region includes Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and eastern Turkey.