GEORGIAN WINE TASTING
For the paper, we wanted to conduct a Georgian wine tasting in order to really understand the wines. Unfortunately, it is still not easy to find Georgian wines in the US and the ordering from the East Coast took some time (carrying with it handling risks). These are the result from a tasting which we conducted on Monday. We also had two Georgian guests to provide us with local insights on the Georgian culture and to help us recreate the magic of a “supra”.
Tasting notes legend:
Producer, Grape variety / blend name, vintage, region, other characteristics (qvevri and/or unfiltered)
- Appearance
- Smells and flavors
- Perceived alcohol (actual alcohol), body of the wine, acid level L/M/H
- What we think of the wine, our rating out of 100 (we’re playing the critics here)
WHITES
The first pair we tasted were produced by the same winemaker (which markets them under two different labels). Schuchmann / Vinoterra is a biodynamic winery in the Kakheti region founded by German winemaker Burkhard Schuchmann. As discussed in class, the biodynamic characteristic of the wine is not disclosed on the label. The only difference between the two Mtsvane is the production method. One is traditional (Schuchmann) while the other is Qveveri (Vinoterra). The separation in brands, as explained by one of the winemakers onsite, was to enable better category differentiation and targeting in export markets (predominantly E.U.).
Schuchmann, Mtsvane, 2014, Kakheti
- Pale Yellow
- Chemical, paint thinner
- Alcohol M/L (but 13.5%), thin body, acid M
- Not good would never buy, <50
Vinoterra, Mtsvane, 2014, Kakheti (Qvevri)
- Rusty Orange
- Smoked salmon, apricot, mineral
- Alcohol M (13%), thin body, acid L, Tannins H
- Very interesting but still strange, 80
Similarly, on the second round we focused on Rkatsiteli. Both wines were qvevri but one was unfiltered. Tsarapi Vineyard is a smaller and more local producer compared to Schuchmann / Vinoterra, we clearly got that feeling from the label which seemed done at home. Tsarapi is a family affair operating on just a few hectares of land.
Vinoterra, Rkatsiteli, 2014, Kakheti (Qvevri)
- Yellow - pale golden
- Smoke, orange zest,
- Alcohol M (13%), medium body, acid M, Tannins M
- Medium good, 75
Tsarapi Vineyard (“Our Wine”), Rkasiteli, 2013, Kakheti (Qvevri – unfiltered)
- Orange, opaque (not filtered)
- Fresh, smoke, forest floor, beef jerky
- Alcohol M (14.2%), medium body, acid M, Tannins XXH, slight cider / lemon taste due to the wine being unfiltered. Extreme nature tastes present.
- Good, 88; very unique expression
REDS
Unlike the whites, the red Saperavi produced with different methods (always by Schuchmann / Vinoterra) did not differ nearly as significantly (but it is round 3 so our perception is starting to get cloudy). The subtler distinction is because in both cases, the grapes would already have significant tannins present -- as opposed to producing whites with added pomace.
Schuchmann, Saperavi, 2014, Kakheti
- Pink rim, pink red pale core
- Red fruit, beef jerky, slight amaretto
- Alcohol M/L (12.5%), light body, medium, acid M, Tannins H
- Ok, not sure at what time of the day I would drink this, 78
Vinoterra, Saperavi, 2014, Kakheti (Qvevri)
- Pink rim, Red medium core
- Red fruit,
- Alcohol M (13%), medium light body, acid M, Tannins H
- Same as above, slightly better, 80
Teliani Valley Winery is 100% owned by Bank of Georgia (private bank traded in LSE). It was a defaulted loan in 2005 that ended up with the bank obtaining property of the winery. (As noted by one of our guests, a former employee of BoG). Also, Schuchmann winery has investments from Bank of Georgia, testifying to the interest of the private sector in launching Georgian wine internationally. Many wineries focused on export markets to Europe and North America have foreign stakeholders -- Shuchmann has German ties (obviously) while Pheasant’s Tears (not tasted) has an American linkage, for example.
They openly target the European market, as we could make out of the Cabernet – Saperavi blend, which had a taste with some similar but distinct flavor profiles to a traditional Western palate.
Schuchmann Mukuzani (made from 100% Saperavi) 2014 Kakheti
- Pink rim, dark red core
- Oak, pepper (3 years of oak?? We did the math, it didn’t seem to add up), mushroom, violets
- Alcohol M/H (13%), medium body, acid M / L, tannins H
- Good, 89
- This was the most popular wines tasted among the community of tasters overall, perhaps tied with the ‘Our Wine’ white.
Teliani Valley Reserve, Cabernet – Saperavi 50/50, 2010 Kakheti
- Red orange rim (age shows up), dark red – brown core
- Prune, amaretto, oak (a lot – 12 months of French oak)
- Alcohol M / H (13%), medium thick body, acid M, tannins H
- Pretty tasty, 90 -- but perhaps too ‘international’ if it lost a little of it soul along the way
SPIRITS
Georgia also has a fervent internal market for spirits, mainly composed of Chacha (distilled from pomace) and brandy (from wines). We couldn’t finish the tasting without trying one.
Sarajishvili Georgian Brandy VO
- Orange and rust, traditional brandy color
- Cloves, oak, orange, vanilla
- Very very good, we all liked it, 95
Conclusions
One of the Georgian guests made us understand that all the wines we tried were “not good” (in other terms) compared to some others not available in the US market. We hypothesized several explanations for this:
- Local handling: Time and conditions did not permit experimentation with decanting (a real asset for many of the qvevri reds in some cases) and the whites were rather room-temperature after transport from storage to tasting room.
- Shipping and handling: We do not know whether the wines were shipped in refrigerated containers from Georgia (or how FedEx handled from D.C. to Palo Alto).
- Other environmental factors: Several of the tasters who had had the products in Georgia found notable distinctions in flavor for the same wineries and vintages -- some of this can be explained by the absence of delicious khachapuri and pkhali pairings, some from just a different milieu that gives rise to a different subjective experience.
Finally, there is the likely possibility that there are just many delicious wines, whether homemade, small-scale, or commercially available, that we simply couldn’t get our hands on. Despite efforts by trade groups and the Georgian government to improve U.S. market access, Georgian wines remain in limited supply, and only our heroic efforts brought us any wine at all (as detailed in a preceding blog post on online retailing as a challenge).
One thing is for sure: Georgia has many interesting wines, and they can be a great value. While our tastes were highly divergent across the wines and within our group, most of these wines were highly-rated in the international wine press (Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, and others) garnering recommendations and effusive praise. Especially with prices < $20, < $15, and in some cases < $ 12 per bottle, scores of 87, 88, 89, 90 and above are not unimpressive invitations for more Western drinkers to give Georgia a try. We just hope quality and handling can improve to ensure they come back for seconds.
Lastly, of note, our endurance did not carry us through to our finest and most exquisite bottles - as measured by price and 3rd party ratings at least - so those interested in a taste should reach out to join in our next tasting when we finish our batch.
Team Georgia (Sam, Sebastiano, Tania)
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