"12 Unexplored Wine Regions You Must Visit This Fall" is the title of the famous fashion magazine Vogue. International experts presented a list of wine tourism destinations, including Georgia.
The Shida Kartli region is the central Georgia, named one of the best destinations for wine tourism along with the regions of Spain, Italy, Mexico, USA, Switzerland, France and Argentina.
As the world's oldest continuously wine-producing region, one would expect Georgia to be more popular, but there's a reason why it still seems unknown.
“The republic was under Soviet rule for decades, and the culture of winemaking suffered greatly. Only four grape varieties (out of over 500) have been approved for production; the rest were kept under wraps,” explains natural wine journalist and writer Rachel Signer.
“With the independence of Georgia, they rediscovered their wine culture and began to share it with the rest of the world. If you're obsessed with orange wine, local white wines are most likely already on your radar.
Signer explains the term “orange wine” as follows:
“This style involves picking white grapes and fermenting them rather than straight pressing the juice. This fermentation allows the juice to take on color, flavor, and texture from the skins of the grapes. The result is a completely different wine that has the floral elements of white wine but the tannins of red.”
Signer also notes that Kartli is easy to get to because of its proximity to the capital, Tbilisi, in less than an hour by car. She advises visiting the winery of Iago Bitarishvili and his wife Marina Kurtanidze.
“Georgian wine is made in underground amphoras called kvevri and you will find them in the Iago and Marina winery. It's very atmospheric, with messages written on the walls from visitors from all over the world,” writes Rachel Signer.
What is orange wine?
Orange wine or orange wine is a kind of white wine infused on the pulp, without separating the skins, seeds or twigs from the grapes. The term "orange wine" was coined by British wine importer David Harvey to distinguish it from the usual white wine. The Italians call their orange wine Ramato, “red,” and are most often made from Pinot Grigio.
Many experts suggest that orange wine be officially classified as a separate category, along with red and white wines.
The technology for the production of "orange wines" was known in Georgia many centuries ago. Here, the wine was fermented for several years in clay vessels buried in the ground - Qvevri. An orange-colored wine is obtained, for example, from Rkatsiteli grapes.
