What Did I Find in the World’s OLDEST Wine Country? GEORGIA Blew My Mind!

What Did I Find in the World’s OLDEST Wine Country? GEORGIA Blew My Mind!

(lively upbeat music) – Welcome to Georgia! Georgia is the birthplace of wine, and a pilgrimage every
wine lover should make. With over 8,000 years of
continuous wine-making history, this Eurasian country nestled
in the Caucasus Mountains has a rich cultural identity, all its own. Fiercely independent people,
unique and dynamic food, and a wine culture that
permeates every part of life. But don’t let the history fool you, the modern Georgian wine
scene is just that, modern. Sure, it’s known for its
world famous amber wines, but today’s industry is so much more. It combines cutting-edge technology with modern sensibilities
and ancient tradition. This is a country that’s
reemerged since the Soviet era as a force to be reckoned with, and I can’t wait to explore it with you. So, welcome to Georgia and
welcome to “V is for Vino.” (lively upbeat music) (choral music) Sorry about that. That wouldn’t be the last
time I was moved to tears during my trip to Georgia. But let’s back up and
start at the beginning. (lively cheerful music) Georgia sits at the
crossroads of Europe and Asia, bordered by the Black Sea to the west, and surrounded by Turkey,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. If you’re visiting, you’ll
likely fly into Tbilisi, capital city and cultural
heart of the country. Home to 1.2 million people, Tbilisi holds about one third
of Georgia’s population. (lively cheerful music) Welcome to Georgia, the
country, not the state, for my fellow Americans out
there, and welcome to Tbilisi. Founded in the fifth century, this city, like the country itself, has been ruled by many
empires over the centuries. Today, it stands as the
political, cultural, and economic heart of Georgia. It’s a city of contrasts,
medieval churches, Persian and Arab bathhouses, Soviet blocks and sleek glass buildings
all woven together in a place that’s a little
gritty, endlessly charming, and full of heart. You’ll find street art tucked behind centuries old cathedrals, and natural wine bars sharing alleyways with underground techno clubs. The city is becoming increasingly modern, a sharp departure from its
not so distant Soviet past. So, how did Georgia get here? Let’s rewind and take a crash course in this country’s complex history. Georgia holds the title for the oldest archeological
evidence of wine-making in the world, dating
back to around 6,000 BC. It has over 8,000 years of continuous wine-making experience. Wine has persisted through it all, first with its ancient history. Then when Christianity was
adopted in the fourth century AD, wine became central to religious
rituals and daily life. During Georgia’s golden age
in the 11th to 13th centuries, wine-making flourished in
monasteries and noble estates. Even under invasions by the
Mongols, Persians and Ottomans, wine culture survived,
often moving underground or continuing in rural remote areas. In 1801, Georgia became
part of the Russian Empire, and commercial wine-making
began to expand. But in 1921, under Soviet control, the wine industry was
centralized and industrialized. Quality declined, but quantity soared. And by the 1970s, Georgia
was producing enough wine to rank among the world’s
top five wine regions with most of its output exported to Russia and other Soviet republics. That changed in the late 1980s when Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign and the collapse of the Soviet Union devastated the industry. Many vineyards fell into disrepair. Over the next two decades, Georgia worked to
rebuild its wine culture, shifting from mass
production to high quality terroir driven wines, and
reviving traditional methods like qvevri fermentation, all
while facing Russian embargoes and political tension. Today, that hard work has paid off. Quality is at an all time high, and production continues to grow steadily with exports expanding far beyond Russia, to Europe, to US and Asia. (lively upbeat music) Through centuries of foreign
rule and outside influence, the Georgian people have remained defiant, holding tightly to their
culture, language, traditions, and religion. And still, through all
of Georgian’s history, one thing has remained
constant, it’s wine culture. You could argue wine is essential
to this country’s identity as it is in France. But here it’s not about
prestige, it’s deeply personal. Wine is made to share,
poured at family dinners, religious holidays, weddings, funerals, and most famously at the
legendary Georgian supra, a traditional Georgian feast. Nearly everyone here knows
someone who grows grapes, because while Georgia
may have around 3,500 official wine makers who sell wine, there are over 47,000 grape
growers across the country. It’s largely possible, thanks
to the Caucasus Mountains which provide a fertile
and striking backdrop for wine growing. (lively upbeat music) For a country only about one
third the size of California, Georgia produces an astonishing
diversity of grapes. Over 500 indigenous varieties grow across seven climate zones. Much of that diversity
comes from the mountains, the Greater Caucasus to the north, forming a natural border with Russia, and the Lesser Caucasus
along the southern edge. They shield the vineyards from cold winds, create valleys and microclimates, and provide altitude for
longer growing seasons and fresher, more balanced wines. The soils are just as
varied, volcanic and mineral, rich with granite, quartzite,
shale, limestone, lava and alluvial deposits scattered
throughout the country. While Georgia has 10 major
wine regions and 29 PDOs, three standout above the rest. 77% of all vineyards are in Kakheti, on the east side of the country. Famous subregions here
include Telavi and Napareuli, known for both reds and whites. Kindzmarauli, known for semi-sweet reds. Mukuzani, known for powerful
dry Saperavi-based reds. And Tsinandali, known for
light, fresh white blends. The region of Kartli produces
about 5% of Georgia’s wine, but it’s one of the country’s
oldest wine-making areas and is gaining newfound popularity fast. It’s located west of Kakheti and has a slightly cooler climate, which allows for more
modern, elegant styles. Imereti in Western Georgia makes about 14% of the country’s wine. It’s the coolest and wettest
of the three main regions, and the wines reflect that,
typically light, fresh, and lower in alcohol. Beyond the big three,
Georgia’s other wine regions are smaller and more scattered,
but rich in tradition. Many focus on rare native
grapes, high altitude vineyards, and small scale, often
natural wine-making. (lively upbeat music) You may have noticed I haven’t talked much about amber wine yet, the style
Georgia is most famous for. You might know it as orange
wine or skin-contact wine. And don’t worry, we’ll get there. But Georgia’s wine scene today is so much more than just amber wine. And in fact, only about five
to 8% of wine produced here is amber. The majority is red wine,
followed by white wine. And as we journey through Georgia, I’m so excited to explore the
wines of a new generation, winemakers who are deeply
connected to ancient traditions, but also innovating and
adapting to modern tastes. A few of whom I’m on my
way to visit right now, right after a quick pit stop. (lively upbeat music) (whoosh) (bright orchestral music) No trip to Georgia is complete without a visit to Tbilisi’s Abanotubani, the city’s famous bathhouse district. Tbilisi itself was founded on these natural hot sulfur springs, and under Persian and Ottoman rule, the baths became central
to Georgian culture. Now, locals and tourists frequent
them for a bit of healing, relaxation, and tradition. (bright orchestral music) I was excited for a leisurely soak until this hulking gentleman
entered into my life. His title is Mekise,
a bathhouse attendant. It wasn’t long before I realized I wasn’t going to be taking a bath, I was going to be given one. – [Person 1] Whoa! – [Person 2] Woo! Woo! – I mean, that water was scorching hot. No pain, no gain. The best way I could describe
the gloves he’s wearing is like light sandpaper being
dragged all across your body. (bright orchestral music) I’m not gonna lie, it doesn’t feel great. More hot water. The water is very hot. (Vincent laughing) And then slapping, for some reason. (hand thudding) And back to the road rash massage. And he’s putting some
like muscle behind it. What’s this here? Ah, finally a nice relaxing bubble bath. Eh, spoke too soon. (bright orchestral music) (bright orchestral music)
(water sloshing) – Alright, we’re done, right? Oh my God! Nope, that one was ice water. It didn’t matter, it’s so cold. (beep) Who’s next? Rio? Colin? – [Person] Sign me up. (beep) – I feel like I just got put
through a human dishwasher. The aggressive cycle. (bright orchestral music) (lively upbeat music) If you follow this show, you know I get just as excited
about food as I do wine. And Georgian cuisine is
something I’ve been eager to try. I’ve actually never had it, so
I met up with my new friends, Irakli Cholobargia, owner and
wine maker at Wet Dog Wines and co-founder of
Georgia’s first large scale wine and spirits distributor. And Shota Natroshvili from
Teliani Valley Winery, one of Georgia’s top and
most well-known producers. We met at Chveni, a restaurant
by Chef Guram Bagdoshvili, who was named best chef
in Georgia in 2019, and is known for blending modern ideas with traditional Georgian flavors. We popped a bottle of bubbly
Pet-Nat from Irakli’s winery, grabbed a table on the patio that apparently was already occupied, and got down to business. Yeah, I have been here now,
maybe a day-and-a-half, blown away. Georgia feels so unique
in such a wonderful way. – Georgia is one of the
ancient countries in the world, and we are very small,
we are on the crossroads between east and west. Through our history, we’ve been
under constant occupations, subjugations, wars. It’s kind of a miracle that we survived because we were just very small nation. Now all these empires are gone. – Yeah, yeah, yeah, and now they’re gone and Georgia still is here. Well, there is this fierce
sense of pride and independence in Georgian culture. – Because we’ve been
surviving through centuries. So, it’s kind of embedded
in us to be proud, to be resilient. – One of the positive
things of being, you know, occupied by all these countries,
we just took the bits. – Bits of their culture. – From their culture as well, and we mixed it up and Georgianize it. – But in terms of wine, we’ve been doing wine for 8,000 years. – A lot of countries have that story where somebody came in and
they said, no more wine. And there was a broken chain. – [Irakli] Yeah. – But going back to that like
fierce sense of like Georgian, like we’re gonna get it
done, like no breaks. – Wine is so embedded in
Georgian people’s uniqueness and like the identity. – [Vincent] There’s wine
shops on every block. Wine is served at every single meal. – Most of the families, they have their own plot of vineyards. And even these rare varieties, they survived in the garden
and the yards of local people. Most of the stuff that we learn is mostly coming from the past. We reviving the knowledge,
not making something new. – [Vincent] With that, it was time to eat, and Chef Guram sent a feast. I would later learn that
this type of extravagance and volume of food is
quite normal in Georgia. These colorful spreads are
called pkhali, which means grass. And they’re walnut,
garlic, vinegar and spices mixed with different vegetables
like spinach, radish, eggplant and carrots. This fresh tomato, cucumber, onion salad with walnut dressing is found
everywhere in the country. Also found everywhere, khachapuri, which is cheese bread
made in different styles in each region. This meal also featured a
modern take on khinkali, the famous Georgian dumplings, which we’ll talk more about later. A fried polenta-like dish on tomato sauce, fried local Georgian cheese,
and crispy wild mushrooms. More food like grilled
meats would come later, but that was all the table
space we had for now. – It’s only 1% of Georgian cuisine. – [Vincent] Yeah, one, yeah.
(Shota chuckling) – Maybe two. – What is Georgian cuisine? I mean, if you’ve never had it, I had never had it before I came here. How would you describe it? I mean, it’s Middle
Eastern? It’s East Europe? It’s what? – It’s a melting pot
from all over the world, including Georgian stuff as well. – If you’ve watched this show before, this is where I would
normally put this popup and start highlighting
different wine pairings with the dishes. But when I brought up
wine pairing at the table, this is what I was told. Let’s talk about wine pairing. So, this food. – We don’t pair wines. – We don’t pair?
– Right away. – [Vincent] And he was right. In my whole trip to Georgia, wine pairing really wasn’t talked about, because while these wines
are incredibly food-friendly, especially amber wine, Georgians
eat in this communal style, so they make wines that
lend themselves to that. Plus, Georgians are much
more concerned with the wine acting as a social lubricant than as the focal point of the meal. – What we eat is one thing, and why we eat and we
drink is another one. It’s more like the way of
communication between each other. – Hospitality is just a huge part of Georgian culture, right? – Hospitality’s our middle name. – Yeah. So, we love guests so much that it’s actually believed in Georgia that guest is a gift from the God, and the same energy
you’re gonna treat them, the same energy will
come to you later, so. – Oh, it’s almost like a karmic thing, like you need to be a good host because you will one day be a guest. – Yes. – Talking wine, we’re starting
with one of your white wines. – Our winery’s name is Teliani Valley. With our wines, we carry our
heritage, we carry our culture. For us, the wine is the best
way to connect with people. – Let’s wish each other peace and love. Welcome to Georgia. – I love that. – Gaumarjos – Gaumarjos Is that cheers? – Cheers, which means be victorious. – Be victorious? I love that. Right back to that
independence theme, right? Shota’s wine from Teliani
was from the Imereti region and done in stainless steel. Important to note, I think,
because there’s a misconception that all Georgian wine is done in qvevri, but this is just a traditional wine made from an indigenous
grape called Tsolikouri, with citrus, grapefruit,
some tropical notes and grape minerality. By the way, let’s talk about the glasses. – So, common wine glasses have
been in wine drinking culture in Georgia maybe last 10, 15 years. But in a traditional way, what we do is that we drink
from this kind of a glass. We don’t swirl, we don’t smell,
we don’t talk about aromas, we don’t talk about textures of the wine. It’s just, we drink the wine. – It’s all there, but we just,
we’re not worried about it. – [Irakli] We are having… – We’re worried about this. – We are having conversation. It doesn’t have to be about food and wine, we are talking about anything. – What are some misconceptions
about Georgian wine? I think one of the first
ones is, it’s all amber wine. – We have a big diversity of wines. We have classical whites,
we have classical reds. And when orange wines and amber
wines appeared in the world, also the misconception is
that it’s oxidized wine, it’s spoiled wine, right? In reality, the color comes
from the skin maceration that we do for six months. – Speaking of amber wine, that was next, which was made traditionally in qvevri. Do you down it every,
do you drink all of it? – Usually what we do in
Georgia is that we make toasts and we drink to the bottom, and then sometimes when we
drink, we turn it upside down and we say, “I wish you the
same amount of enemies and, as the drops in this glass,”
and there should be none because I don’t want to wish you enemies. – No, no, I don’t want
any enemies, let’s drink. – Let’s drink that all our
enemies turned into our friends. – Friends, yes. Gaumarjos.
(glasses clinking) – Gaumarjos.
– Gaumarjos. (bright lively music) – [Irakli] One.
– One. (Shota laughing) – I’ll take one. – And I know the guy. (all laughing) – [Vincent] Eventually more
dishes came and so did more wine and more toasts. – Let’s drink to love. – Several more toasts. To new friends, to amazing food. – All over the world. – [Vincent] And by the time we
were done, I knew in my heart that the hospitality I would encounter the rest of my trip here
was gonna be life-changing. And there was a lot of wine involved, but I’m pretty sure I’m
committed to being a godfather and a wedding attendee. – You’re gonna be a godfather of my son. (all laughing) – Yes, I’ll invite you
to my son’s wedding, yes. (lively upbeat music) – Hey, everyone, I hope
you’re enjoying the episode. I wanted to talk to you
briefly about Vino VIP. You see, we’re a small team. There we are. We’re not backed by a big
studio or corporation, we rely on sponsorships and
our fans to help us grow and continue to create content. So we started Vino VIP,
our membership-only club, which is full of a ton
of amazing benefits, almost all of which
are virtual by the way, which means you can join
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access to all our videos, virtual Zoom hangouts with
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that’s our mission. Membership starts at just $5 a month, which is less than the
price of your morning latte. So if this show has brought you value, please head to visforvino.com
to sign up for Vino VIP if you have the means. And now back to the episode. (bright energetic music) Georgia has 525 indigenous
grape varieties. That’s about one sixth
of the world’s vinifera. But a few really lead the way. Rkatsiteli makes up 39% of plantings, and Saperavi another 37%. So, let’s talk about some
of these more common grapes and the styles that they’re known for. (bright energetic music) Here’s a stat I had to triple check. In the Soviet era, Rkatsiteli was the most planted
white grape in the world. That’s how much volume
Georgia was producing and a testament to the vigor
of this native variety. Let’s start with the grape itself. When made in a stainless steel
style as a classic dry white, Rkatsiteli is medium
bodied, high in acidity, and almost always made bone dry
with flavors of green apple, quince, lemon peel, and
wet stone minerality. It’s not highly aromatic, which is why it’s often
blended with Mtsvane Kakhuri, Georgia’s second most planted white, to add floral, herbal,
and stone fruit notes. This stainless steel style
makes a crisp zippy white and accounts for about 30 to 40% of how Rkatsiteli is made today. But the variations are where it gets fun. Some producers experiment
with oak or even sweet wine, but it’s when Rkatsiteli
is made into an amber wine, about 8% of the time where
things get really exciting. (bright energetic music) Amber wine, sometimes called
orange or a skin-contact wine is made by fermenting white
grapes with their skins, stems and seeds, just like a red wine. You see, normally white wine
is made by pressing the grapes and fermenting only the juice. But an amber wine,
everything ferments together for anywhere from a few days up to a year. This process can happen
in stainless steel, but in Georgia it’s most
often done in qvevri, underground clay vessels
traditionally used to ferment and age wine. It works especially well here for reasons we’ll explore later. For now just know, amber
wine is common in Georgia and the result is unlike
anything else in the wine world. (bright energetic music) It’s not all white and
amber wine in Georgia. About half of the country’s
production is red, and nearly 90% of that
is made from Saperavi. Saperavi is one of the world’s
rare teinturier grapes, meaning its flesh is
dark just like its skin. And while it’s used in
both rose and sweet wines, it’s mostly known for bold dry reds. It’s typically medium to full
body, medium to high alcohol, high tannin and high acidity. Flavors lean towards black
fruits, black cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, plum, blueberry,
along with smoke, leather, dried herbs, tobacco and earth. When aged in oak, it often
shows vanilla and clove, and with time, develops
mushroom, fig and balsamic notes. While oak aging is common, some
producers age it in qvevri, giving the wine a more rustic, oxidative and mineral-driven character. Thanks to its structure and acidity, Saperavi also ages beautifully, and that’s part of its appeal. It’s incredibly versatile, just as happy as a chuggable table wine as it is for a spot in your cellar. (gentle energetic music) While Saperavi and Rkatsiteli
may lead the charge, Georgia has hundreds of other
grapes worth discovering, and we’ll explore more than a
few of them in this episode, including some historic varieties I’m about to go taste right now. (bright energetic music)
(whoosh) (lively cheerful music) It takes a lot of coffee
to keep this show running. The crew and I made the mistake of stopping at a Georgian Dunkin’ Donuts at one point in this trip,
which was lackluster. So on a rainy day in Tbilisi, we stopped at a local
joint called Kvarts Coffee that had much better brew. And if you’re willing to wait as this service is pretty popular, they’ll do you one better. They’ll draw your portrait on the cup. (lively cheerful music) Did you go to art school? – [Vincent] Sorry, should I not talk? Does that ruin your art? – No, I don’t think so. – [Vincent] I’m very, very bad artist, so anybody who can do any
sort of art on the fly impresses me. (artist laughing) – Favorite color? – I like green. – Oh, I am so impressed, this is so quick. – [Artist] Yeah. – You are so talented. Guys, look at this. (lively cheerful music) Wow, thank you so much. – No, forget the coffee,
I don’t want this ruined. I will find a way to get
this back to America. Yo. Not bad, eh? (lively cheerful music ending) (bright lively music) In Central Georgia, just
beyond the edges of Tbilisi lies the wine region of Kartli. It’s incredibly accessible,
many of its wineries are less than an hour from the capitol. And while it doesn’t produce
as much wine volume as Kakheti, Kartli’s roots in
wine-making run just as deep. This is one of George’s
oldest wine regions. The landscape is softer here,
rolling hills, open valleys, and a cooler more continental
climate than the east. Everything feels calm and understated until you turn a corner and find yourself staring at
one of Georgia’s most grand and unexpected wine
estates, Château Mukhrani. In the 1870s, the Georgian
Prince Ivane Bagration built this stunning French-inspired
chateau here in Georgia. Why? I’ll let Brand Ambassador
Giorgi Chikvaidze tell the full story. – Welcome to Georgia. – Oh my gosh, what an estate,
this is a great welcome. I have so many questions about
the history of this estate. This prince, he went to France. – He went to France since he
had to travel quite a lot, he was serving in the Russian military. He tasted a lot of different wines, and what he figured out was
that the wine-making methods and the technique and
then the style of the wine was completely different than
what we had in Georgia here. – He said, I would like to try
and do that here in Georgia, but with our native Georgian grapes? – Yes. He had the idea, why not to
try to put a Georgian taste on this huge world of wine that would be more close
to the taste profile of the people for outside of
the Georgia to, let’s say, understand and evaluate the taste and the flavors of the
Georgian grape varieties. – There was, and there is still lots of traditional wine-making here. – Oh, it is. – But really important to
bring some of that knowledge and know how, to the country of Georgia. – This was the breaking
point, for example, for all the wine culture in Georgia because they saw the
results of these methods. Then they started already
adapting everything, what- – Giorgi explained that Chateau Mukhrani produced and exported
acclaimed wines across Europe until 1917. But after nationalization
in the Soviet era, it fell into disrepair and was abandoned after
the USSR’s collapse. In the early 2000s, investors restored it with the Georgian government, reviving it to its original
19th century grandeur. Walking through feels like
stepping back in time. Grand halls with
chandeliers, high ceilings, ornate window dressings, marble
statues, grand staircases, secret passageways,
parlors, banquet halls, and even some epic-themed rooms like a Moorish North African style lounge once used for smoking and relaxation. But wait, there’s more. While the chateau itself stays true to its 19th century roots,
the winery renovation is thoroughly modernized for production, partially built in the
original underground cellars from the 1800s. Inside, you’ll find barrels and vessels of all shapes and sizes, old and new, supporting the production of world-class contemporary Georgian wines, crafted by Winemaker Ketevan Kochiashvili, or she goes by Keti. I feel like it’s gonna
be a nice ease in to me for Georgian wine-making. This is the French technique and some of the French influence with indigenous Georgian grapes. So, tell me a little bit about this grape before we get started. – We planted this variety Goruli Mtsvane. We had a period in Georgia where we were using only
five, seven varieties and all other interesting grape varieties were a little bit forgotten. When we started to
reestablish this estate, we planted the varieties,
which were local to the place, Kartli region. (gentle orchestral music) As I said, it’s a very interesting variety because it has the potential
to have the fine results. – I have to interrupt you, I’m sorry. Am I in Burgundy? Am I in Bourgogne? (Ketevan chuckling) – This is beautiful. – Because it really has
such Burgundian qualities, and I, everybody says that
about their wines and I, so I’d never like to use it, but it has that stone fruity character that we love from good Chardonnay,
you get some creaminess. The minerality is great. – Yep. – The acidity is nice and fresh. – Big part of our winery
are on the limestone area. – [Vincent] Why do we
like the vineyards there? Because of the limestone,
you have the limestone here. – [Ketevan] Yeah. – There’s this beautiful spice component that probably comes a
little bit from the lees, aging a little bit from
the oak, like a nutmeg. – I think white spices,
like a little bit of vanilla or maybe some ginger. It’s a beautiful to work
with the indigenous varieties and indigenous yeasts because every year you
have the different outcome, which is all the time
surprise in a good way, for sure, yeah. – You could have said, let’s see how Chardonnay
works here, right? But instead you decided to take a grape that is part of the
historic culture of Georgia, combine some of that French
influence in the wine-making and you end up with this
beautiful marriage with the two. – This is our main, a main
idea to show the world that Georgian varieties
can be super elegant. (gentle orchestral music) Shavkapito was also a
reintroduced to the wine culture in Georgia when we started
to replant the varieties which were local to here. Very beautiful, big potential to create the fine elegant wines, plus it’s very interesting in the aging. – You can see the color,
translucent, that light, ruby red with some rim
variation, some hints of garnet. – We ferment in stainless steel and age then in the oak
barrels for about 18 months. Here we use big barrels because we do not want to
overpower the grape variety with the barrel aging. (gentle orchestral music) – Wow, so there is a beautiful
woodsy earth character to the nose. Woodsy and potentially
herbal note right away. – Yeah. – There’s some cranberry,
sour cherry land. – Yes, yes. – Medium minus body, you
know, light style of wine. – It is, yeah. – Medium plus acid, great food wine. – Yeah, super floral and super spicy. Particular notes that I always have, it’s eucalyptus, the spice. – Maybe that’s why I kept saying green. – Yes, that’s right. – I’m really trying hard not
to draw parallels to grapes from my knowledge base,
because it is unique, but I mean it is the most
reminiscent of Pinot Noir. – Yes, it is. – That’s the closest thing
I can describe it to. – Yeah, this is the main link that we get about this variety, that it reminds people of own Pinot Noir. – Both tremendous food wines. I have this saying, I say, okay, if you have a good
Chardonnay and a good Pinot Noir, you can pair anything. Let’s say if you have
a good Goruli Mtsvane and a good Shavkapito,
you could pair anything. – [Ketevan] Yes. – I think the beauty of the wine world is that we’re gonna try
some very traditional wines on this trip and some maybe more modern or classic European style wines. But for you to revive these
grapes the way you have, both in the vineyard,
in the cellar treatment, in the oak treatment, and make wines of this
incredible complexity is really, really special. So, kudos to you and the team. – Yeah, gaumarjos. – We ended by trying some churchkhela, a Georgian snack made from walnuts, dipped in wine grape juice,
thickened with flour. Something you’ll find
everywhere in Georgia from roadside stands to gourmet shops. While we ate, Keti told
me how happy she was to be at Mukhrani and how
far the winery had come since its rebirth. Evidenced by the fact
that later in my trip I would meet the Georgian Minister of Environmental
Protection and Agriculture. And guess what he gave me as a gift? A bottle from his own personal
cellar of Château Mukhrani. (bright orchestral music ending) (bright upbeat music) Qvevri wine-making is
synonymous with Georgia and rightfully so, they invented it. Qvevri are ancient clay vessels that have been used in
Georgia for over 8,000 years for both fermentation and aging. How do they compare to
other wine-making vessels? Well, traditionally, qvevri
are buried underground, unlike the similar clay amphorae, which helps naturally
regulate the temperature during fermentation,
something modern wine makers usually achieve with stainless steel tanks and climate control. In that sense, they’re kind of
like an ancient refrigerator. Qvevri don’t impart flavor
like oak barrels, but like oak, they allow gentle oxygen exchange, which stainless steel does not. This micro oxygenation
contributes to wines with a rustic texture and earthy, savory, slightly oxidative notes
often reminiscent of nuts, dried fruit or tea. In short, qvevri offers
temperature control and oxygenation without any flavor, making them a uniquely
neutral yet expressive vessel. (bright upbeat music) Any wine, red, white, rose or amber can be fermented or
aged, or both, in qvevri. But today we’re gonna
talk about amber wines, which are skin-contact white wines. First, let’s talk tannin and texture. Like red wines, amber wines
gain tannins from the skins. The longer the contact,
the stronger the effect. The result is a wine that
feels like a light red more than a white. Second, color. Depending upon the length of skin-contact, the wine can range from
a bright tangerine orange to deep amber. And third, flavor. Skin-contact unlocks a whole
new world of earthy, savory, and oxidative notes. Dried apricot, orange
peel, turmeric, coriander, black pepper, tea,
walnuts, and almond skin. It’s a spice rack in a fruit
basket rolled into one. Now, add qvevri to the equation. The vessel’s natural
temperature regulation and micro oxygenation creates
a slow, steady fermentation that softens tannins, deepens complexity and enhances those savory notes. So you put it all together and you get a wine that’s unlike
anything else in the world. Complex, age-worthy, and packed
with character and depth. (bright upbeat music) When you start talking about amber wine, the term “natural wine”
usually isn’t far behind, and for good reason. Many amber wines embody the
natural wine philosophy, low-intervention farming,
wild yeast fermentation, aging and qvevri, no
filtering, mineral additives and hands-off wine-making. But here’s where it gets murky. Not all amber wines are natural wines, and not all natural wines are amber. In fact, amber is a color and a style, (white grapes fermented with skin-contact) while “natural” refers more
to a process and philosophy behind how the wine is made. And since natural wine
isn’t a regulated term, there’s no official checklist, just a loosely agreed upon ethos. As amber wines gained popularity, some producers outside of
Georgia jumped on the trend chasing the style without the tradition or technical understanding to back it up. And the result, a wave of
unstable or flawed wines that gave both natural and
amber wines a bad reputation. And to be fair, some
Georgian qvevri cellars haven’t always been
carefully maintained either. But that’s changing fast. A new generation of winemakers in Georgia is reviving ancient techniques with modern precision and hygiene. And in doing so, restoring
global respect for the style. Here, it’s less about chasing
buzzwords like natural, and more about craft, tradition, and letting the grape speak for itself. (bright upbeat music) (gentle orchestral music) Still in Kartli, just up the
road from Chateau Mukhrani is the city of Mtskheta,
one of Georgia’s oldest. Inhabited since around 1,000 BC, it served as the capital
until the fifth century, and remains the spiritual
heart of the country where Christianity first took root. The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is among Georgia’s holiest sights said to hold Christ’s robe. (gentle orchestral music) Just beyond Mtskheta is Iago’s Winery, worlds apart from Mukhrani. Where Mukhrani brings
grandeur and modernity, Iago’s embodies humble hospitality and the soul of Georgian tradition. There’s arguably no winery that more perfectly represents
the proper use of qvevri, the spirit of amber wine and a commitment to
traditional Georgian methods than Iagos. Winemaker and natural wine
pioneer, Iago Bitarishvili, walks me through why preserving Georgia’s ancient clay vessel
means everything to him. – Georgia is single country who keeps his technology
during the 8,000 years never stopped and never changed. And also it’s our history
and our tradition. – It may not look like it
if you’re above ground, but we’re surrounded by giant qvevri, they’re buried below the ground. Why do you do that? – Traditionally, everybody
makes wine at home, which means they don’t have big money for building the good cellar. But if you put qvevri in
underground inside of the cellar or outside of the cellar in
the garden, it’s your cellar. – [Vincent] Yeah, it saves space, it naturally regulates temperature. – [Iago] Right. – They are different sizes, right? How do you determine what size you want? – Minimum 1,000 liter for fermentation, but small qvevri, we need for aging. – So, everything goes in there. It has the fermentation
process through there, and then eventually you move
it to the smaller qvevri after you’ve “filtered” it. And we should talk about
the filtration process. – When fermentation will be finished, the skin and stem slowly
will be start going down. – So, all the skin and
stems goes from the top to the bottom, it settles, and then you can naturally “filter” without having to use a filter. – And finally, when we
open after the five, four, six months, we have like this clean wine and it don’t need filtration for bottling. – Wow, it can go, yeah,
immediately to bottling if that’s what you choose to do. How do you maintain these?
How do you clean them? – So big qvevri, it’s much easy to clean. Why? Because we go inside. – You actually go in it if it’s a big one? – Yes, true, it’s easy. – This I had to try for myself. Iago made it look easy, and
after a bit of trepidation, I managed to climb into. Grateful the crew left
me a ladder to get out, we headed inside. It was a brisk April
day, so Iago lit a fire while his mother stopped
by for a quick hello. And we sat down to taste. We’ve talked a little bit
about natural wine-making. What does that mean to you? Because that term gets
thrown around a lot. – Natural wine-making is philosophy. When you believe and you love what you do, it’s very important, yeah. Now some people do this one
for marketing, for example. But if people don’t
believe, it’s not easy way. We are people who loves
not only wine nature, we love everything nature. When you start to work
with this philosophy, you will be more and
more close with nature. – Iago explained, he’s
not making amber wine for its own sake, he’s making natural wine and qvevri simply allows him to do that. It’s an important distinction. The vessel is organic, it encourages native yeast fermentation, self-regulated temperature
and natural filtration. Skin-contact reduces the need for sulfites as tannins preserve the wine naturally. Everything works together
to express his philosophy. Two wines today, amber wines,
they’re both the same vintage, they’re both made in the same process, but they’re two different grapes. – This is a Chinuri, seven
months full skin-contact with the skin and stems together. – How do you choose how long
you leave the skin-contact? – Sometimes it’s five months,
sometimes it’s six months. Why? Because when we need to open in March, it was very frost and snow, which means it’s not time for open because nature tell you
when it’s time to open. (bright orchestral music) And this is Chinuri, my wife
Marina has the small vineyard, this is wine is her wine. – The dried orange or dried
tangerine zest kind of flavor, which is really fun. A little of the oxidative
nuttiness, but not a lot, still very fresh. Good floral component. On the palette, more of that spice. That’s where I really start
to get a bit of the spice box mixed in with the fruit,
which I think is very fun. – [Iago] Tea. – [Vincent] Oh, I like tea. – For me, this wine is a little bit young. After the couple of months,
the color will be much orange and you can find also there some walnuts. – Walnuts, so important
to Georgian cuisine and very common in the
amber styles of wine here. And I love when that happens. – Right. – The spice component that it brings that you might associate
with the red wine, but the freshness and the
lighter fruit character of the stone fruits and the citrus that you get with the white
wine, married together. – Yeah, for me also, it’s in the middle from white and red wines, this wine. (gentle orchestral music) And we will test this one from Kakheti, it’s much orange color. – Oh wow, it’s so different. – Yes, it’s much different. – This is like a juicy orange on the nose, like a juicy naval orange right away. Oh and much fuller and body, much richer. Much more honeyed, creamier. This one has some tannin
structure, medium tannins. I can’t believe how different these are, I can’t believe how much I like them both. Is there a peak? How many years? – Of course it depends on
the vintage, but for example, for this wine, I think after the two years it will be a fantastic position and he will be continue like
this minimum five, seven years. (bright orchestral music) – I need to dispel some
notions about “natural wine” and amber wines. I can’t tell you how many sommeliers, I’m sure you’ve experienced this, people in restaurants
dismiss the whole concept because they say these wines are flawed, these wines are too oxidative, unclean. These are squeaky clean from
a wine-making perspective. When you get the right
versions of these wines, they’re incredible. – The wine is our life,
and it’s not only business. You have the story,
you have the tradition, but we cannot do another thing because we believe about this. But if anybody are ready
for pay also for this love, we are happy. – Iago’s wife, Marina, served what could have been
three lunches worth of food for the crew and I. We drank wine and Chacha,
Georgia’s local spirit, and felt like guests
in the home of friends. How wonderful that the wine
world is encompassing enough to hold grand estates and
also places like this, Iago and Marina’s little sanctuary. Their tasting room is their living room. Their yard, the cellar. Signatures on the wall, their trophies. And their home is their castle. (bright orchestral music) (whoosh) (camera clicking) (lively cheerful music) All right, it’s a rainy
day, we’re outside Tbilisi, we’ve heard that this roadside
stand is worth a stop. I don’t really know what’s in it, but we’re gonna go find out. (lively cheerful music) – Cheese. – Yeah, this looks great. – Cheese, cheese. No salty cow cheese. – Thank you, no salt. – No salt. – Alright, it’s good. It’s really good actually. – [Seller] Medium salty. – Medium salty. He’s right, medium salty. – [Seller] Sheep. – And sheep. Oh, that’s good too. That’s a little more funky, woo! That is strong. – [Seller] Hot bread, hot bread. – [Vincent] Hot bread. – Hot bread. – Alright, I’m gonna go see the bread. – [Seller] Oh.
(Vincent laughing) – Thank you, delicious. (gentle orchestral music) (person and Vincent speaking
in a foreign language) This is amazing. Puri, right? – [Person] Puri. – [Vincent] Puri. Can we buy one? (person speaking in a foreign language) (gentle orchestral music) Rio, you can see, she
throws the bread on the side and it sticks, and then it
bakes with the charcoal. (bright orchestral music) Thank you, madloba. – Madloba, thank you. – Madloba. Is there anything better than
warm bread out of the oven? And on a day when it’s cold and rainy and we didn’t really
have much going on today, this is as good a stop
as any you’re gonna find. See, do you love cheese? So happy. Honestly, the Puri is the star,
this is why you come here. Everybody say Puri. – [Group] Puri! (people chuckling) – There you go. (lively upbeat music) The vast majority of Georgian wine is grown in the Kakheti region, in the far east of the country. And it’s here that you really
start to feel a terroir. Vineyards stretch across wide open valleys with the striking peaks
of the Caucasus Mountains rising in the distance. It’s supposed to look like this. (bright lively music) Instead during our trip, pretty much 24/7 Kakheti looked like this. (rain pattering) (wind whistling) Ah, I guess you can’t control the weather. All you can do is visit vineyards and drown your sorrows
in wine instead of rain. Vazisubani Estate in the Vazisubani PDO has stood here since 1891, and was founded by Prince
Sulkhan Chavchavadze, a Georgian nobleman who championed
both wine and education. He built one of Kakheti’s
first Sunday schools, teaching locals literacy and viticulture, helping spark Georgia’s early
wine education movement. The current winemaker, Lado Uzunashvili, is a bit of a Georgian rockstar. An 11th generation vintner
with global experience, he helped restore Chateau Mukhrani before joining Vazisubani in 2013. He and I took a walk in the rain to talk more about Kakheti’s terroir. – Listen, what are you gonna do? ‘Cause otherwise I’ve heard that this area when it’s not cloudy, is gorgeous. – [Vincent] What do the mountains do? ‘Cause you have ’em on either side. – [Vincent] Cool mountain air. – You end up using a
lot of that mountain air to probably keep the wines
fresh, extend the growing season, diurnal shifts, all that. – After we got the crew out of the rain, we explored the estate, which today is much more than a winery. It’s a boutique 19-room luxury hotel featuring Victorian era
furniture, ornate rooms, a pool, a contemporary onsite
restaurant, and on most days, breathtaking views. Since we didn’t have any of those today, we sat by the fire and
I learned why the qvevri has historically been so
important to Georgian culture and for more than just wine. – [Vincent] Speaking of qvevri, Vazisubani’s three qvevri wine
is a blend of three grapes, each fermented separately
in its own qvevri. Something not traditionally done, another example of combining
the ancient and modern in a single wine. – What a nose. – Pretty, elegant, beautiful floral notes, beautiful dried citrus notes. Very, very fragrant. Like, the kind of nose
that makes you smile the second you smell. – Dried fruit character, little nutty. – Oh, I like persimmon for this. – You can put it in like
medium plus acidity. It’s a bit of a pepper component, there’s a spice component
to it that is a lot of fun- (bright orchestral music) Next was Georgia’s most
famous red, Saperavi. A grape that adapts well
to almost any climate, as Lado would explain. – In cooler climates, it can
lean into red fruit flavors like a sangiovese. In warmer climates, more like
a black fruited Mourvedre. And in moderate climates like
this, kind of like Syrah. Mulberry is the first
thing I kind of smell. – Little meaty. – Riped cherries, like perfectly
juicy in-season cherries. – But for a wine with this much color, the tannin structure is nicely
integrated, medium tannins. – Mouth coating rich, you
feel it as it goes down and it warms you. – It warms you up, it really does. – Yeah. – [Vincent] I could have spent
the whole trip with Lado, learning about what drives him. He talked about qvevri sizes, how microbiomes cross
borders and shape vineyards, and shared endless Georgian history. He’s the kind of guy who knows so much, yet stays endlessly curious. But one thing mattered most to him, preserving Georgia’s native varieties so they can be shared with the world and guide the winemakers of tomorrow. – And he is right, Georgia isn’t a country
relegated to its past, it’s using history to
shape the future of wine. And we’re lucky to have people
like Lado leading the charge. (bright orchestral music) (whoosh) (lively upbeat music) Did you know every episode has
its own page on our website? You can see all the wines we tasted and everywhere we visited on the trip. And while you’re there,
you can also join Vino VIP. Members get behind the
scenes videos, bonus content, a full library of wine
education and my personal picks, plus a brand new perk,
an ever expanding library of curated travel
recommendations for wine regions around the world. Just thought I’d let you know. I’ve been eating well here in Georgia, fire grilled meats and
kebabs, herb packed stews, fermented foods, rich veggie
dishes and endless fresh bread. But two dishes rise above
the rest, Khachapuri, Georgia’s iconic cheese
bread, and khinkali, its famous soup-filled dumpling. Like baguettes and croissants in France or ramen and sushi in Japan,
these are true national icons. So, I had to learn how to make ’em. Luckily, Khareba Winery,
my next stop in Kakheti offers cooking classes. And yet another rainy day,
I met Elene, my teacher. She didn’t speak much English,
but that didn’t matter. We spoke the universal
language, no, not love, food. Then again, maybe they’re the same thing. Now we’re going to do Khachapuri? – Acharuli Khachapuri. – Acharuli Khachapuri. So, you show me. We rolled out the dough
and added the cheese, a mix of sulguni and imeruli cheese, which is similar to mozzarella and feta. Oh, that is good. And then we pinch all the way down. It’s almost like a giant dumpling. Look at this little pocket
of love, I’m very excited. (Elenette speaking in a foreign language) Don’t cut all the way
through, I understand. (Elenette chuckling) Oh, okay. My turn, ever so careful. – Good. – Good. I think she’s just humoring
me, I don’t think it’s good. I think it’s good enough, is what’s the word she was going for. And into the oven. (upbeat rousing music) Guys, look how great this looks. Yes, you could eat it now, but everything’s better
with a jammy egg on it, no? Oh, oh my gosh. Oh no, I’m sorry, I
messed up the whole thing. (beep)
Take two. Good, right? Oh, I still broke it. Moving on. You would think that I’ve
never cracked an egg before. A little finishing time in the oven. (upbeat rousing music) Wow, look how pretty hers looks. (Vincent and Elenette laughing) (upbeat rousing music) Yours is perfect. We should share yours
is what we should do. I’ll eat this later, in secret alone. Oh yeah. So good. The creaminess of the cheese. You get the crispy, you get the soft. I get why this is the dish of Georgia. All right, maybe I’ll have
more luck making khinkali. We got our dough here. Pork, beef and spices. Look how good she is at this
and look how quick she is. I’m just gonna go for it, I’m gonna give it the old college try. And what we get is what we get. Come on, that’s not so bad. And the time it took me to do
one, she could probably do 10. Into the boiling water,
a few minutes and voila. Don’t get too excited though, there’s a very specific way to eat these. Oh, upside down. You bite. Bite it. Drink the broth first. Oh, it’s like a little mini soup. Then eat. Oh yeah. Oh delicious. There you go. It’s got the soup in the middle. You put the black pepper on it, it’s like a spicy kinda warming broth. And then you got the dumplings. Had to share a bit with
my producer, Anthony. See? More than you think
is there, I’m telling you. How fun is this? Thank you so much for taking me through how to make these dishes, they’re, I know very important to Georgian cuisine, so you’re the best. (bright orchestral music) Though they have vineyards
across all Georgia, Khareba Winery is also located in Kakheti in the Kindzmarauli PDO,
a unique microclimate where the Caucasus Mountains
shield the vineyards from harsher weather and
extend the growing season. The estate is a kind of place
you could spend an entire day, taking a cooking class,
strolling through the gardens, or in my case, hanging
out in the rain some more. (Vincent sighing)
(bright orchestral music) But luckily for me, the
real treasure of Khareba is inside the mountain itself, these incredible cellars
carved straight into the rock. (bright orchestral music) Khareba is deeply committed to preserving Georgia’s heritage, and it was here I witnessed the ceremonial opening of the qvevri, accompanied by traditional
Georgian choral singing, a once in a lifetime
experience I’ll never forget. (choral music) The gentleman beside me
is Vladimer Kublashvili, Khareba’s chief winemaker who tells me more about
this remarkable place. – The company was established in 1995. Three Georgian brothers of Khareba family decided to invest in Kakheti
region, where we are now. Nowadays, we are one of
the largest estate wineries of the country. – [Vincent] I know the
estate has a mission to preserve Georgian
grapes, Georgian culture. I mean, we saw that with
the singers a moment ago. – This is our mission,
we have kind of museum where we breed more than 300
indigenous Georgian grapes to preserve the culture and
the heritage what we have. – I love that it’s the whole experience from the cooking to the wine,
to, you have a restaurant that obviously serves
Georgian food, to the singing. You have this amazing immersive experience that you can provide your
guests who come here. What are these caves? ‘Cause these are incredibly impressive. – [Vladimer] Yes, we have
the natural humidity, natural aeration, steady temperature. Those components are really needed to maintain the quality of
the wine for a long time. Now we have possibilities here to keep more than 8
million liters of the wine. – [Vincent] Wow. (bright orchestral music) After lunch with the crew at
their incredible restaurant, Vladimer and I head to the
top of Khareba’s Chacha house, the historic building where Georgia’s signature
grape brandy is made for our tasting. – So, this wine is made
by Aladasturi Grapes. Very rare even for Georgia. Comes from Imereti region where
we have our own vineyards, In Imereti region, we
have more maritime climate because of vicinity to Black Sea. The initial idea of mine, I decided to dry up those
grapes on the shelves. Why? Because I really wanted to avoid some possible long rainy
days and also to compensate. I really wanted to concentrate
color pigments, tannins. – This is a late ripening grape that can sometimes maybe have
trouble getting ripe enough. And so what you do is
you partially dry them, you remove some of the water, you concentrate the sugar
character in the grape, you’ll be able to reach the
alcohol levels that you want. Then it goes in qvevri. (gentle uplifting music) – So, it is natural wine since we don’t use any
commercial additives here. We have red fruits, red cherry,
red berries, cranberries. – Some black pepper
spice character as well- – Absolutely, we have floral touch, we have spicy tertiary aromas
like mushroom, forest floor. – We usually speak about
earthiness with red, minerality with white, but there is a minerality
component on this note- – Absolutely. – I wonder if that’s partly the qvevri? – Part of terroir and
also as you mentioned, yes, it is a part of qvevri. – Oh, that is so cool. Here’s what’s shocking to me. Usually when you do
the dried grape method, you end up with a wine that
is 14, 15, 16% alcohol. This is very lean. – The alcohol of this wine is 11.5. – Wow, fun wine. (gentle orchestral music) – Kindzmarauli is PDO, and we are now in the center of this PDO. This wine has history. Kindzmarauli is made by Saperavi grapes, very fruity semi-sweet style wines. – If it’s that PDO, it’s
always gonna be semi-sweet? – Exactly, so this is the protected area. Also, the place helps to
accompany the style of this. In Kindzmarauli PDO, we have black slates, it can retain the heat. – You showed me some
footage of it earlier. The vineyard looks black, it’s wild. One little special area of Kakheti that is able to produce
a slightly riper style of this grape to allow you to make this semi-sweet style wine. – Exactly. (gentle orchestral music) – All right, already beautiful color. Oh man, what a nose, wow. It’s kind of a fun strawberry,
like the way we like Gamay. – Rose petals, strawberry. – And then almost a smoke. Yeah, so violet, strawberry, rosy. – Spices. – Very lean, very fresh,
I’d say medium minus body, honestly. I’m blown away by the
complexity of the wine because I just so accustomed to oftentimes wines that are made in this style, not having this level of complexity. And I’m so pleasantly surprised by this, I can’t even tell you. – I love very much in this wine this long, beautiful finish. – This is such a, just a fun wine. – Mm-hmm. – [Vincent] And I like that you make both. – [Vladimer] Georgia really
has the possibilities to produce different style of wines because we have the huge
diversified terroirs and sub regions here in our country. – I love that your culture
is also still discovering everything that is
possible with this terroir. – Cheers.
– Thank you so much. (glasses clinking) After visiting four wineries
and tasting dozens of wines, I still felt like I had
only scratched the surface of Georgia. But one more stop awaited me, a final quintessential Georgian experience that would stay with me forever. (lively cheerful music ending) (lively cheerful music) The Georgians are famous
for their hospitality, and for good reason. Sitting at the crossroads
of east and west, Georgia has welcomed
traders, travelers, and yes, occasional invaders for centuries. But regardless who or from where, guests aren’t just welcomed, they’re considered gifts from God. It’s from that spirit
that the supra was born. (lively cheerful music) Supra literally means tablecloth, but it represents something far greater, Georgia’s most sacred feast. For our final stop, we headed
high into the hills of Tbilisi to the village of Kiketi,
1,300 meters above sea level to take part in one ourselves. This isn’t your average dinner party, it’s a marriage of food, wine,
song, toasts and tradition. Our hosts, Beka and Nina
Gotsadze of Gotsa Family Wines, welcome guests with cooking
classes, cozy stays, and of course, supras. (lively cheerful music)
– Hi, friend. How are you? How are you? – [Vincent] Joining us,
was Shorena Pataridze from Pataridze’s Rachuli Winery, Baia Abuladze from Baia’s Wine, and a quartet of gentlemen
whose talents you’ll see soon. As Nina made final preparations, there was a pretty killer
pre-party in the kitchen, even before we sat down. And when it was ready,
just look at that spread. Even by Georgian standards,
this is pretty epic. Fish, Khachapuri, chicken,
fermented foods, sauces, cheeses, vegetables, salads, crispy
pork, you name it, it was here. (lively cheerful music) At the center of a supra is
the tamada, a toastmaster. In this case, Beka, an honored figure who delivers dozens of toasts over the course of the night
on family, love, friendship, and life itself. It’s a role of deep
honor and responsibility. (Beka speaking in a foreign language) (bottle hissing)
(person cheering) They also control when you drink wine. And I’m gonna warn you, if
you ever come to one of these, expect to consume a lot of wine because once the toast begin, you don’t really have much choice. – [Person] Thank you for
all gathering with us. (quartet music) – I told you these guys were talented. You see, traditional Georgian
song is a must at a supra. (quartet music) (people cheering) Bravo, bravo. Oh, I have so many questions
about this whole thing. First of all, this spread is incredible. Nina, thank you so much, you must have spent two
days working on this. We’re drinking now Baia’s
Wine, this is your Pet-Nat. – Here, we do have one of
the wild grape variety, lower like alcohol levels, lots of interesting sour berry aromas. – What’s the typical order of the supra? – Start eating. – Now we start eating. – Of course, always eating
and drinking and singing. – What is a supra? I mean obviously this is it, right? But it’s not just a meal. – It is this kind of, this
gathering and we’re making and cooking and drinking
and sharing and singing. This is our culture, this is
in our blood, what we have. So, this is the real Georgia, I would say. – And outside supras are
having a very special soul, I think when the birds are singing and you feel very close
by to the nature and. – Yeah, and we are
finally getting some sun, which is all week we had
no sun, so I’m so happy, I can’t even tell you. (lively cheerful music) – We must make a second toast. Make your glasses empty please. Baia is from West Georgia, Imereti region. Now we’re drinking for the
Imereti for the very beautiful- – [Vincent] This toast went
on for several minutes, with Beka pontificating about Imereti wine and his friendship with Baia. And then we drank. – Gaumarjos for Imereti and
for Baia and Baia’s family. – [Vincent] Then another
lovely song from our quartet. (quartet music) And I was starting to get a sense for how the night was gonna progress. Eat and drink, toast, drink
again, sing, rinse and repeat. – Bravo!
(people applauding) (Vincent laughing)
(gentle orchestral music) – The Georgian toast is very different than toasts anywhere in the world. A regular toast, here’s
what I’m going to toast to. You all cheer and then everybody stops. The Georgian toast is a story. The Georgian toast starts with
a topic, toast of freedom. Then you speak about freedom
for a minute, two minutes, three minutes, and then you toast again. And I love that. – And what is going on?
– I love that. – After five, six toasts, you know, you want to drink
something after 10 glasses, but you don’t know what to
drink and know about, you know, and suddenly your head is working, you are talking to your head, “Oh, come on, you know, come
on, you need to toast now, I am a tamada.” (bright orchestral music) – Tamada, the toastmaster, that’s an important part of the supra. You can’t have a supra without
somebody leading, correct? – Then you will have
anarchism, I am despot. (people laughing) – What makes a good tamada? – It’s not only that, stand
up, bring the toast and drink, you know? You must take performance,
you know, it’s the theater. He’s singing, you know, songs. He’s a joking a lot. Best tamada, he must give you possibility to have these relations in a
very nice, beautiful level. (lively cheerful music) Please empty glasses. – Empty glasses, we’re going to the next. – Yeah, we will drink Shorena. (people cheering) – I learned this. The number of drops, the
number of enemies, right? – Good.
– Uh-huh. – [Vincent] And before I knew it, it was time for another toast. To women in wine, and to Shorena who made the wine in our glass. – You can imagine how Georgian womens are very clever and very smart. – [Vincent] How about a
toast for those we’ve lost? – Roots and parents who
are not with us now. – [Vincent] After another
song, a toast to our musicians. – I would like to drink for our friends who are introducing Georgian
culture and Georgian songs, you know, to everybody
in all over the world. – And I want to continue this toast. I want to praise this cup for my friends, which I met them 25 years ago. This is huge love. – I give you alaverdi power, you know? – Alaverdi is a tradition where
the tamada passes the toast to a guest, and they have to continue it. I’m no tamada, but I gave it my best shot. I have tremendous respect for the four gentlemen at this table for continuing the tradition of Georgia. When you come to places as a foreigner, we all try to find this authenticity, we try and find this experience that allows you to
connect with the culture, but you do not always find it. In Georgia, I’ve found at
every table I’ve been to, I’ve found so much happiness,
I’ve found so much love, I’ve found so much hospitality
in this entire trip. I’ve never been to a country
where I’ve felt it so present in this week as I have here. So, I appreciate you for
continuing the tradition. I appreciate you for leading this. I appreciate you for bringing
wine and sharing your culture and your love. Gaumarjos. – [People] Gaumarjos. – Never talk more than tamada. (people laughing) This is another rule. (quartet music) – [Vince] And on and on it went. More toasts, more songs,
more food, more wine. More connection, more laughter,
more joy around the table. You’ll notice I didn’t
talk much about the wine during this supra. Why would I? The wine
had already done its job. It brought this moment to life. Who cares what it costs,
what it smelled like or what it scored? In the end, isn’t this the point of wine? The passion, the sacrifice, the devotion, all culminating into one true purpose, to be shared at a table just like this. (quartet music) When did we lose that? That sense of connection, of
celebration, of reconciliation? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think we have
enough of it anymore. The real question though
is how did Georgia keep it? They’ve been invaded,
occupied, stripped of so much, yet this stayed. Maybe it’s because of those struggles that these traditions survived. When everything else is taken,
you hold onto your spirit, you protect what makes you who you are. (quartet music) It’s no coincidence what the
Mother of Georgia’s statue holds in her hands. A 65-foot figure watching
over Tbilisi since 1958. In her right hand, a sword, warning those who would
take the soul of Georgia. In her left, a bowl of
wine, to greet friends, to honor traditions worth protecting. The defense of hospitality itself. (quartet music) So, how did Georgia keep it? By leading with a smile and
a glass of wine in one hand and never being afraid to defend what gives that moment
meaning with the other. (quartet music) So, thank you Georgia for
reminding me why wine matters and why I fell in love
with it in the first place. (quartet music) (Beka screaming) (Vincent laughing)
(people cheering) (Beka speaking in a foreign language) – [Person] That was beautiful. – Gentlemen, powerful. (glasses clinking)
(people chattering) (lively cheerful music) (all singing) (people speaking in a foreign language) (bright upbeat music) Hey, Vince here, hope
you enjoyed the episode. If you have a moment,
follow us on Instagram. And if you really wanna support, please consider joining
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Georgia isn’t just another wine country; it’s the birthplace of wine, with over 8,000 years of continuous winemaking history. From clay qvevris buried in the earth to the ancient songs sung at the supra, Georgia’s wine culture is unlike anywhere else in the world. In this episode, Vince travels through the world’s oldest wine country to uncover how faith, history, and family intertwine in every glass. Meet the winemakers reviving ancient grapes like Saperavi and Rkatsiteli, explore the dramatic landscapes of the Caucasus Mountains, and discover why Georgian wine is more than a drink; it’s a way of life.

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All locations, wines, and wineries are listed at: https://visforvino.com/georgia/

DESCRIPTION:
Georgia genuinely changed the way I see wine, and this was one of the greatest wine trips I’ve ever taken. The episode opens with me being presented a bowl of wine during the ancient qvevri-opening ceremony at Khareba Winery. From there, I travel to the modern, reborn city of Tbilisi, explain why Georgian history has been so turbulent, and stop for a traditional scrub-down at the historic Abanotubani bath district. I have an unforgettable lunch at Chveni, the restaurant by Guram Bagdoshvili, together with my new friends Irakli Cholobargia (Wet Dog Wines) and Shota Natroshvili (Teliani Valley). Over incredible food, I learn why wine sits at the core of Georgian culture. After breaking down grapes like Rkatsiteli and Saperavi, I grab a quick coffee at Kvarts before heading to Château Mukhrani, a stunning French-inspired estate. There, winemaker Keti guides me through indigenous varieties and a deep dive into amber wine and qvevri tradition. Next, I visit a very different kind of winery: Iago’s. Iago embodies natural, honest, home-grown winemaking, and his hospitality is unforgettable. A roadside stop for fresh puri leads me to Vazisubani, where I meet Lado Udonashvili, a true rockstar of Georgian wine. I try his 3 Qvevri amber and Saperavi before taking a cooking class to learn khinkali and khachapuri. Then it’s back to Khareba to explore its incredible wine caves with winemaker Vladimer, tasting his Aldasturi and Kindzmarauli; surprising, vibrant, and so much fun. Finally, the episode closes at Gotsa Wines with Nina and Beka Gotsa, who host a legendary Georgian supra, the traditional feast. We’re joined by Baia (Baia’s Wine), Shorena Pataridze (Rachuli Winery), and a quartet of singers. It’s an experience I will never forget and the perfect ending to an extraordinary trip.

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:26 Tblilisi
00:08:54 Bath House
00:10:37 Lunch at Chveni
00:19:11 Georgian Grapes
00:22:46 Coffee Art in Tbilisi
00:24:12 Chateau Mukhrani
00:31:52 Qvevri and Amber Wine
00:35:38 Iago’s Winery
00:43:08 Roadside Puri
00:44:40 Vazisubani Estate
00:51:44 Cooking Kinkali and Khachapuri
00:55:05 Khareba Winery
01:03:20 Supra at Gotsa’s
01:08:37 Outro

WINES FEATURED:
(in order)
Wet Dog Wine
• Pet-Nat (Tsitska–Tsolikouri)

Teliani Valley
• Tsolikouri
• Glekhuri Amber
• Saperavi

Château Mukhrani
• Goruli Mtsvane Reserve
• Shavkapito Reserve

Iago Bitarishvili
• Chinuri “Iago”
• Mtsvane “Marani”

Vazisubani Estate
• 3 Qvevri Amber
• Saperavi

Khareba Winery
• Aldasturi
• Kindzmarauli (Semi-Sweet Saperavi)

Supra Producers
• Baia’s Wine
• Shorena Pataridze
• Gotsa

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