This month’s Wine of the Month is a Georgian qvevri wine.
Tbilvino Qvevris Rkatsiteli 2020 (Georgia)
Although wine cultivation is believed to have started in the Caucasus region as early as 6000 BC, Georgian wine is perhaps not as well-known as it ought to be. The traditional method of vinification using ‘qvevri’ – clay pots – whereby the juice, skin and seeds of the crushed grapes are placed in handmade clay pots, then sealed and buried underground for fermentation to take place, is still used today.
The qvevri maintain a constant temperature and allow the wines to breathe and evolve in relatively stable conditions. For white wines fermented this way, the prolonged skin contact gives them their distinctive amber colour and subtle tannic grip.
This Georgian wine from Tbilvino Winery is produced from Rkatsiteli grapes, the most widely planted white grape variety in Georgia. The grape is also popular in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, and in recent years it has found a home in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, where the climate is similar to that of Georgia’s main winegrowing regions.
With peach, pear, apricot and blossom on the nose, and honey, peach and orange peel on the palate, this is a robust wine with a creamy mouthfeel. A dry wine, it is well-balanced with a lively acidity, and has a slight nuttiness in the finish. A very good match for a lamb dish, roast chicken, or salmon in a creamy sauce.
This is not a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio but it is an appealing wine with a character very much of its own. It’s a fine example of a qvevri wine and well worth trying.
Available from Majestic (£13.99, £11.99 Mix Six)