Georgian wines

[Dan McQ]

Albert and Alex recently organized a wine dinner to showcase wines from the former Russian Republic of Georgia. None of us had any real exposure to the wines and I had some doubts about how good they might be. We met at Eric's Pizza & Wings in Newton, MA, where the traditional Georgian menu served as a great backdrop for a lineup of wines that Alex provided.

We began with a methode champaignoise bubbly that was actually quite good:

...it had a fine mousse and was initially shy then became far more interesting and expressive with warming...followed by a couple of whites that were blends of Rkatsiteli and went well with the Caucasus Salad while Alex told us a bit about the grapes and terroir...

This was followed by a Georgian cheese - I think it was Suluguni ( სულუგუნი ) / green onion & cilantro plate combined with hot Georgian bread. Great combination that went well with the whites. Next up was Soup Harcho (lamb soup), a spicy delight that went best with the Marani Saperavi Ros which was a bit too sweet on its own but brilliant with the soup.

The main course was Chicken kabab, Lamb kabab (ribs), and Lyulya kabab (lamb). Yummy with a variety of reds from table wine made primarily of Saperavi. Two blends, one with Merlot and one with Cabernet, were clearly made to make the wines more approachable to the Western mass market, but lost the individuality of the single grape and blends of Saperavi with other indigenous red grapes.

Albert demonstrating a lamb chop

meh

yummy

No meal would be complete without a dessert wine. This ice wine, made from Rkatsiteli, was a dead ringer for Quarts de Chaume on the nose. Very nice wine with good fruit and a fair amount of RS.

All in all, some very well-made wines with a reasonable degree of individuality and complexity. Prices ranging from the low teens for the table wines to $40ish for the 'reserve' wines. Thanks to Albert for organizing and to Alex for bringing the wines from his portfolio and his cellar.

Oh, and don't go to Erik's for the wings or pizza. You'd be missing what they do best. Photos of the other participants not included, mainly because Pmac did not slip in a bird and Charles was hiding behind the bottles most of the time.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

Super essay, Dan, thanks. I've heard from time to time that there are some good Georgian wines, but never seen the proposition examined as well.

 

[MarkS]

originally posted by Dan McQ:
Georgian winesAlbert and Alex recently organized a wine dinner to showcase wines from the former Russian Republic of Georgia.

SOVIET republic, sir. 'Soviet', not 'Russian'. The Russians suffered the same fate as the Georgians.

 

[Dan McQ]

originally posted by MarkS:

SOVIET republic, sir. 'Soviet', not 'Russian'. The Russians suffered the same fate as the Georgians.

I was simply quoting Albert, the Russian, who organized this to "showcase to us wines from former Russian Republic of Georgia." Hey, I'm just a simple doctor, not a foreign service officer. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire. After a brief period of independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia was annexed by the russian red army in 1921 and in 1922 Georgia was incorporated into the Soviet Union. So we're actually both correct. Regardless, Georgian wines are pretty good indeed.