Each year we experiment with grapes we like working with in search of different interpretations of the varietal and the terroir it’s from – for 2023 our focus was firmly on Rkatsiteli from Bolnisi after our successful first vintage in 2022 of a direct press white wine made in Qvevri – at the time of writing only 20 bottles of Naked Rkatsiteli are left: you can find these either at Pulp or Dadi here in Tbilisi. Nevertheless, on to our first release of Rkatsiteli of 2023; strictly limited to 30 bottles – you’ll find out why in the description below:

Thought Process behind Auslese

We noticed that Rkatsiteli from the Bolnisi terroir was often produced to a high quality wine with full skin contact – often expressing pleasant mellow flavours and a balance of acidity without so many of the tannins that can often be found in full-skin Rkatsiteli from various terroirs in Kakheti. We wondered if it would be possible to make a cleaner, brighter full-skin contact wine and struck upon using the German methodology of an Auslese for this wine. “Etwas Auszulesen” literally means selecting – so an Auslese is usually a Qualitätsprädikat (quality designation) that defines hand selection of the best grapes, different to a Beerenauslese which means that the grapes are deliberately aged on the vine to the maximum possible sweetness, we didn’t have the luxury to do that in 2023 but naturally we want to try this at some point too… anyway, back to our Auslese – we took the best bunches of grapes that we had that were to be processed either as direct press or carbonic maceration and then we painstakingly selected the best berries (this took 3 of us from the afternoon way past dusk) then lightly crushed the individual grapes without stems and fermented on the skins for 30 days.

Brief Tasting Notes

After fermentation we basket-pressed the must and laid the wine to rest in glass (ideal for a clean interpretation of this style) – what results is a wine reminiscent of a Gewürztraminer that’s been at a party in a flower meadow, think bees, honey and flowers dancing happily at the dawn, a hint of the summer rain and ripe apricots getting down for a boogie on your palate. Given the highly labour-intensive method of production we elected to keep this experiment super-focused for 2023 – we’re pleased to note that feedback from wine-professionals and professional-drinkers alike has been such that we will definitely increase production in 2024 to make this wine more available in the places that appreciate such wines. It goes without saying that fermentation was spontaneous on native yeasts and also that zero sulphites were used in the production process. The label is part of our new square-label limited edition series that nods to the simple graphic labels I remember from my parents table in the 1980s.

Limited Availablity

This wine is available by the glass/bottle at Dadi in Tbilisi – supplies are strictly limited, once it’s gone the only way to get some will be to come and help us make Auslese 2024 in October – if you’re interested drop us a line.

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Grape: Rkatsiteli
Terroir: Bolnisi in Southern Kartli
Vine age: Approx 30 years
Elevation: 480 masl
Alcohol: 10.5% abv
Vinification: Spontaneous Fermentation on Wild Yeasts in Churi (Imeretian Qvevri) – aged on lees for 7 months, no skin contact, unfiltered
Details: Family farmed grapes made in Qvevri with no skin contact for a pale white wine that loves to be slightly too cold, pairs well with smoked meats and fish – a definite summer wine that bridges the gap between Georgian endemic grape varieties and winemaking technologies and a decidedly European palate – most similar known wines from Europe: Pinot Gris/Grigiot/Weissburgunder.

Grape: Chinuri
Terroir: Okami in Upper Kartli
Vine age: Approx 70 years
Elevation: 650 masl
Alcohol: 13.4% abv
Vinification: Spontaneous Fermentation on Wild Yeasts in Churi (Imeretian Qvevri) – aged on lees for 7 months, no skin contact, unfiltered
Details: Family farmed grapes made in Qvevri with no skin contact for  full bodied white wine that opens up complexity, pairs well with Italian dishes – a wine that is great cold but can also be enjoyed at temperatures a little higher depending on your mood – a wine that is changing in the bottle and will she different expressions over time – most similar known wines from Europe: Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.

Grape: Rkatsiteli
Terroir: Bolnisi in Southern Kartli
Vine age: Approx 30 years
Elevation: 480 masl
Alcohol: 11.5% abv
Vinification: Whole bunch fermentation in a full carbonic maceration method, malolactic fermentation completed, unfiltered
Details: Family farmed grapes made in carbonic maceration for a fruit-forward white wine that delivers pineapple and candy notes despite being a dry wine, pairs well with cheeses and cold platters – a wine that was absolutely experimental in nature but has pleased palates of all kinds – very limited quantities available – most similar known wines from Europe: difficult to say because there are very few white carbonic maceration wines, at a push maybe a riesling halbtrocken even though this is dry – mainly because of the fruit notes. (Sold Out)

Grape: Ojaleshi
Terroir: Kindzmaruli Microzone, Kakheti
Vine age: Approx 4 years
Elevation: 325 masl
Alcohol: 11.5% abv
Vinification: Whole bunch fermentation in a full carbonic maceration method, malolactic fermentation completed, unfiltered
Details: Family farmed grapes made in carbonic maceration for a fruit-forward light red wine that delivers strawberry and candy notes on the nose and cranberry and gooseberry in the glass – another experiment intended as a homage to the Beaujolais Nouveau wines which are made with carbonic maceration, pairs wonderfully with asian and spicy foods due to the piercing acidity cutting through, also true for great/fatty dishes – most similar known wines from Europe: Beaujolais Nouveau. (Sold Out)

Availability of Wines:

Dadi Wine Bar
4 Shalva Dadiani, Tbilisi (near Freedom Sq.)

Bagelin/Saidanaa
5 Luarsab Sharashidze Street, Tbilisi (Pikris Gora, Lower Vera)

Pet Nat Wine Shop
3 Tamar Chovelidze, Tbilisi (Vera – opposite Rooms Hotel) &
8 Gurjani St, Tbilisi (Avlabari)

The post Wines of ’22 appeared first on the garden winery.

Ojaleshi Carbonic Vintage 2022 started on September 28th in Kakheti where we came upon some organically grown young Ojaleshi Orbeluri which is typically grown in Western Georgia, quite a light coloured red grape we decided it could be seen as having similar characteristics to Gamay – the grape used in Beaujolais Nouveau wines. The grapes were grown in the shadow of the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the Kindzmarauli Microtone. We decided on making the wine in a full carbonic maceration to pull out the fruit characteristics. Punchy, fruity, slightly tart this 11.5% wine really shines when consumed with Asian food, at the same time we’ve heard early tasters polish off a bottle as a refreshing end to a session so we’ll leave it up to you to decide.

Naked Chinuri The second harvest of the 2022 vintage was from the beautiful terroir of Okami at 650masl some 45 minutes drive to the East of Tbilisi. Having worked with Chinuri in 2021 and fallen in love with the characteristics of this grape we decided to harvest a couple of weeks later in 2022 in the hope of creating a wine that is a little bit more of everything. Given that we knew we are going to make direct press wine with no skin contact (that’s what the “naked” refers to) we picked as late as we could on the 9th October before the autumn rains started. We measured sugar at around 23 yet it turned out that many grapes were riper than we expected making for a much more full-bodied expression of a White Chinuri than 2021 was – alcohol is up from 10.5% to 13.4% and as mentioned before there’s more of everything. As before – everything was made in Churi (Imeretian Qvevri) and aged for 7 months on the less without batonage (mixing) – the wine was bottled straight from the churi meaning there will be some variation between bottles which we hope you natural wine fiends will appreciate! Typical butterscotch notes and versatility, eminently quaffable.

Naked Rkatsiteli Our third and final harvest for 2022 was a new terroir for us and one that has produced wines that impressed us quite a lot over the past few years: Bolnisi in Lower Kartli – about 90 minutes drive South of Tbilisi where the lands gently rise towards the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. Whilst there were plenty of skin contact Rkatsitelis from Bolnisi we hadn’t seen many made as pure white wines – we theorised that as the grapes were lighter and less sweet when grown in this terroir it was worth trying to make a direct-press “naked” wine without skin contact and do so in Churi on the lees for 7 months so that the wine could develop fully – what has resulted is a light, clear wine that is easy-drinking, fresh and fun. Grapes were harvested on 12th October and the resulting wine is a friendly 10.5% alcohol.

Rkatsiteli Carbonic You will find it written in some places that carbonic maceration winemaking techniques are not suited to white grapes because allegedly some undesirable flavours develop. Bah humbug say we. We’ve been tasting this wine from its first fermentation and past the malolactic fermentation and honestly it’s one of the most fun experiments we’ve done – all the fruitiness is brought to the fore and what happens in the glass is some pineapple candy magic. There is only a small consignment of this wine available so we strongly advise grabbing some while you can – made from the same lot of grapes used for the Naked Rkatsiteli this is an expression of the grape that may not be for the purist but it probably is for the party animal – don’t be confused by the anthracite label, this wine came to rock you, at a sensible 11.5% alcohol you can imbibe nicely with friends or treat yourself. გაუმარჯოს!

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