After a morning tour of Tbilisi we stopped for lunch at a restaurant on a side street, at the Azarpesha Restaurant (2 Ingorokva Street). As we walked into the restaurant, I immediately noticed the pleasant lighting and nice decor. Although I had heard of a Georgian feast, or supra little did I know that we would get such an introduction over lunch. Also, during lunch I would get to try Georgian qvevri wines.
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| Wine, food and song, Azarphesha Restaurant © Spaswinefood |
Georgian wine, food and song
Prior to visiting Georgia my own experience, beyond research, was limited to tasting Georgian wines at EWBC's Grand Terroir Tasting in Izmir, Turkey.
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| Georgia's Vinoterra (wine at the center in photo) © Spaswinefood |
However, what I discovered first hand in Georgia was not only qvevris wine making but the rich traditions centered wine and food. Georgians truly know how to celebrate with wine and food. We were about to discover this over our first lunch in Georgia.
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#EWBC wine bloggers at Luarsab's Restaurant © Spaswinefood
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While in Georgia we experienced a number of Georgian feasts that involved food and wine. The first was at Luarsab's Azarphesha Restaurant. Georgian cuisine has been described as being influenced by Middle Eastern and European traditions. It has been said that Georgian food and wine are best observed at a feast or supra (a traditional banquet feast). Part of the Georgian tradition is to have a toastmaster at such gatherings. Usually a toast is accompanied by a song or verse. This article will share some of the highlights from lunch with Luarsab, his wife and their Georgian friends. In Georgia wine, food and song are one.
Lunch at Luarsab's Azarphesha Restaurant
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Luarsab led the toasting and singing during lunch © Spaswinefood
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During lunch we were introduced to the amazing Georgian tradition of toasting by Luarsab, which included polyphonic singing. Gabriel Dvoskin's video beautifully captures some of the event. Now you can imagine what we experienced over lunch, as we were introduced to Georgian qvevri wines.
We started lunch with cheese and other fabulous foods.
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| Cheese Plate, Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
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| Cheese and Aubergine Plates, Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
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| Salad and Aubergine plates at Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
Our first wine was a white wine, a Kera Wine Tsolikouri 2011 (see Tim Lemke's description of this wine and others we had at Azarphesha).
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| Kera Wine Tsolikouri 2011 © Spaswinefood |
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Kera Wine Tsolikouri 2011 at Luarsab's Restaurant © Spaswinefood
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Kera Wine Tsolikouri 2011 at Azarphesha © Spaswinefood
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Here are more Georgian dishes.
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| Mushroom plate at Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
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| My lunch at Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
Of course there were also meat dishes.
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| Meat and vegetable plate at Azarpesha © Spaswinefood |
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| Chicken plate at Azarpesha © Spaswinefood |
The other Georgian wines we tried were Rkatsiteli 2010 from Darssavelidze, Chkhaveri 2011, a Jakeli Wines Khashmi Saperavi 2008 and another wine (for which I need the name).
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| Rkatsiteli 2010 at Luarsab's Restaurant © Spaswinefood |
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| Chkhaveri 2011 Luarsab's Restaurant © Spaswinefood |
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| Jakeli Khashmi Saperavi 2008 at Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
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| Wine at Azarphesha Wine Restaurant © Spaswinefood |
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| Wine at Azarphesha Wine Restaurant © Spaswinefood |
For dessert we were served an inviting fruit plate.
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| Dessert at Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
If your travels take you to Tbilisi, Georgia check out Luarsab's Restauarant Azarphesha. You will experience great food and wine. There might even be a feast or supra happening. You may also want to check out Foodie International's description of Azarphesha.
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| Luarsab's Restaurant Azarphesha © Spaswinefood |
However, it is not every day that you get an opportunity to experience the rich wine and food traditions of a unique wine producing country, like Georgia. Spaswinefood's trip to Georgia was an #EWBC post-conference trip, sponsored by the Georgian Wine Association. Needless to say, at the Azarphesha Restaurant we got to meet some amazing people and drink some great wines produced in both qvevri and non-qvevri styles. A visit to Georgia is a must for hard-core wine enthusiasts and others. I look forward to writing about our Georgian experiences at Spaswinefood.
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