Chateau Mukhrani, a wine chateau was an highlight of our November visit to Georgian wine country. The Eurasian country of Georgia is one of the oldest winemaking regions in the world, dating back to around 6,000 years ago. When we visited Chateau Mukhrani it was being rebuilt (see Robert Linkous article). Originally the chateau was built in 1878, as a residence for Prince Mukhrani of the Bagrationi royal family. It was exciting to visit a wine chateau with such an interesting history. The winery has been complete for sometime. The good news for travelers is that Chateau Mukhrani will also include a restaurant and hotel due to open in 2013. Chateau Mukhrani has also recently opened a wine studio in Tbilisi.
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Chateau Mukhrani © Spaswinefood
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We began our visit to Chateau Mukhrani with a tour of the vineyard. Chateau Mukhrani's vineyard has 90 of the 100 hectares planted with new vines. This was followed by a visit to the new barrel room. We were then introduced to Chateau Mukhrani wines over lunch.
While at Chateau Mukhrani we tasted some impressive wines during lunch. We were introduced to each of the wines by the winemaker, Lado Uzunashvili. At the present moment the wines are only being produced in non-qvevri style, with plans to introduce qvevri wines in the future. Magnus Reutherdal's article describes our visit and the wines tasted. See also Gabriel Dvoskin's video, which includes our visit to Chateau Mukhrani.
Two of the white wines that we had during lunch were Rkatsiteli 2010 and Goruli Mtsvane 2010.
A Tavkveri Dry Rosé 2011 was quite enjoyable.
The red wines I tasted were Chateau Mukhrani's Saperavi 2008 and Reserve Du Prince 2007 (see Peter Wood's tasting notes on some earlier Chateau Mukhrani vintages). See also Tamara Khelaia's article on Chateau Mukhrani wines.
We ended dinner with a fruit plate and some stimulating Muscat and Chacha (Vodka) to taste.
I must admit that I rather liked the Chateau Mukhrani wines I tasted. If you would like to try Chateau Mukhrani wines they are available for purchase in U.S. at the Georgian Wine House.
Our visit to Chateau Mukhrani was part of an #EWBC post-conference trip, sponsored by the Georgian Wine Association. For me it was a great opportunity to experience the rich wine and food traditions of a unique wine producing country, like Georgia. Georgia is also home to over 400 grape varieties. While in Georgia we got to meet some amazing people and taste some great wines. A visit to Georgia is a must for hard-core wine enthusiasts and others. I look forward to writing more about my Georgian wine country experiences at Spaswinefood.
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| Vineyards at Chateau Mukhrani © Spaswinefood |
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| Vineyards at Chateau Mukhrani © Spaswinefood |
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| Barrel Room at Chateau Mukhrani © Spaswinefood |
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| Chateau Mukhrani qvevri display © Spaswinefood |
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| Lunch at Chateau Mukhrani © Spaswinefood |
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| Lunch at Chateau Mukhrani © Spaswinefood |
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| Chateau Mukhrani Rkatsiteli 2010 © Spaswinefood |
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| Chateau Mukhrani Goruli Mtsvane 2010 © Spaswinefood |
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| Chateau Mukhrani Tavkveri Dry Rosé 2011 © Spaswinefood |
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Chateau Mukhrani Saperavi 2008 © Spaswinefood
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Chateau Mukhrani Reserve Du Prince 2007 © Spaswinefood
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| Chateau Mukhrani ended dinner with fruit © Spaswinefood |
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| Chateau Mukhrani Muscat © Spaswinefood |
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| Chateau Mukhrani Chacha © Spaswinefood |
Our visit to Chateau Mukhrani was part of an #EWBC post-conference trip, sponsored by the Georgian Wine Association. For me it was a great opportunity to experience the rich wine and food traditions of a unique wine producing country, like Georgia. Georgia is also home to over 400 grape varieties. While in Georgia we got to meet some amazing people and taste some great wines. A visit to Georgia is a must for hard-core wine enthusiasts and others. I look forward to writing more about my Georgian wine country experiences at Spaswinefood.
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