On our last day in Georgia we visited Tsinandali Palace. I love hearing the pronounciation of Tsinandali. You know how certain words immediately appeal to you. Tsinandali Palace was once the home of the Chavchavadze family, one of Georgia's most fascinating families. Today Tsinandali Palace is a museum, with a long history of producing wine. In fact the highly regarded dry white wine Tsinandali is produced there. I discovered a video of a visit to Tsinandali Cellars where there are some old vintages being stored. Eat and Tour notes that other than Tsinandali Palace now serving as a museum it also hosts wine events.
Yes, it was a special wine happening for me to visit Tsinandali Palace. That afternoon we toured the palace and did a wine tasting before dinner.
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| Tasting Tsinandali at Tsinandali Palace © Spaswinefood |
Wine Tasting at Tsinandali Palace
After the museum tour we sampled some of the wines offered at the wine shop/wine bar. There was a variety of Georgian wines available. Here are a few of the wine displays that I saw:
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| Pheasants Tears and Kakuri wines © Spaswinefood |
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| Tsinandali, Mukuzani and Kindzmarauli wines © Spaswinefood |
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| Marani wines © Spaswinefood |
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| Pheasants Tears, Teliani Valley and other wines © Spaswinefood |
Our #EWBC Georgian wine adventure was also a very special opportunity for me to check out Georgian wines with other #winelover_s.
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| Winelovers at Tsinandali Palace, Georgia © Spaswinefood |
Now for a few of the Kakhuri wines that I tasted. Given it was Tsinandali Palace and its long history of producing Tsinandali wine it was obvious on the list. I tasted a Kakhuri Tsinandali 2010. This wine is made from Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane grapes, which after fermenting is normally aged two to three years. Tsinandali wine can be aged for five more years to produce a nutty taste.
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| Kakkuri Tsinandali 2010 © Spaswinefood |
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| Kakkuri Tsinandali 2010 © Spaswinefood |
Now for a few of the reds I tasted. Included in the red wines were Kakhuri Saperavi 2011, Kakkuir Mukuzani 2005 and Kakkuri Khvanchkara 2011.
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| Kakkuri Saperavi 2011 © Spaswinefood |
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| Kakkuri Saperavi 2011 © Spaswinefood |
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| Kakkuri Kukuzani 2005 © Spaswinefood |
Mukuzani is a dry red wine made from the same Saperavi grape. Mukuzani wine is aged in oak for at least three years, whereas Saperavi wine is aged for one year. There is also a Kindzmarauli wine that is aged for two years. I must admit I like the effect of aging on the wines made from the Saperavi grape.
A Georgian naturally semi-sweet red that is very popular is the Khvanchkara. Khvanchkara is made from Alexandria and Mudzhuretuli grapes. Anna Nemtsova notes the popularity of this wine. I tasted the Kakhuri Khvanchkara 2011. |
| Kakkuri Khvanchkara 2011 © Spaswinefood |
After the wine tasting we concluded our day and our visit to Georgia with a traditional dinner at Tsinandali Palace.
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| Tsinandali Palace © Spaswinefood |
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| Tsinandali Palace © Spaswinefood |
Spaswinefood's trip to Georgia was a fascinating discovery of Georgian wines. The above wine highlights are but a brief overview. Our #EWBC post-conference trip was sponsored by the Georgian Wine Association. I look forward to writing about my Georgian wine experiences at Spaswinefood.
Sharon
November 2012
Tsinandali Palace, Georgia
© Spaswinefood
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