"The country between Caspian and Black seas can be considered as a homeland
of winemaking, since it was from Georgia that vines then spread to the
other lands"
_Friedriech Russein.
Georgia is situated to the South of the Caucasian Mountains, throughout the eastern part of the Bleak Sea. To the East, Georgia borders with Azerbaijan, to the South - Armenia and Turkey, to the North - Russian Federation.
Georgia has a rich variety of natural features: the eternal snows of the Caucasian Range lie quite close to the warm waves of the Black Sea and to humid subtropics, lush Alpine meadows give place to plains and highlands. The valleys of Georgia sparkle with the emeralds verdure of Kakhetian and Kartlian orchards and vineyards.
The Georgian language is one of the oldest living languages of the world.
The Georgian script dates from 4-th-3-rd centuries B.C. (as mentioned Assyrian
manuscript ''The Book of Peoples & Countries'';).
In ancient Myth Georgia is known as land of Golden Fleece and Argonauts,
the princess Medea and rebellious Prometheus. In antique period it was
the easternmost pocket of Mediterranean cultural influence. Hearing witness
to Georgia's ancient culture are architectural monuments, mural paintings
and sculpture: the cave of Vardzia, Upliszikhe, David-gareji, the churches
Svetitskhoveli, Alaverdi, Jvari, the towers of Svaneti and Kakheti, as
well as remarkable works of ecclesiastical and secular literature crowned
by Shota Rustaveli's 12-th century poem ''The Man in the Panther's Skin'',
which has been translated into all languages of the world.
Vardzia
Svetitskhoveli
Mount Kazbegi
(town made in rock mountain)
(5033 meters above the sea level)
Georgia has a long history in viniculture. Fossilized grape leaves,
stem pieces and seed unearthed from Miocene deposits in the Akhaltsikhe
district of Georgia and found in the Bronze-age tombs, and other paleobotanical
and archeological data indicate the long existence and wide distribution
of the vine in Georgia.
Hugh Johnson in his book Vintage: The Story of Wines has this to say:
"Archaeologists accept accumulation of grape pips as evidence (of the likelihood
at least) of winemaking... the oldest pips of cultivated vines so far discovered
and carbon dated - at least to the satisfaction of their finders - were
found in Soviet Georgia, and belong to the period 7000 - 5000 BC"
Ancient archeological monuments are carved with ornaments of vine leaves
and grapes. Ceramic vessels, decorated with grape designs have been discovered
in different regions of Georgia. National legends and folklore also reveal
the Georgians' affection for winemaking - an integral part of traditional
culture.
Ancient vessels
Out of 4000 grape varieties, known in the world, 500 have been cultivated in Georgia both by natural and traditional selection methods. 41 grape varieties are included in standard assortment: 27 of which are used for winemaking and 14 are "table" sorts.
Georgian winemaking is rather diverse, since every particular winemaking
area has its own peculiarities according to varieties and quality of grapes
grown there, soil and climate conditions, as well as the technology of
winemaking.
Some of the best known Wines made in Georgia are:
Tsinandali
Napareuli
Rkatsiteli
(White
Dry Vintage Wine)
(Red Dry Vintage Wine)
(White Dry Vintage Wine)
Ojaleshi
Khvanchkara
Saperavi
(Red Naturally Semi-Sweet
Wine)
(Red
Naturally Semi-Sweet Wine)
(Red Dry Table Wine)
Kindzmarauli
Gareji
Tvishi
(Red Naturally Semi-Sweet
Wine) (White
Dry Table Wine)
(White Naturally Semi-Sweet
Wine)