CZECHIA
DVA DUBY
PETR KORÁB
JAROSLAV OSIČKA
PETRA BREDOVA
TŘI ČTVRTĚ
GEORGIA
AMIRAN VEPKHVADZE
CHITO'S GVINO
GOTSA FAMILY WINERY
JAKELI
GIA JAMBERIDZE
ORI MARANI
PAPARI VALLEY
GAIOZ SOPROMADZE
SLOVAKIA
PIVNICA ČAJKOV
DAVID KUŠICKÝ
MARVLA TINDO
UNITED CELLARS
OF TEKOV
SLOVENIA
KABAJ
KORENIKA & MOŠKON
ŠTEMBERGER
ZARO
COLLABORATIONS
BRDA BELO
CONSCIOUS EXIT
EAZY ORANŽNA
EAZY REFOŠK
GRAPE ALE
SHAVI K’RAVI
THE RIDERS
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shavi k’ravi = black lamb
The heart of Georgian wine culture beats underground in wood fired terracotta vessels called kvevri. Their use for fermenting and aging wine predates the nation by millenia. Production of wine in these massive handmade jars is laborious and unwieldy. Due to their unique dimensions and varied porosity, each jar has its own personality, its own animus, rarely giving the same wine twice. Inconsistent, difficult to scale up, prone to unexpected developments during vinification - kvevri are defined by what modern winemaking seeks to minimize.
We love wine for this ephemerality, this spontaneity. Where there is none, wine is dead. If this is what we love then we too must be spontaneous. Shavi K’ravi = Black Lamb in Georgia, a common moniker for these wines of impermanence.
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ROKHI TSOLIKOURI
Akaki Kvirikashvili’s Marani is a small family winery that has been operating for 4 generations. It was established in 1940 by Ivane Kvirikashvili in the small village of Rokhi which is located in Imereti in western Georgia. It is focused on producing white wine with character and quality, from a combination of Tsolikouri Bazaleti and Tsolikouri Melko grape varieties. Tsolikouri is indigenous to Imereti and is a centuries old variety. The soil in Imereti is unique and brings more freshness and minerality to wines made here. The current generation of the Kvirikashvili family is continuing the old traditions of winemaking with a bit of a modern approach to make the process more efficient. Starting from the planting of grape vines to the final bottling of the wines, all processes are led by the Kvirikashvili family members. The wine is made from a combination of Tsolikouri Melko (50%) and Tsolikouri Bazaleti (50%) grape varieties. These varieties are characteristic to Imereti as they find the best conditions to reach maximum potential in this part of Georgia. No chemicals, herbicides or pesticides are used in the family vineyard and harvest is up to 10 tons a year. The grapes are harvested once the sugar level is 20-21 brix for the wine to reach 12% alcohol by volume. The grapes are hand-harvested and after selecting the best bunches it goes though the crushing and destemming process. After the grapes are crushed only the free run juice is used and sent for fermentation to Qvevri, which is a traditional Georgian wine vessel made from clay and is buried in the earth. Churi creates great conditions for the fermentation process and adds additional flavors and character to the final wine.Name of Wine: AKAKI'S ROKHI
Vintage: 2021
Village, Region: ROKHI, IMERETI
Vineyard: Akaki Kvirikashvili's Vineyards, 0.5 Ha
Altitude: 200 meters above sea level
Soil: Clay soil
Climate: humid subtropical
Farming: Fertilizing with horse manure once every two years (During Dec-Nov) Pruning and soil cultivation in March, April. No chemical herbicide or pesticide is used in the vineyard.
Grape(s): 50% Tsolikouri Bazaleti, 50% Tsolikouri Melqo
Harvest: September 25-28
Vinification: After grapes are crushed only free run juice is collected in Qvevri (Traditional Georgian wine vessel made from clay and buried below ground). Fermentation process takes place in Qvevri without intervention, using naturally occurring yeasts and natural (underground) temperature control. Fermentation often lasts 3 weeks. The Qvevri’s sloped walls allow the yeast and sediment to settle at the bottom while the wine circulates above.
Fermentation/Aging Vessel(s): Qvevri (Clay vessel)
Fining & Filtration: No fining or filtering
So2: 15 ppm added towards the middle December, total So2 - 33ppm,
Date of Bottling. 9.7.22
Bottles Produced 2000
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BOLNISI RKATSITELI
2019 Bolnisi Rkatsiteli “Vakhtang’s” BOLNISI RKATSITELI made in qvevri.Bolnisi is an amazing little town defined by the wine district it takes its name from. Each house has a little European style cellar dug below. Rather than floor level, the qvevri are sometimes buried in the floor of the cellar making them doubly cool. This evocative wonder comes from a clay/volcanic vineyard of Rkatsiteli planted in the late 70’s. In organic conversion. 2 months of skin contact. All farming, harvest and wine making was completed by, Mevenakhe: Vakhtang Chagelishvili - Bolnuri Wine dry amber wine----------------
SHAVI K’RAVI KAKHETI
We found a producer with a sizable collection of kvevri containing excellent wines originally destined for local restaurants. The pandemic’s devastating effect on tourism left this producer with extra wine, but anticipating the eventual return of visitors they were not very interested in export. So we suggested we buy the wine they have now, and if next time there is none that is OK. They agreed and helped us to bottle the wine at a nearby cellar. We selected four very different wines. Two from Kahketi, Georgia’s largest growing region, famous for tannic amber wines and toothsome Saperavi; two from Shida Kartli, a rather cool locality known for nearly opposite wines.SIGNAGI MTSVANE
Signagi is a famous town in Eastern Kakheti. This sunny amber wine exemplifies the full-throated style typical of the region. Brilliant copper, the wine behaves in the glass like a loose honey. The wine smells sweet, of marmalade, tea and spice, but the taste is in fact dry and rather tannic. Not tannic like a big red wine; tannic like you ate a raisin with a seed in it. It is very much the flavor of the fruit. Made in buried terracotta kvevri from grapes grown in a single vineyard in the Signagi area on the right bank of the Alazani River. Mtsvane (“green”) is among the genetically oldest known vinifera varieties. The grape is naturally aromatic when fresh, reminiscent of Gewürztraminer, but after extended skin contact and a long oxidative vinification in terracotta it emerges transformed. In Georgia this style of wine complements the tapestry of flavors that make up the Georgian table. The longest and most indulgent parties will be hosted with a massive quantity of a single wine in this style.
Vintage: 2020
Style: dry amber wine
Region: Signagi
Altitude: 360m
Soil Composition of Vineyard(s): light clay
Prevailing Climate & Local Climactic: continental, hot
Farming: organic
Grape(s): Kahuri Mtsvane
Harvest: September
Maceration: 6 month, destemed berries
Pressing: basket press
Fermentation/Aging: maceration and spontaneous fermentation in kvevri, pressed, returned to kvevri for more than 1 year aging.
Fining & Filtration Methods: none
Alcohol: 13%
Sulfur dioxide - 38ppm total, 15ppm added at bottling
Bottled: March, 2022
Bottles Produced: 5000
CHIKANNI KISI
The village of CHIKANNI is located on the left bank of the Alazani River which divides the Kakheti Valley. Located at the base of the Caucasus the location has an southerly exposition allowing for the production of rich full bodied wines but the close proximity to the mountains tempers the hot days with cool nights preserving their freshness. Wines made from Kisi are best when the grapes are quite ripe. Among the white Kakhetian grape varieties it is something of a darling. While it makes lucious amber wines packed with stone fruit flavors it is the distinctive note of pepper that entrances our pallets most.
Vintage: 2020
Village: Chikanni
Style: dry amber wine
Region: Kvareli, Kakheti
Altitude: 360m
Soil Composition of Vineyard(s): light clay and carbonate Prevailing Climate & Local Climactic: continental, hot
Farming: organic Grape(s):
Kisi Harvest: September
Maceration: 6 month, destemed berries Pressing: basket press Fermentation/Aging: maceration and spontaneous fermentation in kvevri, pressed, returned to kvevri for more than 1 year aging. Fining & Filtration Methods: none
Alcohol: 13%
Sulfur dioxide - 38ppm total, 15 ppm added at bottling
Bottled: March, 2022
Bottles Produced: 3,000
AKHMETA SAPERAVI BUDESHURI
Saperavi is a universally appealing sort of grape. A teinturier variety, it is purple through and through - in fact, the name Saperavi translates roughly as “pigmented.” The wine can be impenetrably dark, and is prized for its concentration, a quality often overemphasized. This finessed example comes from the village of Akhmeta in westernmost Kakheti where the Alazani river flows from the Caucasus mountains into the valley. This cooler, forested environment gives Saperavi a similarly cool demeanor. The Akhmeta vineyard is planted with Saperavi Budeshuri, a close relative of typical Saperavi noted for its juicy, fruity, oblong berries. 2 weeks of maceration with the skins is followed by fermentation and aging in kvevri until bottling. An all-purpose red with deep richness, lively acidity, and thankfully no oak.
Vintage: 2021
Style: dry red wine
Region: Akhmeta
Altitude: 500m
Soil Composition of Vineyard(s): clay, alluvial stones
Prevailing Climate & Local Climactic: continental, hot
Farming: organic
Grape(s): Saperavi Budeshuri
Harvest: September
Maceration: 9 days, destemed berries
Pressing: basket press
Fermentation/Aging: maceration and spontaneous fermentation in kvevri, pressed, returned to kvevri. Bottled after malolactic fermentation.
Fining & Filtration Methods: none
Alcohol: 13.6%
Sulfur dioxide - 39ppm total, 15ppm added at bottling
Bottled: March, 2022
Bottles Produced: 2200