Georgia is one of the oldest wine producing regions in the world - perhaps even the oldest, depending on what research you read. Winemaking in this beautiful Eastern European country can be traced back to around 6000BC when whole bunches of grapes were crushed then and buried underground in large oval shaped terracotta vessels called qvevri, to keep the wine cool while the grapes fermented - clever!!
I’d heard a lot about this Georgian wine from the M&S Found range. (If you haven’t discovered the M&S Found range yet, it’s a fantastic collection of wines produced using lesser-known grape varieties at very affordable prices. Great if you’re interested in trying something a bit different.)
Produced using the indigenous Saperavi grape, this ancient grape variety is the most commonly planted grape in Georgia and produces wines that are full-bodied and bold with firm tannins and good acidity, making them very age-worthy.
Saperavi is a teinturier style grape, meaning that the flesh inside is red and not clear like most grapes. This means that the wine is very deeply coloured.
Boasting flavours of blackberries, black cherries and plum, it also has a gentle vanilla note.
If you usually enjoy Old World style Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah, you should definitely give this a go. I enjoyed it with some aged Gouda cheese, but it would be perfect paired with steak or a hearty beef or lamb stew too.
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