In the Finger Lakes region of New York, the Saperavi Festival successfully returned for its second edition this year. This festival serves as a platform to promote Saperavi, other Georgian varieties, Georgian gastronomy, and culture not only within the region but also across the entire state of New York and the USA. Over the past 60 years, Saperavi has thrived in the Finger Lakes and has established itself as a traditional grape variety with great potential to become the region’s leading red wine grape. Its rising popularity in the region paves the way for its future success throughout America. The annual Saperavi festival, organized by Saperica and its founders, Lasha Tsatava and Erica Frey, aims to achieve this goal.
Lasha, Erika, and other like-minded individuals, established the festival last year. In the same year, they devised a comprehensive plan encompassing educational seminars, events, and exchange programs between the Finger Lakes and Georgia, catering to wine and gastronomy enthusiasts as well as professionals within the industry. The program was launched this year in April, a month and a half prior to the second Saperavi Festival. As part of the program, American winemakers, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and marketers had the opportunity to visit Georgia.
NATALIE TRAVIS | Restauranter with plans to open her own restaurant. One of the managers at Women for Winesense, a non-profit organization.
Q: How would you rate your overall experience and what is your opinion about Georgian cuisine in General?
Eleven out of ten stars. I encourage everyone to seek out Georgian cuisine if they are lucky enough to have the opportunity. The uniqueness of many of the dishes was truly inspiring! While many may think Georgian cuisine would be entirely unfamiliar, I found that many of the dishes felt like they may have inspired things we are regularly enjoying. I know it’s frowned upon to compare Khachapuri to pizza, however I can see how pizza might have never been a thing without inspiration from Georgian Khachapuri.
Q: Georgian traditional dishes (among them: Khinkali, Chakapuli, Shkmeruli, Khachapuri) are very popular on all the continents. For example, Shkmeruli has been added to school menus in Japan. How likely are we to find these or any other Georgian dishes on your restaurant menus in the future?
A: There is an incredible local restaurant in the Finger Lakes specializing in Asian Dumplings, and I know Khinkali will take off when it makes its way to the Finger Lakes. I regularly partner with Chef Samantha Buyskes, who also traveled to Georgia with our group, and we are already planning a few Supra wine dinners featuring Georgian Cuisine.
We are also looking forward to a Georgian BBQ on Samantha’s fire table! I found Mtsvadi of particular interest. (The Georgian rendition of a skewered meat dish, like the upstate New York Chicken Spiedies.)
There is a wine pairing principle I love that says, “If it grows together, it goes together”, and this is perfect for Mtsvadi. The use of vines for the coals with local pork on a skewer is truly a beautiful way to show off what the land can provide and makes for an excellent wine pairing for so many of the Georgian wines. I can see this idea and practice really taking off and becoming successful here in the Finger Lakes.
Q: Do you find the concept of bringing Georgian chefs to the Finger lakes’ region appealing and are you supportive of this idea?
Absolutely! Let’s make it happen!
