Badagoni is thegod ofvine and wine that we worshipped before Dionysus and Bacchus.
With four hundred hectares of vineyards, spread through all Kakheti micro-zones, two factories equipped with the latest technologies, and laboratories in Akhmeta and Manavi, “Badagoni” is rightfully one of the major players in the Georgian wine business, offering fine wine made exclusively from Georgian grape.
The philosophy of Badagoni – this was our foundation for building a company that would become more than a business. We knew how much responsibility was involved in winemaking, an industry that represents the face, history, tradition, the present, and the future of our country. At times like these, a person decides for himself if he can handle this kind of responsibility and the magnitude of the industry. We made the decision, embraced it, and built a brand that has been driven by responsibility and quality for 15 years, represented in more than 30 countries of the world with its product,” – thus begins Badagoni’s success story that we discuss with its founder Giorgi Salakaia.
“In the beginning, still at the planning stage, our first challenge was the scarcity of knowledge. We understood that if we didn’t have qualified knowledge as our base, we would struggle greatly in the future. This decision became the main determinant of our success.”
While on the search for qualified specialists, Giorgi Salakaia met oenologist Donato Lanati, which he considers a stroke of luck. Today, Dr. Lanati leads a team of professionals that create unique Badagoni wines. A famous oenologist, an owner of the wine Oscar and listed in the top 5 best oenologists of the world by Wine Enthusiast, Donato Lanati is the head of applied research center Enosis Meraviglia, in Piedmont Region of Italy.
“This laboratory is centuries ahead of other laboratories. Here, we conduct DNA analyses of grape varieties. Enosis Meraviglia is the only qualified laboratory that works with leading winemaking countries, including France, Italy, California region of the United States, and many more. What’s most important to us is our research institute and training center, where new generations of specialists emerge. All the specialists that work in Badagoni company, have undergone training at Enosis Meraviglia.”
The key was to interest Dr. Lanati in our country. His visit to Georgia and the emotions the oenologist experienced during his visit to Alaverdi Monastery played a crucial role. He saw who we were, where we came from, what was our history, and where the wine was born. His meeting with the metropolitan of Alaverdi Eparchy, Bishop David, who is not only famous for his impeccable knowledge of history but his love and appreciation of vine and wine, made an impression on Dr. Lanati. “When you have such treasure and historical inheritance in the form of Alaverdi, making wine is not complicated,” – this emotion determined Dr. Lanati’s future relationship with Georgian company and Georgian wine.
Donato Lanatihas done a lot for Georgia. This is the man that says “World, get ready for Saperavi!” in his address at the Carnegie Hall; the man that prefers to drink qvevri wine from a piala (“clay bowl”) and encourages others to do the same.
Alaverdi Monastery Marani – “Alaverdi Tradition”
Badagoni’s “Alaverdi Tradition” is the first wine in the history of qvevri wines to win the gold medal and the trophy of “the best indigenous wine” at the “Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition” held in Hong Kong.
“We only knew about the 16th-century wine cellar of the Alaverdi Monastery from Bishop David. There were no visible traces of this historic cellar. Our relationship with the Alaverdi Monastery and the story of “Alaverdi Tradition” began with the reconstruction of the monastery wine cellar, which we started with the blessing of the Bishop. The first and the most labor-intensive stage was the archaeological research, where we discovered the oldest, 11th-century qvevri.The entire history of the place where our ancestors made wine using traditional methods was unveiled right before our eyes; and it was here in Kakheti, an important winemaking region that endured numerous wars.
The revival of qvevri wine tradition started from the Alaverdi Monastery. This ancient cellar played a significant role in UNESCO’s decision to include the ancient Georgian traditional qvevri winemaking method into the list of Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2013. It was an important message to the world that wine is an integral part of the Georgian culture.”
The reconstructionand restoration of the museum of antiques are currently in progress at the Monastery, carried out jointly by the Georgian Church and Badagoni.
The first steps were hard because no one knew about qvevri wines back then and exporting it was a challenge. Badagoni was the first company to present qvevri wines at international exhibitions. There was not enough interest and everyone was skeptical about them because of the lack of awareness. “Nevertheless, we never gave up and regularly attended various exhibitions during 5 years. We were the first to participate in Japan Wine Challenge in Tokyo, Bordeaux, and many other countries, and everywhere we went our calling card was qvevri wine. We annually participated in 6-7 competitions. A lot of doors were closed for us, but we managed to open them. We understood well that it would take some time for the world market to know our amber wine, which was considered oxidized and, consequently, unappealing because of its color. But we kept on going because all of us were in this together – our traditions, the Alaverdi Monastery, the Bishop, priests. We knew that this wine was the future. And, of course, we had the support of Donato Lanati, respected specialist. Today, amber wines are well-known throughout the world.
Owning vineyards throughout allmicrozones of Kakheti further distinguishes Badagoni. It was the company’s largest investment. “We have vineyards in all Kakheti micro-zones under our management, which positively impacts our product and its quality.”
Today, Badagoni has an impressive and diverse portfolio. We produce still wines using both European and traditional methods. Europe, the United States, Great Britain, Japan, China, India, Ukraine, and the CIS countries are important markets for us. With the 8 million bottles we produce each year, we share history, tradition, and emotion of Georgia with our customers; we want them to fall in love with the homeland of wine.”
Sparkling wines
Donato Lanati: “Wine is my job, but sparkling wine is my art.”
“Producing sparkling wines was mine and Dr. Lanati’s idea. This was a risky move, especially considering that the company already had its line and philosophy – all wines were only produced using Georgian grape varieties. And there is a good reason for that: when the country has more than 500 unique grape varieties, the future of wine is clear.
We made our first sparkling wine in 2014, but during the two years leading up to production were dedicated to the research of suitable Georgian varieties at Enosis Meraviglia. The results were very unexpected, but pleasant: Kakhuri Mtsvane showed stunning potential, both in terms of aroma and aging. “Mtsvane is what we need,” – said Donato Lanati and the Badagoni sparkling wine story began. Today, our brut is 100% Mtsvane. However, this Mtsvane is from Akhmena terroir, not from Manavi.
The second stage was making the sparkling wine flawlessly, which required an important investment: the purchase of a production line from the leading “Bertolaso” company. We are proud to have the most important line in East Europe, which we use to produce both still and sparkling wines. Dr. Lanati supervised its installation himself. The positive acclaim of our sparkling wines, the size of bubbles, their frequency and intensity is largely due to this technology.
Making sparkling wine from Saperaviwas Donato Lanati’s idea. He came up to me one day and said: “Saperavi would make a marvelous sparkling wine.” It seemed inconceivable to me at the time. We traditionally started with research, followed by an interesting result – our red sparkling wine. Donato then said to me: “One lifetime is not enough to comprehend and study Saperavi. It is a real gem of Georgia.”
Export
“We planned and made the right steps in this direction from the start and today our sparkling wine is exported to several countries. We made our first export to the United States, followed by Germany, where we have a logistic center that supplies the European countries with Badagoni wines. We cover traditional as well as new markets. Our sparkling wines are represented in Georgian, as well as ethnic restaurants in Europe. It was also significant to enter the Chinese market.
Sparkling wine consumption is increasing in the world. Our biggest advantage is the varieties we use to produce this wine with distinct tastes and aromas. This is an important novelty for the world.”
