MAYA JAVAKHISHVILI | publisher and editor-in-chief of Homeland of Wine: Bolnisi – a region with the ancient tradition of winemaking that withstood time, reached the present, and is making history. This story is about winemakers that kept their connection with wine, built vineyards, took care of wine cellars – including German ones that are so frequent in Bolnisi. They revived forgotten grape varieties, made interesting wines from leading Georgian varieties, and are working very hard to introduce Bolnisi wine to the local and foreign wine lovers and connoisseurs.
Homeland of Wine Magazine has been following the development of Bolnisi wines for a couple of years now. Within this short period, we saw the number of local wine cellars and the quality of their wines increase. These wines have already reached Europe (including the European wine festivals), albeit in small quantities, and are now heading towards Australia.
This land is home to the oldest of Georgian winemaking. Despite its continuous history, Bolnisi took a brief hiatus. Consequently, it is now considered the youngest of the winemaking regions of Georgia. You can feel the connection to wine with every step you take. This place with great potential (including touristic) frequently attracts attention, which is not surprising considering the wide variety of exciting and exceptional wines produced here. Bolnisi is the 20th among the Protected Designation of Origin of Georgia.
This year, the RMG company purchased an old German house in the German neighborhood of Bolnisi. The purchase was made within the Bolnisi winemaking support program. The house will soon host guests as a”Georgia-German Wine House.” “Verein zur Bewahrung deutschen Kulturguts im Südkaukasus” is carrying out the restoration of the building. The project aims to transform the building into a space where foreign guests can taste the best Bolnisi wines. The house will also aid the popularisation of local PDO wines and support the export of Bolnisi wines.
Irakli Cholobargia, marketing specialist, founder, and director of Georgian wine export company “Captain”:
“Bolnisi is a young but very wholesome region, with a wide variety of wines, couple dozens of family-owned wineries, and exceptional wines made with different grape varieties. There was none of that here just a few years ago.
Bolnisi established itself as a PDO in a short period. It is now established as a terroir and offers exciting wines. These wines reflect their terroir, which points to the inception of Georgia’s fascinating winemaking region.
Georgia became attractive as a wine country to international markets a long time ago. We are now approaching the stage where foreign markets are taking an interest in specific regions, terroirs – West Georgia, or the East, etc. It has not yet become a widespread approach, but particular areas and wines are gaining interest among wine professionals and connoisseurs. These are people that prefer exceptional and exciting wines rather than wines that cater to the mass segment, so their feedback plays a significant role in building awareness about wines from various regions. In my opinion, Bolnisi will become very interesting for export markets in the nearest future.
Bolnisi has excellent potential in this regard: local wines differ from wines produced in other regions by taste and style. For instance, aromatic profiles of Kakhetian varieties (including Rkatsiteli) are more intense here. They also taste different, making them very interesting. You can also find varieties from Racha (ex. Mujuretuli) and Kartli (Chinuri, Tavkveri, and others). Wines produced here from these varieties have a milder taste, milder tannins. As a result, Bolnisi wines are appropriate for any season. Locals prefer to make natural, less commercialized wines.
We can categorize some of the wines produced by several wineries as elegant. These wineries always keep their quality up, choosing the philosophy of “less involvement.” These wines are highly demanded on international markets.
Another advantage of Bolnisi is its proximity to the capital. Its location makes visiting local historical places and tasting a variety of local wines easier to access. Bolnisi has all the resources to become one of the critical touristic destinations of Georgia. It is now time for the next phase: communications and raising awareness on local and international markets.
Mariam Khomasuridze | CEO of Georgian Wine Guild, professor at GTU, oenologist:
The unity of Bolnisi winemakers sets an excellent example for winemakers from other regions. They gained the trust of local authorities and the private sector, their attention, and respect through their teamwork and each other’s support. “Bolnisi” wine is now a PDO, which will aid in raising awareness and increasing its competitive advantage within the country and abroad. Consumers view PDOs as higher quality, unique wines.
Local vineyards are mainly grown on meadow-brown, meadow alluvial, and alluvial soils. These soils are an excellent resource for viticulturists. Grape varieties in Bolnisi region are selected and grown according to terroir characteristics. Thus, soil properties are one of the leading factors in producing “Bolnisi” wine. Nevertheless, soils are not the only determinant of grape content and the character of the wine.
Human factors and the peculiarity of terroir determine the grape content and subsequent character of the wine and its sensory attributes. We mean by “human factor” is the practice of viticulture and technical operations used in making the wine. As for terroir – it encompasses soil content, climate (microclimate), flora (microflora), and other natural conditions. The registration of “Bolnisi” wine as PDO proves the uniqueness of all these factors.
Bolnisi region cultivates indigenous grape varieties: Rkatsiteli, Asuretuli Shavi, Chinuri, Tavkveri, Goruli Mtsvane Shavkapito, Saperavi, and Saperavi Budeshuriseburi. Today, Rkatsiteli is mainly associated with the viticulture region of Kakheti. However, according to various literary sources (including “History of Georgian Nation” by I. Javakhishvili), Rkatsiteli variety was widespread and high-yielding in Kartli. Terroir greatly influences the varietal characteristics of the grape. Organoleptic characteristics of wine depend on the terroir the grape was cultivated on. For this reason, Bolnisi wines are a true discovery for wine lovers.
Some of the sensory characteristics of Bolnisi wines, influenced by terroir and their varietal peculiarities, are garden and tropical fruit, dry fruit, meadow flowers, green spices, dry leaves, hay, tea and tobacco aromas in white wines; cherry, red and black berries, mild brown spice aromas in red wines that differ by harvest, grape ripeness, winemaking technique and age. All of these are new for local as well as other markets.
Producing country, the history of the cellar and wine greatly influence the value and popularity of wines on the modern markets today. As literary sources and archaeological and archaebiological materials held in Georgian museums indicate, Bolnisi was one of the historical viticulture-winemaking regions of Georgia.
Bolnisi wines are the product of merging two cultures and traditions: Germans settled in Georgia starting in 1817 (supported by the Russian Empire). In the region of Kvemo Kartli, historically Bolnisi territory, Germans settlement under the name of Katerinenfield took start in 1818. The houses left for us by Germans were distinguished by their practicality. Almost all of them have a cool basement. Today, most Bolnisi wines are made in these basements. Inhabitants of Katerinenfield mainly made their wine from Rkatsiteli, using their winemaking technique. Thus, the phrase “Wine made for the present using Georgian-German traditions” truly suits Bolnisi wines.
