American Winemakers, Restaurant Business Representatives, Sommeliers, and Marketers in and About Georgia.
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.
Lasha Tsatava, DipWSET | Co-founder of Saperica: The objective for the sponsored trip to Georgia was to introduce these seasoned trade professionals from the Finger Lakes region to Georgian culture, gastronomy, and styles of Saperavi and Rkatsiteli wines produced in Georgia, along with other regional grape varieties. Our mornings were filled with enriching cultural activities including tours of Old Tbilisi, Jvari and Svetitskhoveli monasteries, and the National Museum. In the afternoons, the best Sommeliers in Georgia led engaging presentations at 8000 Vintages, focusing on regional grape varieties. Notable highlights of the trip included a captivating Khachapuri presentation by Dalila Tsatava, food, and wine pairing dinners with top chefs in Georgia, and visits to wineries in Kartli and Kakheti.
Throughout the week, we learned a lot and experienced a multitude of positive emotions. Numerous stories emerged from this trip, but a couple stood out.
One of the most memorable moments unfolded at Vazisubani Estate, when Holly Fusco, Hospitality Manager from Dr. Konstantin Frank winery and former professional ballerina, saw live Georgian folk dancing for the first time during dinner. She was captivated by the moves of one of the dancers, an employee of Vazisubani Estate. Intrigued, she approached him and asked him to teach her a few steps so they could dance together. Within 10-15 minutes, we watched them dance the Adjaruli in perfect harmony, choreographed right before our eyes. It was an undeniable “Finger Lakes meets Georgia” experience that will forever hold a cherished place in my memory.
Another remarkable memory was created at Papari Valley winery, towards the end of the Supra, when the Tamada had already been toasted to and our guests knew it was about time to leave. Dillon Buckley, winemaker from Standing Stone vineyards, asked if he could raise one more toast. Raising a glass, he proposed a toast to faith explaining that he was toasting to Nukri’s unwavering belief in starting this project, daring to be different, and overcoming all the obstacles encountered along the way. As Dillon concluded his toast, two other guests echoed the sentiment and elaborated on the same theme without any guidance from me or Erika. Our American guests thanked and toasted to our host in the most Georgian manner: with heartfelt words that emanated from the depths of their hearts and passed Alaverdi between themselves. It was a beautiful moment, and I distinctly remember feeling my heart skip a beat or two.
Saperica 2023
On May 12-13, the second Saperavi Festival was held in the Finger Lakes region. Megan Frank, Erika Frey, and Fred Frank were the opening guests for both days. On May 12, Lasha Tsatava conducted a seminar focusing on the Saperavi and Rkatsiteli grape varieties.
During the concluding part of the seminar, the guests who had visited Georgia had the opportunity to engage in discussions on various intriguing topics regarding the prospects and plans for strengthening the relations between our regions.
On the second day of the festival, on May 13th, the guests had the opportunity to attend two short seminars about Georgian wine history and culture led by Erica Frey.
On both days, festival participants were treated to samples of Georgian and American Saperavi and Rkatsiteli wines and had the opportunity to meet Georgian wine importers alongside the festival participants. On both days, the festivities culminated with a Georgian Supra, where Chama Mama, true to tradition, showcased the wonderful flavors of Georgian cuisine, delivering an unforgettable gastronomic experience to the guests.
