Tag: Republic of Georgia

Season 2, Episode 12: “Tom Bombadil: Saperavi Deep Dive”

On By makeamericagrapeagainpodcastIn Georgian Varietals, Mid-Atlantic, Podcasts, Red Wines, Unusual wines, Varietal Deep DivesLeave a comment

In the same early episode where I mentioned that Rkatsiteli was the viticultural equivalent of Goldberry, Co-host Gary had asked what grape would be the equivalent of Tom Bombadil. “Why, that would be Saperavi, of course,” I replied.

It’s about time we meet this grape. Like Rkatsiteli, Saperavi originates from the cradle of viticulture, the Republic of Georgia.  This is also a varietal I’ve wanted to explore on this podcast for a long time, as it is a personal favorite of mine.  Years ago, before I started this podcast, two members of the wine club at the winery I once worked for, Anita and Ken Colburn, told me they were going to visit the Finger Lakes, and asked if I wanted them to bring back anything.  I said that I had heard very good things about Saperavi from that region, and if they found one, I’d happily trade something from my cellar for a chance to taste. 

Lo and behold, they were kind enough to bring back with them the vintage which is the keystone of this podcast: the 2014 Standing Stone Vineyards Saperavi. It seems that currently, the Finger Lakes is the seat of Saperavi’s throne in the United States, though there are plantings in other parts of New York, and Kansas. I have also heard rumors that there are vineyards with this grape growing in Virginia and Maryland, but have been unable to substantiate these rumors.  

We compared the 2014 vintage from Standing Stone with the 2014 Saperavi from Merani Cellars in the Republic of Georgia sourced from Kakheti; the probable homeland of this ancient grape varietal.  Take a listen, and enjoy!

 

Saperavi
Saperavi is one of my favorite varietals, and I must admit that Standing Stone did a great job with this grape.

Season 2, Episode 11: “Rkatsiteli deep dive: Goldberry River-Daughter”

On By makeamericagrapeagainpodcastIn Mid-Atlantic, Podcasts, Sweet Wines, Unusual wines, Varietal Deep Dives, Vinifera Wines, White Wine, wine concepts1 Comment

Way back at the beginning of season one, I tangentially mentioned a fascinating grape in our first episode talking about wines in Massachusetts: Rkatsiteli. This was just one of the five grapes in that particular blend, the 2014 Cinco Cães from Westport Rivers Winery. If you remember, I casually compared Rkatsiteli to Goldberry, Tom Bombadil’s wife in the Lord of the Rings books.  I decided though, at some point, it would be fun to take a look at this varietal in-depth at a later time.

  But trying to find single varietal takes on this grape here in the United States is a hard thing to do. Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery does produce a single varietal version (and an amber version I would dearly love to get my hands on), but the fact of the matter is that Dr. Konstantin Frank himself did so much for the viticultural industry on the East Coast that I wanted to do a deep dive episode on him, specifically–tackling two deep dives in one episode might make the resulting podcast too long.

But then, VeniVidiDrinki went to New Jersey and found a bottle at Tomasello Winery during the same visit she picked up the Blaufränkisch we enjoyed back in season one.  Problem solved!  I picked up a version from the Republic of Georgia at my favorite Russian import market in Phoenix, and we sat around and drank the two side by side to produce this episode. It wasn’t the best comparison, as the two wines were produced in slightly different styles, but mayhem still ensued.  Enjoy!

rkatsiteli deep dive
“O reed by the living pool! Fair river-daughter!” is a fair description of a good vintage of Rkatsiteli. Enjoy our deep dive of this fascinatingly ancient varietal!