News and Press
Surfing the Orange Wine Wave with Haley Fortier
Haley Fortier earns her reputation as an Orange-wine ambassador, many of her favorite wines from the country of GeorgiaView article >
Georgian Wine on my Mind
It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in The Chronicle’s Wine Dept. We published a big piece about climate change and Napa Valley last weekend, detailing why some of the valley’s most prominent winemakers believe they may no longer be able to grow Cabernet Sauvignon — that region’s lifeblood — successfully by the 2030s.…
Export Of Wines From Republic of Georgia To U.S. On The Rise
Wine exports from Georgia to U.S. growing astronomically in 2019, along with consumer recognition
The Bay Area’s first Georgian restaurant shines with cheese pulls and chokhas
There are thousands of restaurants in the Bay Area, but as far as I know, only one has the famous Georgian khachapuri. Bevri cranks them out alongside other Georgian specialties and an extensive list of clay pot-fermented wines to pair them with…
In Sonoma, a natural winemaker looks to the Republic of Georgia for inspiration
Caleb Leisure is the only American winemaker fermenting his wines in bona fide Georgian qvevri…View article >
Yes, Georgian wine is worth the hype and yes, you should be drinking it
Georgia invented wine, as far as anyone can tell, with a history stretching back 8,000 years, and the techniques haven’t changed very much since then. Traditional Georgian winemakers still age their wines in large clay vessels called qvevri, which they bury underground. The white wines are fermented with their skins for months, resulting in powerful…
Skin-Contact Wines to Sip This Summer
Amber wine from Georgia—the country east of the Black Sea, north of Turkey and Armenia—is increasingly available here in Boston. Many of these wines are made in qvevri (pronounced ‘kwev-ree’), buried clay pots that are integral to the country’s 8,000-year-old winemaking tradition. Depending on variables like the length of time that juice and skins spend…
Get Your Taste Buds Ready for Neolithic Winemaking
Can an 8,000-year-old method take off in South Africa? The answer lies in Obscura by Charles Back. It’s fascinating to watch winemaker Zaza Kbilashvili dip a ladle into a massive clay vessel buried underground and extract some amber liquid. He pours it into my glass and I take a sip, then cough appreciatively. I’m finally…
Orange Wine, and Other Ways to Seem Wine-Smart
Skin-contact white wines are nothing new, says Adam Knoerzer, a certified sommelier and the Dean of Drinking at Palate Partners School of Wine and Spirits in Lawrenceville. “It’s not a traditional practice for white wines nowadays, but that’s how it happened way back when in the Republic of Georgia”…
Understanding the Georgian Wine Boom
Marco Polo, Alexander Dumas, Anton Chekhov, and John Steinbeck are just a few travelers to Georgia who returned home to write of the country’s stunning beauty, remarkable people, delicious food, and distinctive wines. Until recently, though, few in the U.S. wine trade even knew where Georgia was. Now, and seemingly out of nowhere, Georgia has…
Tbilisi: First Pronounce It, Then Go There
Georgia is one of the oldest wine-producing regions of the world. The fermented beverage plays a central role in the famous process of Georgian hospitality, standing as a symbol of friendship. Traveling to unique destinations is truly a blessing. There are places that one can simply imagine in one’s dreams. A recent trip to Tbilisi…
Inside LaLou, an Exciting Natural Wine Bar from Some of NYC’s Most Underrated Pros
They’re now joining forces at LaLou, a breezy space that Campanale says he wanted to create as “a place that was casual but also where you can get a thoughtfully chosen glass of wine.” Campanale is known for exactly, and along with partner Dave Foss, who he met working at Anfora, they have put together…