24.06.2013 (Hvino News) Three Georgian wines were featured in the list of "Sommelier Favorites From Eastern Europe" published by Wine & Spirits Magazine, after its annual Wine & Spirits Top of the List Tasting 2013. The "Sommelier Favorites" Georgian wines are:
Alvaredi Monastery 2010 Kakheti Valley Rkatsiteli ($24)
"It's got a superhero-caliber origin story—over a thousand years of monks making the wines and fighting to preserve their traditions. Very few wines offer such pristine and vivid expressions of its place—grassy meadows, wild herbs, bee hives, mountain flowers, orchards, nut trees—while balancing the resiny textures of terra cotta aging with fresh, citrusy acidity and delicate, grape skin tannins." — Jeff Berlin, A Côté, Oakland, CA
Pheasant's Tears 2010 Kakheti Valley Rkatsiteli ($18)
Compared to the Alvaredi, this is "a little more fleshy, riper fruits with a little spice," says Ceri Smith of Biondivino wine boutique and Et Al restaurant in San Francisco. With their structure and tannins, she likes them heartier food—"anything with nuts, grains (farro/quinoa), strong herbs—tarragon works really well—or flavorful mushrooms. I can see both of these wines holding up to a pine nutty risotto, grilled portobello or Caesar mushrooms, game birds or thin-cut grilled meat."
Iago's Wine 2009 Kartli Chinuri ( $18)
From Iago Bitarishvili, off his 50-year-old chinuri vines, foot-trod in the hollowed-out tree trunks called satsnaheli and fermented and aged in earthenware qvevri buried underground, this is on the list at Anfora right now, where Joe Campanale likes to pour it with hard cheeses. "It is a white wine that has both tannin and some good acidity so it pretty versatile but you need something that also very flavorful," he says. "At dell’anima, I love skin-macerated wines with meats like quail and sweetbreads because they match in terms of flavor intensity, some level of funkiness and weight."
© Hvino News, © Wine & Spirits Magazine
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