CHELTI WINERY
Shilda, Georgia
It is widely accepted by wine professionals, anthropologists, and historians alike that the Republic of Georgia is the oldest wine-producing region and culture on Earth - at least 8000 years old, to be as precise as possible. As such, the people of this small country to the east of the Black Sea, just a touch larger in size than Ireland, harbor a deep bond with their winemaking. The nation's ancient viticultural customs combined with their geographic separation from much of the rest of the wine world gives rise to a stark individuality and a certain self-assured swagger about the wines.
Hailing from Kakheti, decidedly Georgia's most significant wine region, Chelti Winery embodies these qualities with a charming ease, showcasing character both impressive and enchanting. Chelti produces wines using traditional qvevri (the signature of Georgian wine, pronounced kweh-vree), large clay vessels buried underground for wine-ageing, as well as more conventional, modern bottlings using stainless steel or oak. Giorgi Mirianashvili, owner and proprietor, understands the region to its core; his ancestors built the first wine cellar in his village of Shilda. He personally oversees every aspect of vineyard management, harvest, production and bottling. In recent years, his children, Ana and Andria, have come into the fold as well.
Giorgi grew up during a turbulent time for Georgian wine. During the Soviet occupation, the country was forced to adapt to high-volume commercial production which many of the Georgian winemaking families opposed and resented - traditional winemaking in qvevri, winemaking was banned. Coming out of the years of Communist rule, much was in flux; on one hand, rural villages had continued to produce their qvevri wine despite the bans, their defiance a proud hallmark of Georgian conviction. On the other, huge factories had been erected, pumping out millions of hectoliters of inexpensive, often sweet wine.
Giorgi had borne witness to both realities: factory production and his home village elders making wine in qvevri. He understood Georgian traditions, but also how to scale production. He was inspired to accomplish the latter without losing vital Georgian values and has now done so for the last twenty-four years. His brainchild, Chelti Winery, is a medium-sized producer for Georgia, but would rank as a small producer on the world stage with annual production around 60,000 cases.
The most important grape in Georgia is Saperavi; think of it as Touriga Nacional to Portugal or Tempranillo to Spain. The name means "dye" in Georgian referring to its pitch-black skins and the markedly red juice it emits when crushed. Vinifying Saperavi in qvevri imparts uniquely earthy and mineral characters to go with exotic savory tones that make up the region’s winemaking signature. Equally instructive, tasting the grape vinified in stainless steel creates an opportunity to study and understand its pure, unadorned expression before graduating.
Chelti's wines walk the fine line between the familiarity of classic wine expressions and the dynamism of new frontiers: devilishly distinct while playing with flavors and textures with which we are already comfortable. They represent fine entry points to the fascinating viticulture of Georgia whilst delivering genuine, precise iteration of the flagship Saperavi variety.
Wines
Chelti Kisi