Georgian Wine

Georgian vinyard.jpg

I can attest that Georgia produces some excellent wines, but I was warned there to beware of falisified bottles, not so much in Georgia (although friends told me to be careful there, too), but in Russia. This New York Times article, “In Russia, Buying Wine Takes a Delicate Nose for Fraud,” offers a nice introduction, both to Georgian wines and to the problems that the wine industry and wine drinkers face. (The remarks about the recent Russian ban on imports of wines from Moldova and Georgia are also interesting, especially considering that most of the falsified wines are produced within Russia, not imported from those countries.)

I should also add that the Georgian wines have a reputation for sweetness, since that was what was produced in greatest quantity during Soviet times, but they have developed some truly outstanding dry wines, as well. (And I must say that the few Azeri wines I drank while in that country were definitely on the sweet side, even when the waiter said that they were dry. So I did bring back one bottle of an Azeri dessert wine, as that seemed more suited to the style there. From Armenia I brought back some excellent brandy; although I’m not a serious drinker of spirits, it should be nice to share with friends after a good dinner.)