Georgian qvevri orange wine — where the whole category started.
$48.00
750mlVintage may change. If it does, we’ll notify you of any price adjustment before dispatch.
About
From the Republic of Georgia — the birthplace of orange wine, with 8,000 years of history. Rkatsiteli aged in qvevri (clay amphorae) buried in the ground. Dried apricot, honey, walnut, herbal notes, gentle tannin. A wine that drinks like history.
John Okruashvili left a physics PhD and a telecom career to make wine the way his family always had. He started in 2004 with grapes bought at a Tbilisi farmers' market and now runs the winery with his sister Jane. The vineyards climb the hillsides around Sighnaghi, farmed organically and never irrigated, so the roots drive down for water.
The winemaking is patient. Whole clusters of Rkatsiteli spend six months on skins in buried qvevri, then rest two more years in the same vessel. Wild yeast does the fermenting. The wine goes out unfined and unfiltered, with only a small dose of sulphur at bottling.
The altitude keeps it fresh under all that texture. Serve it cool rather than cold, beside roast chicken, a stew or aged cheese.
Producer note
John Okruashvili ('Okros') is based in Sighnaghi, Kakheti — the heart of Georgian wine country. Qvevri winemaking is UNESCO-listed intangible cultural heritage (since 2013).
Structure
Pairs with
Picked on Stef's structure profile.
