In this short blog, we would love to share with you where you can find us in the run up to Christmas 2019. In summary we will be at:

• The Oxford Wine Festival, 6th & 7th September https://www.oxfordwinefestival.org/book-tickets
• Loki Wines, Birmingham, 24th September https://www.lokiwine.co.uk/events/
• Platform Three, Solihull, 15th October http://www.platformthreeolton.co.uk/
• London Qvevri Wine Festival, 19th October https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-qvevri-wine-festival-2019-tickets-70409401415
• Various Georgian Wine UK events. See our social media for further updates.

Georgian wine tasting in Oxford

On September the 6th and 7th, gvino UK will have a stand at the Oxford Wine Festival 2019. The festival is held in one of the most splendid buildings in Oxford, the Oxford Union with a mix of leading wine merchants, regional specialists and wine growers. We were lucky enough to be at the event in 2018 in conjunction with our friends from Eynsham Cellars and saw at first hand the amazing mix of wine styles and passionate visitors.

We will be holding an exclusive wine tasting of some of our fantastic wine from Vazisubani Estate, Royal Khvanchkara and Baia’s Wine on Friday evening. Check out https://www.oxfordwinefestival.org/book-tickets for tickets and more information. We hope to see you there!

Breaking new ground in Birmingham

First is a tasting in conjunction with the Midland Wine and Spirit Association and Loki Wines of Birmingham. Loki is an established retailer of wines in the West Midlands and have won numerous awards for their wine and customer service. Their owner, Phil is keen to get some high quality Georgian wine in to his stores to garner feedback from his customers. This is a great opportunity for the folk from Birmingham to try qvevri wine, and what we are sure will be new grapes to many people; Saperavi, Mtsvane, Khikhvi, Tsitska etc…

Our second tasting is at Platform Three Restaurant in Solihull. This is a bar / restaurant with a growing reputation in the West Midlands for great food and fantastic wine. Owners Mark and Colette are keen to explore unique and different wines and loved the story of Georgian wine. We look forward to wowing them and their customers with some amazing wines from Georgia, especially the Georgian amber / orange wines!

London Qvevri Wine Festival, 2019

After the success of the first LQWF in 2018, we have again teamed up with Taste of Georgia, 8000 Vintages and our new friends from Proper Natural Wines to bring you a bigger and better event. This year will see us move to a larger location and have two events on Saturday the 19th of October. Georgian food and dancing will take more prominence than last year, with the most fabulous Georgian food from Walnut and Spice and dancing from professional Georgian dancers.

This year, we have worked really hard with the fabulous people from Georgian Wine UK to enhance our customer experience. We want you to have more time to savour our amazing wines rather than feel rushed around the room. Further, we are delighted to announce that Sarah Abbott MW will hold a specific Georgian qvevri wine tasting as part of the event. We have sat through many of Sarah’s tastings and we share her passion for Georgian wine. Indeed her knowledge on the subject is on another level – we’re sure that you find her tasting informative and also allow you to see a new side to Georgian wine.

Georgian Wine UK

The National Wine Agency of Georgia has a group working tirelessly to promote Georgian wine to the British public, Georgian Wine UK. As ever, gvino UK is on hand to provide wines for their events and, as much as we can, to support these events in person. For us at gvino UK, these events provide a wonderful insight in to what British people think of Georgian wine and to let us know what are we doing well and what can we do better.

There you have it. A busy lead up to Christmas. We look forward to meeting you out and about on our travels!

Gaumarjos!

Danilo and Anzor

Danilo Di Salvo

A few weeks ago, back in October, I found myself lucky enough to be visiting Georgia again. I had three purposes for this trip:

1. To visit a vineyard in Western Georgia
2. To be part of a business delegation from the UK
3. Most importantly, to catch up with my great friend and business partner Anzor

In this short blog, I wish to share with you some of the wonderful experiences that Anzor and I had in Georgia…

ROYAL KHVANCHKARA

We were invited for a tour around the prestigious Royal Khvanchkara vineyard in Ambrolauri. The history of this vineyard goes back many thousands of years, however it was two Georgian noblemen Dimitri and Luarsabi Kiphiani, who perfected the local wine making methods back in the 19th century. The vineyards sit high up in the Racha mountains, which means that the grapes see a large temperature difference between day and night. This large temperature delta provides the wine with a unique and delicious flavour. Today, the vineyard continues to make wines using the traditional methods of the aforementioned noblemen, complemented by the added input of quality control via modern technology.

RACHA

To get to the vineyard in good time, Anzor and I had to leave very early in the morning and drive three hours west of Tbilisi. The road took us through some breathtaking scenery as we climbed higher and higher in to the Racha mountains. Halfway to our destination, in a place called Zestaphoni, there is a long road (about a mile or so) that is lined solely with coffee shops! According to Anzor, it is a tradition to stop here for a coffee and so we did. Upon arrival to the vineyard, we were greeted by the CEO, George, the CFO, Giorgi and the Export Manager, Keti. We met the farmers and staff of the vineyard before being shown around the cellar. We were made to feel very welcome, which is a huge compliment as everyone in Georgia is super-welcoming!

TASTING

We all sat down together at a beautiful old wooden table covered by a lovely traditional Georgian table cloth ready to try some wine. We had four wines to taste and savour; Alexandrouli (red), Tvishi (semi-sweet white), Royal Khvanchkara (semi-sweet red), and Usakhelauri (red). All of these wines were fabulous; different and thought provoking. My favourite was the Usakhelauri, which is the best wine that I have ever tasted. Strong yet subtle, a little bit smoky and very slightly sweet – just perfect. Anzor loved the Royal Khvanchkara, it’s slightly sweet initially followed by an intense and fruity flavour. We loved the vineyard, the people and most importantly the wine. We are planning to import these wines in to the UK in 2019 – watch this space!

Happy 30th Anniversary to Bristol and Tbilisi

gvino UK were honoured to be invited to the celebration for the 30th anniversary of the twinning of Bristol and Tbilisi. During the day, there was a business conference showcasing the best of Georgia and promoting the country as a place for business. Personally, I have found doing business in Georgia a pleasure- processes are quick and people are easy to deal with. In the evening, the British Ambassador to Georgia held a reception at the British Embassy. Many people who were at the reception had never been to Georgia before, so it was wonderful to hear their views on the country, the food and of course, the wine. It was fitting that Vazisubani Estate Qvevri wine was served to all the guests. We have certainly fulfilled a number of orders from the Bristol area since this trip! We hope to become more of a presence not only in Bristol but around the UK to give you the Georgian wine experience.

Overall, the trip was more than I could have expected. I ate and drank like a King, and I met the most generous people. The only slight fly in an otherwise wonderful ointment was Anzor’s ridiculous habit of naming every single Lada that we encountered – and believe me there were lots in Georgia! Further, Anzor insisted that we turn up to the British Embassy in his second car, which sadly wasn’t anything particularly exotic.

Qvevri Wine Festival | London Canal Museum | 8th of November 2018.

gvino UK are delighted to invite you to the first Qvevri Wine Festival in London hosted by a number of our Georgian friends including; Taste of Georgia, 8000 Vintages, Artisan Cru and Walnut & Spice.

Our honoured guest will be Sarah Abbott MW, who will introduce you to Georgian wine and Qvevri wine making. Then you will have a chance to savour some of the best Georgian and English Qvevri wines accompanied by delicious Georgian canapés*, all whilst enjoying performances by amazing Georgian dancers. You will also be able to purchase your favourite bottles, Georgian delicatessen, and arts & craft at special rates.

You can get your tickets here

What’s included: 
Tasting of 15 Georgian Amber and Red Qvevri wines and 4 English Qvevri wines | Georgian canapés* | Traditional Georgian dance and music.

The event is likely to be a sold out , so if you want to come along then please book as soon as you can.

*Please note that our menu is likely to contain nuts, egg, dairy and gluten.

The 8th of November was a significant date for Georgian Qvevri wine in the UK – It was the night of the first Qvevri Wine Festival in London. In this short post we will share the story of the evening.

| by Danilo Di Salvo, gvino UK and Eka Cox, TasteofGeorgia.co.uk

THE ROAD TO THE FESTIVAL

We are passionate Georgian wine importers and we want to share traditional wine from Georgia with the UK. There have been a few tastings in which Georgian wine was present and a number of members-only events. However, our wish was for a Qvevri wine event that was open to the public. This is how the London Qvevri Wine Festival was born.

Georgian culture is deep rooted and historic, and so we knew that it was impossible to host a Qvevri wine event without the other elements that make Georgia what it is today present. Namely, Georgian food, music, dance and literature. As time ticked on, we gained more elements to our story, until a few weeks before the event we were complete.

THE QVEVRI WINE FESTIVAL

Once the doors opened guests quickly filled the venue and as one would expect of a London based event, an eclectic mix of wine enthusiasts, lovers of Georgia and those who had previously heard little or nothing of Georgia, it’s wines or customs. The event was opened by David Gigauri, who, with roots in Georgia, is a passionate supporter of Georgian wine and culture. David with easy charm introduced the audience to Qvevri wine making in Georgia, the important part that wine has played in the very fabric of Georgian culture for millennia and how UNESCO has granted Qvervri wine-making a unique intangible asset status in the cultural heritage of humanities.

Sarah Abbott, Master of Wine followed on from David’s introduction giving a fascinating insight into Georgia and its Qvevri winemaking practices. Sarah told the audience how she first came to fall in love with Georgia with its vibrant culture and traditions and how she now, engaged by the Georgian National Wine Agency, works to promote Georgian Wine in the UK.

Following on from the presentation the guests enjoyed tasting 19 different Qvevri wines from 4 tables, 3 hosted by importers of Georgian wine to the UK – Taste of Georgia, gvino UK and 8000 Vintages; the 4th by the UK producer of Qvevri wine Artisan Cru. The hosts were kept very busy with those eager to taste, many for the first time, the wide range of Qvevri wines on offer and to learn more about the production methods. Guests could also buy bottles of their favourite selections. It is a measure of the success of this first small event and to the high quality of the wines themselves that so many wines were bought to take away and larger orders placed for home delivery.

According to Georgian tradition one should not drink wine without it being an accompaniment for food and as Georgia is the crossroads for the Silk Road, its cuisine features elements from the East and Far East mixed with Western style influences can be found too. London based Georgian food catering company Walnut & Spice provided guests with delicious Georgian food to be paired with the Qvevri wines. Also, in keeping with Georgian tradition the food kept on coming ensuring every guest had the chance to try and enjoy the Georgian food experience until full.

The guests had the additional bonus treat of being able to meet the extremely charismatic Carla Capalbo, the award-winning food and wine writer and photographer with her exquisite books Tasting Georgia and Khachapuri. Carla graciously attended to sign copies of her books purchased at the event.

So, these two and half hour flew by very fast and we think we managed to show our guests what qvevri wine is and how its entwined with other Georgian traditions. We were privileged to meet so many lovely people with a real interest in the event and we received excellent feedback on the real stars of the show, the wines themselves. It was heart-warming to see that that UK consumers are positive about the qvevri wine, red and amber.

WHAT NEXT?

Following on from a successful first event, we know that we are at the beginning of a long journey. Next time we would like to have a bigger venue to shorten the queues for wine tasters and further optimisation of the experience. Georgian wine has a way to go before it becomes a household name, despite the quality of the wine and the history of the Qvevri wine making process. As such, we will continue to promote these fantastic wines around the country and of course, we will hold the second London Qvevri Wine Festival in 2019. Meanwhile, the next event that we will be presenting at is the Wine Festival – Winchester on the 23rd and 24th of November. We hope to see you there so you can try our ever expanding range of high quality Georgian wines. Gaumarjos!

30 September, 2018

Last weekend the Oxford Union Debating Chamber hosted the Oxford Wine Festival 2018, which was featured in Decanter’s “Top 10 Wine Festivals in the World”. gvino UK attended in partnership with our friends from Eynsham Cellars. Many people came to our stall especially to try Georgian wine, some of them for the first time…

gvino UK had three traditional qvevri wines on offer: two ambers (Khikhvi and Mtsvane) and one red (Saperavi). Our amber wines got the most attention, many customers were recommended a visit to our stall to come and try the Khikhvi and Mtsvane. People were fascinated to learn more about the way in which Georgian qvevri wines are made. Very few had ever tasted Georgian amber wine and so their initial impressions were one of surprise: ‘it tastes like nothing else I have ever had’ said a Lecturer from North Oxford, ‘the flavour just coats your entire mouth and sits on your tongue, its delicious’ added another visitor. The Mtsvane proved to be a big hit and a considerable number of bottles were sold to some very happy customers.

Due to the familiarity of red wine, most people firstly tried the Saperavi. They were impressed by the cherry notes, the roundness of the body and the light acidity. ‘I can imagine this would be perfect with a roast lamb’, noted a Spanish sommelier after trying the Saperavi. Later that afternoon, Oli Gauntlett, owner of Eynsham Cellars, and I had the opportunity to try the Saperavi with a lamb and grilled halloumi burger. The full-bodied red cut the through the fatty lamb wonderfully and complemented the salty halloumi perfectly.

However, there were a small number of visitors who had tried Georgian qvevri wine before, included the founder of the Festival itself, Chris Bowling. ‘A lot of rubbish has been imported over the years, but these are fantastic, some of the best ambers that I have tasted’ he commented after trying both our ambers. As the night went on, I took a moment to look around; hundreds of people sipping wine and thoughtfully discussing the flavours. I thought that the Debating Chamber is the perfect place to hold a wine tasting. We’re delighted that Georgian qvevri wine has come through the Oxford Wine Festival debate with flying colours.