We took a shared mini-bus (Marshrutka) to the Georgian border and then shared a taxi with a kiwi woman to Sighnaghi in the Khakheti wine region. The taxi was a beat-up old Mercedes and the taxi driver was constantly crossing himself which didn’t inspire confidence… and he was lucky enough to be wearing a seatbelt – our ones in the back didn’t work.
Georgia, although a very religious primarily Christian country, is not named after St. George as we believed. Apparently it originates from the Persian word “gorg” which means ‘land of wolves’.
We hiked up to the Bodbe Monastery of St. Nino.
We went down to the Holy Spring, but it wasn’t worth the 200m vertical descent – and climb back up. After the hike, it would have been rude not to go for a wine tasting.
Georgia is the birthplace of wine. It has been produced here for over 8,000 years. There are over 500 grape varieties. The method of production is quite different from elsewhere. The wine is matured in clay jars called Kvevri which are buried in the ground. The grape skins are left in the jars with the juice and the wine is organically produced without chemicals. Both red and white wine are produced, but due to the process, the white wine is more of an amber colour. Sulphides are not used to clear the wine.
They also distill a spirit called Cha-cha from wine. It is 70% alcohol.
Given the quantity of wine, it’s not surprising that there is a big wine drinking and toasting culture. For large parties such as weddings, the organisers plan for 3 litres of wine per person, plus cha-cha! Allegedly, due to the lack of chemicals, Georgian wine does not give you a hangover, but I’d take that with a pinch of salt (or a shot of cha-cha).
