Flowering foothills, harsh rocky ridges, subtropical Black Sea climate - God himself created in Georgia all the conditions for growing vines. Georgians have a reverent, almost religious attitude toward winemaking. Georgian wines are deservedly popular all over the world. Unfortunately, the opportunity to enjoy the true taste of pure products is not always available: a significant part of Georgian wines on supermarket shelves is fake. The famous Khvanchkar wine is no exception. How to distinguish a fake, not being a specialist in this field? Let us turn to the advice of experts.
The best Georgian wines
Throughout Georgia, one cannot find a region, a village and a house in which local wine is not produced or consumed, but Kakheti is considered the most wine-producing region. It is the Kakheti technology, which does not separate the pulp from the juice during fermentation (in contrast to the technologies adopted in other wine-making countries), distinguishes the taste of Georgian wine from the rest. Fermentation vessels - qvevri, which are buried deep in the ground, are used only in Georgian winemaking. Wine in Georgia is made from exceptional grape varieties, fruiting only here and nowhere else. The Georgians give the name to their wines, with rare exceptions, not by the name of the grape variety, but by the name of the area in which it grows. This, by the way, is one of the rules for determining fake. The inscription “wine is made from Khvanchkara grapes” should not be on the original in principle. The best Georgian wines, they are the most famous, are:
- Dry white: Tsinandali, Gurjaani, Rkatsiteli.
- Dry red: Kvareli, Mukuzani, Saperavi
- Dining rooms: Tibaani, Teliani, Napareuli.
- Semi-dry: Pirosmani, Barakoni, Akhmet, Tetra.
- Semi-sweet red: Khvanchkara, Kindzmarauli, Akhasheni.
Khvanchkara - princely drink
Khvanchkara - red wine, which belongs to the category of semi-sweet. This means that sugar is not used in its manufacture. The name of the wine was named after the wine-making zone. It was known to princes for the reason that for a long period it was made according to its own recipe and for its own use by the local princes Kipiani brothers. The Mujuretuli and Alexandrouli grape varieties acquire the necessary bouquet only in this area. Attempts to grow them in other places failed: taste qualities are completely lost. Genuine genuine Khvanchkar wine is a drink with the taste of red berries, which merges with hints of caramel, almond, blackberry, rose, walnut, violet, dried fruit. Color - rich ruby, casting purple. Khvanchkara fortress - 10 - 12 , sugar content - 5%.
Why fake?
Most often, it is semi-sweet wines that can be falsified . Dry fakes are unprofitable - the natural astringency of dry wine is more difficult to imitate and expensive, and in semi-sweet astringency is muffled by sweetness, but still it is noticeably noticeable. This also applies to Khvanchkar wine. How to distinguish a fake taste? Of course, this is easy for an experienced taster. An ordinary consumer should remember - if sourness appears in the taste, and not pleasant astringency, the wine is most likely not real.
As already mentioned, the wine berry, which gives an amazing drink called Khvanchkara, grows in a very limited area. Due to the small amount of the crop, even in favorable weather conditions, a relatively small amount of exclusive wine is produced: no more than 10 thousand bottles a year, some of which are export lots. Nevertheless, on the shelves of supermarkets bottles with the name of this brand can always be found.
What exactly is fake?
There are several ways to falsify. Some of them are harmless, spoil the taste, but do not harm health, and there are frank fakes. What are the businessmen going for profit:
- High-quality real wine is diluted with water or with another, cheaper (white) grade.
- Under the brand name of expensive wine are other, cheaper varieties made from other grapes.
- Add fruit and berry semi-finished products to real wine.
- Insolent fakes, when alcohol, dye, water and flavoring are present in the drink, fortunately, are rare. This is not just a "divorce", but an immediate threat to health.
Where is the real wine of Khvanchkar? How to distinguish fake before tasting? We look at the price, the label and the bottle.
Value for money
The main criterion that determines the authenticity of Khvanchkar wine is price. This is exactly the case when the good is cheap. Favorite wine of the “leader of all peoples” and a visiting card of the country of Georgia are very rare today. Estimated price - 40-50 dollars a bottle.
They say that it is much cheaper to buy good wine from barrels in farms located in this region, and it is in no way inferior to the factory wine of Khvanchkar. How to distinguish fake in this case? Such wines, for family use, are usually natural and of high quality. But is it Khvanchkara or not ...
Read the label
Winemaking in Georgia is currently protected by law, what does this mean? The most popular varieties of Georgian wines, including Khvanchkar, whose price is quite high in the world market, have the right to legislate for their unique technology and secure the name of origin. The main Georgian wine producers do not have the right to violate this law, otherwise they risk losing their license. It is possible to produce Khvanchkar wine only from Alexandrouli and Mujuretuli grape varieties that grow in a limited area of Racha-Lechkhumi. Grape varieties must be indicated on the label. No more than 1% saperavi variety is allowed.
Well-known manufacturers do not dare to tarnish their reputation with fakes, so it is better to give preference to well-known companies located in the same region. Experts recommend the wines of the brands “House of Georgian Wine”, “Marani”, “Badagoni”, “Bugiuli”, “Dionysus Club”, “Vina Tavadze”. The name of the manufacturer and the region must be indicated on the label in an accessible font.
Packaging
How is Khvanchkar wine packaged? How to distinguish a fake bottle wine? And is it real in principle? Yes, you should carefully examine the bottle itself. For expensive varieties of wine, high-quality glass containers are used, without chips, bumps and scratches. Stickers and an excise stamp are located exactly, without traces of glue. Wine of a variety such as Khvanchkara is not packaged. You should also not be seduced by elaborate bottles of the original form, or hidden in weaving: a cheap brand of wine can be hidden behind beautiful packaging.
A bottle of Georgian wine is a good gift for any celebration, if the wine is real, of course.