Mtsvane comes from a vineyard at nearly 600m above sea level in Signaghi, Kakheti in Eastern Georgia. It spends two months on skins without stems, fermenting in qvevri before being racked into a clean one.
Soft, burnished gold, the wine is aromatic with notes of piquant spices and paprika emerging over the browned pineapple and honeyed walnut aromas often associated. The palate is savoury yet tart, medium bodied, and quite delightful with high-toned cranberry, peeled starfruit, and a tropical acidity.
JOHN OKRO, KAKHETI REGION, Georgia Organic, natural
In the small town of Signaghi, in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia, John Okruashvili grew up with John Wurdeman’s wife to be, Ketevan (Pheasant’s Tears winery) and since 2009 he has been bottling his own wine under the name Okro’s Wine.
Like many other producers in Georgia, the focus of winemaking lies in the passion for ancient winemaking rituals. Today,‘Joni’ Okro is one of the most respected natural winemakers in Kakheti, where he concentrates on traditional long skin contact amber wines and increasingly a small range of delicious pet nats.
His Kakhetian wines are sourced from cool high-altitude vineyards instead of the warmer plains his wines retain freshness and vitality and have concentration levels rarely seen. He also works with grapes from Kartli and Imereti. All John’s wines are completely natural – no sulphur is used.