GEORGIAN WINE - DEEP DIVE into 8,000-Year-Old QVEVRI WINEMAKING

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This video was supported by Wines of Georgia. Support me on my PATREON: https://patreon.com/konstantinbaum Follow me on ...: https://www.instagram.com/konstantinbaum_mw/ Check out my website: https://baumselection.com/ The 100 Point Scoring System (from www.robertparker.com): 96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume. 90 - 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines. 80 - 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws. 70 - 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine. 60 - 69: A below-average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor or possibly dirty aromas or flavors. 50 - 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable. 8000 years ago, people harvested grapes where the country Georgia is located now. They brought them to their home and dropped them into a clay vessel to turn them into wine. This happened for the first time long before the wheel was invented and today there are still winemakers who pick grapes and drop them into clay vessels to make wine in Georgia. This is one of the things that I find fascinating about Georgia and that Is why I had to go back and take you with me - so let's go. The country of Georgia is considered the cradle of wine – the oldest winemaking country in the world as archeologists have found winemaking artifacts there that date back to 6,000 BC. Because of this long history, winemaking practices are in many places archaic with winemakers using amphoras – the so-called Qvevris to ferment and age their wines. Traditionally white wines are fermented and aged on the skins which results in amber or orange wines – a wine style that has become popular again all around the world Georgia therefore has become a destination for wine lovers but lets back up a little and talk about what makes the county special: Georgia is part of the Caucasus region with the Black Sea to the west, and Russia and Turkey to the north and south. In many ways, the country is a border country being on the border between Europe and Asia, the west and the east, between moderate and subtropic climate zones and this is a mix that really excites me. Georgians have managed to protect their rich culture and during my last visits traditional dances and singing were an important part of all events. You know, as a stiff German it is surprising, to say the least, to see teenage boys and manly men dance proudly but in the Georgian culture this does not seem to be a contradiction – no, it seems to be considered cool, which is great…. As long as I don’t have to dance along. Georgia is a developing country where most things we from the Western world are used to are available but at the same time it has a certain roughness that makes traveling there exciting. There are damaged roads, run-down areas, highway police chases, and a weirdly high number of missing car bumpers. Talking about cars: I was surprised when I was picked up by a car at a hotel that I was staying at and found myself in the left front seat. They have right-hand traffic there, but I was told that sometimes they buy left-hand drive cars as they are cheaper. One thing that I did not expect when I came to Georgia was the delicious food. Eastern European countries aren’t always well known for their cuisine but Georgian food is simple, diverse, and delicious. It is based on high-quality fresh ingredients and there is always a lot of it. Georgian love to eat and I never left a table not feeling completely stuffed. But now let's get to the wine. Due to the long history with fermented grape juice in the region, some linguists believe that the root of the word “wine, vino, Wein, vin” is the Kartvelian GHVINO – the Georgian word for wine.