I just saw an article on Yahoo News stating that the Russians are cutting off imports of wine from these two former Soviet republics because of alleged pesticide and heavy metal contamination. I'm curious to know - has anyone here actually tried their wines? I don't recall seeing them in Pennsylvania's stores.
"Dan The Man" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
Moldova, no, but apparently that may be the next source of cheap not to bad booze according to some of the know-a-lots. Georgia, strangely, YES - I got a set of three bottles of wine all from the former Soviet Union as a
50-years-gift - one was a Xampgnski from Crimea (consumed immediately by the next of kin), one a 1994 Estonian apple wine (still in my cellar, awaiting the right moment) and, the third, a bottle of Georgian red. We drank that a few months later, it was, as I recall, of the '95 or '96 viontage - a robust, red, slightly fruity wine with a bit of funk and a bit of oxydization - could have passed for something bucolic from the Mediterranean seashore - I din't sign up for the en primeur but, I've had worse. Also, it is a bit of food for thought that, most likely, that was Where It All Began some 6000 years ago (also, if you are into that sort of thing, check up on Genesis [1]).
HTH
Cheers Nils Gustaf
[1] Genesis as in the first book of the Bible, not as the 80s-90s rock group!!!!
Dunno, Nils. From what I've read, they've placed the origin of v. vinifera to the _Southern_ shore of the Black Sea, placing it in present-day Anatolia, though not so far from Georgia.
Tch, tch. Genesis was a '60s-'70s rock band. The rumors that the band persisted into later decades are entirely aprocryphal ;-)
Read the responses with interest, but still looking for a rec!
As it happens a friend -- who just served me a nice Bouchard pere et fils at lunch -- has a week of work coming up in Tblisi. Surely this cosmopolitan group can provide a name or two worth checking out?
A Dutch friend of mine once brought me a bottle of Moldovan (I think it was Moldovan) "Tokaji" he bought at St. Petersburg. Wasn't all that bad, even if it definitely did not resemble Tokaji.
Not wine, but I think Georgian brandy can be decent - the same Dutchman once brought a bottle of such that we tried and it wasn't all that bad. Then again, I really know nothing about the high-voltage stuff.
Thanks Topi. My friend enjoys a brandy so I'll pass that on.
I remember reading an newspaper article years ago about how the Georgians are proud of their wine, and the pre-Soviet stuff was great, etc. Don't think I've heard anything about it since, though. Perhaps a pure travel-fluff piece.
"Emery Davis" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@loki.domain.org...
According to Oz Clark who is worldfamous in Sweden (don't know `bout the rest of the world as I don't live there) Georgian traditional reds macerate for MONTHS. And that this imparts a certain typicity. OTOH, he himself claims little direct knowledge.
"Dan The Man" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com:
Hey Dan-o, it looks like the online catalog shows the following: KHVANCHKARA (17.99) KINDZMAURALI (13.99) AKHASHENI (10.99) all listed as "semi-sweet reds" and ALAZANIS VALLEY (10.99) a "semi-sweet white" they all seem to be on your side of the state; a store at "Hendrix Center" seems to be stuck with, erm, well-supplied with copious amounts...150+ bottles of each, hmm.
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