Ancient winemaking traditions in Modern Business

The  GEORGIA PRODUCT (2012)

If you are in Kakheti, every road will take you to the wine making place or at least to the vineyard. This is another proof that the ancient province of Georgia is the motherland of  wine and the local people still love the traditions of their ancestors.

One of the many road signs for tourists, interested in Georgian  wine, will take you to the village Napareuli, winery Twins’ Old Cellar. Here the centuries’ of  winemaking traditions fit successful business quite well.

The name of the cellar comes from twin brothers Gia and Gela Gamtkitsulashvili, who started winemaking in their father’s old house 8 years ago. Since then  30 tons of wine production has increased with 8 times. Now it is the biggest cellar in Georgia, with 90 pitchers in it. The family also built a 11-room-hotel just next to it. Tourists are witness of winemaking process and they enjoy tasting naturally filtered wine from the pitchers.

“Qveveris Mze” – is the name of the produced wine in bottles. It is naturally filtered dry wine made by the grapes packed only in the village of Napareuli, in one of the unique grapes micro zones in Georgia.  It determines the aroma and percentage of alcohol in final product (It is 12-13% in ‘Qvevris Mze’). The company produces dry wine:  Kakhuri, Eurpean, Saperavi and Kaberne, up to 200-250 tones for Georgian market.

On the land of ancestors, the yang generation of the family is also actively engaged into wine making. Beka Nakhutsrishvili, chief technologist of the company is the fourth generation of winemakers in the family. He is only 24 and he already managed to specialize himself in winemaking technologies.

He explaines the details to the Georgian Product

G.P:  Can you tell us, where the produced wine is sold?

Beka Nakhutsrishvili: We sell our wine mostly in Georgia but two years ago Twins’ cellar started exporting certain amount of the wine to Japan as well. We send there up to 500 bottles once in two months. The bottles for export have different designe. They are more like souvenirs, which looks exotic to Japanese.

G.P: In wine making process, what did you preserve from your ancestors and what did you acquire from modern technologies?

Beka Nakhutsrishvili: We make bio wine with natural filtration. This is completely old method. Wine in Europe is made in special containers and it needs less time. In contrast with this, we still use pitchers. Not long ago, our company  started making European wine in cellar as an experiment and the result was successful. Surprisingly, natural filtration in the pitchers went well with European wine.

G.P: What phases do the grapes go from pressed material to the shop delivery?

Beka Nakhutsrishvili: This is a very interesting process: wine is made in pitchers, with chacha and pressed grapes. It takes 2 weeks of boiling. During this time, we stir it every day. After two weeks we put clay on the surface of the pitcher and lock it. We put send on the clay and we start daily watering to keep moister. This process lasts 6 months. Then we open locks and move the substance into other pitcher.  We keep it for a while and then the wine is ready to be bottled.  This is natural filtration. Finally wine is naturally filtrated and alive. 

G.P: What can you tell us about the level of competition in Georgian wine market?

Beka Nakhutsrishvili: The competition in local market is high, but if you make a good wine, the business will be undoubtedly successful. Of course we have competitors but our wine brings us profit. Besides the business environment in the country is also very good.

G.P: You are a yang winemaker in 21th century, who follows the technological tradition of grandparents and ancestors, what does it mean for you to be in family business?

Beka Nakhutsrishvili: Winemaking is like sacred process for me. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t choose wine technologies as my profession. The most amazing moment for me is the day when you open pitcher after 6 months and taste your wine for the first time. Until then, you cannot even see the substance.

G.P: Few weeks ago there was storm and hail in Kakheti.  What do you think, how will it effect on Rtveli 2012 ?

Beka Nakhutsrishvili: Fortunately Napareuli was saved from that disaster. The grapes is already ripe, the amount of sugar in it already reached 21% ; therefore Rtveli will start earlier this year. As Kakherti district was damaged by the disaster, wine companies will probably buy the grapes from other parts of Kakheti. This might rise up competition but we are ready for it, besides our cellar has its own vineyards as well.