FAQ

To taste a wine, means gaining information about the wine by means of human sense organs: by SIGHT, SMELL and TASTE. No chemical analysis can provide enough information to judge the wine quality. Two wines with absolutely similar chemical analysis may completely differ in taste, therefore, the human taste perception estimates its quality. 

Whether one is drinking wine just for pleasure with the friends around the table, or having professional blind tasting, several important points should be taken into consideration:

Wine Temperature
If a wine is not served at the right temperature, it harms its taste and flavor. It is accepted that white wines benefit from lower temperature compared to reds. Ideally the wine should be served a little bit cooler, as it warms up in the glass.

 

Wine Serving Temperature Chart

	Wine types	Serving temperature	Average chilling time
White wines	Young and fresh	10-12°C — 50-54°F	1,5 hours
	Medium sweet	8-10°C — 45-50°F	2 hours
	Full bodied sweet wines	6-8°C — 43-46°F	2,5 hours
	Full bodied, dry aged wines	12-16°C — 54-61°F	1 hour
Rose wines	Dry or medium sweet	10-12°C — 50-54°F	1,5 hours
Red wines	Young fruity and dry	12-16°C — 54-61°F	1 hours
	Fruity medium sweet	10-14°C — 50-57°F	1,5 hours
	Medium bodied dry	14-17°C — 50-54°F	—
	Full bodied dry	17-19°C — 63-67°F	—

 

Wine glass
It should have long leg and a tulip shaped bowl.
Red wines need space to react with air and develop its bouquet. That is why the glass has larger bowl. 
White wines are served cold and the glass has smaller bowl to ensure wine stays cool.

Pouring
The glass should be sloped towards the bottle, to be sure wine flows into the bowl across the glass. The glass should be filled at third of its volume.

Sight   
Natural light is the best for observing the wine color and limpidity. Tilt away the wine glass against the white background, holding it at the bottom of the leg. Thus, you get the first impression about its transparency, which should be perfectly clear. Red wine color varies from rose to dark red, which sometimes seems like black. White wines range from water-white to deep yellowish color. Then one has to look from the top of the glass to determine the depth of the color. The red wines usually bleach after aging (brick color), while whites gain deeper color (yellow gold color).      
          
Smell   
Wine smell can provide valuable information about grape variety, wine age, wine style and even region of origin. Smelling Wine is very simple. After swirling the glass, put nose into the glass bowl and take a sniff. The stronger the impression, the stronger the aroma. One can find thousands of aromas in wine, from tropical fruits to leather, spices and cigar. Some can distinguish specific smells better than other, but regular tasting can improve one's skills.
        
Taste
To taste a wine one should take a good mouthful and draw air into the mouth through wine. This way the volatile characters of the wine are magnified. We can feel 4 different tastes: acidity, on the sides of the tongue, sweetness on the tip, saltiness on the sides and front, and bitterness on the back, and excess alcohol, as well as other volatile compounds, in the back of the throat.  After wine is swallowed or spitted during the professional tasting, one can judge, if the above mentioned compounds are balanced. Offering the long aftertaste on the palate signifies the higher wine quality. Only after the above steps are taken, one can make final conclusion about wine quality.

The ideal place for wine storage is a wine rack in the underground, well ventilated cellar, where more or less constant temperature is kept within the range of 12-16°C. Wine bottles should be positioned either upside down or horizontally, in order to keep cork moist at all times. Storing bottles vertically might cause the cork to dry out, enabling penetration of atmosphere oxygen into the bottle, that will result in wine oxidation, thus destroying its quality. 

The second best method is investing in wine storage unit or so called wine cabinet. Contemporary wine cabinets enable maintaining multi-temperature regime for different types of wines.  If one intends to enjoy wine soon after the purchase, then any area in the house with comparably constant temperature will be suitable for short time wine storage. 

Note: Consistency of the temperature, even higher than recommended is much more important for preserving wine quality, than the temperature fluctuation during the storage period. 

Red wine maturation period could vary from 0 up to decades of aging. It usually depends upon numerous factors like varietal characteristics of grapes, its quality for the given vintage, winemaking process and techniques, as well as initial structure of the wine (acidity level, tannins composition etc).  Actually, it is the matter of taste. If you are keen for young reds with lots of fresh black fruit flavors and a bit of rough tannins at the end, then you should go for MARANI Saperavi within the first 3 years after vintage. If you prefer fuller bodied wines with black fruit notes, intercepted with smoky and vanilla notes derived from oak aging, try MARANI Napareuli or Mukuzani aged around 3-5 years from vintage date. If you prefer more matured flavours of dried cherries, prunes or a cigar box, milder and softer taste, which could be described as velvety or silky and all these compounds well balanced and integrated and perceived as the one whole, than your choice lays between SATRAPEZO Saperavi or KONDOLI VINEYARDS Saperavi.

Usually white wines do not mature well and most of them are consumed while they are young, within 1 to 3 years after vintage. Aging potential of white wines also depends upon numerous factors like varietal characteristics of grapes, its quality for the given vintage, winemaking process and techniques, as well as initial structure of the wine (acidity level, tannins composition etc). If one prefers young wines, with floral, fruity aromas and fresh, zesty and mouthwatering aftertaste, than MARANI Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli-Chardonnay or Tsinandali would be the right choice. These wines are perfect when they are young and match well with vegetable salads, fish and poultry dishes. In case one is looking for denser, heavier style, with the notes of dried fruits, toasty aromas derived from oak aging, we'd recommend to go for Satrapezo 10 Qvevri or Kondoli Vineyards Rkatsiteli. These wines will benefit by 5 to 10 years of aging and would perfectly pair with pork and veal dishes.

Wine decanting is a process of wine transferring from bottle into the glass container called a decanter, with narrow neck and wider body, usually at least of double volume than the bottle. During decanting wine is separated from the sediment that may form during prolonged bottle aging and is exposed to air. Full bodied red wines usually benefit from aeration. Older wines require less period of breathing before serving, while younger and robust wines might need even 1 hour. 

As soon as bottle is opened the wine is exposed to the air and consequently the oxidation process starts.  Some wines benefit from short period of air contact, but prolonged oxidation destroys the wine quality. Ideally, wine should be served within 2 hours after the bottle is opened, however, moving leftover wine into a smaller bottle and storing it in the fridge will prolong its life for a few days.

By Georgian Law on Wine and Vine, there are 18 Specific Viticulture Areas or Appellations. Tsinandali, Vazisubani, Mukuzani, Akhasheni, Napareuli, Kindzmarauli, Kvareli, Gurjaani, Kotekhi, Kardenakhi and Manavi SVA-s are situated in Kakheti Winegrowing Region. Tvishi and Khvanchkara in Racha-Lechkhumi Winegrowing Region, Ateni and Sviri in Imereti Winegrowing region. Most of the SVA-s are named after the nearby villages, like Mukuzani, Tsinandali or Napareuli. Some SVA names are derived from historical name of the vineyard area like Kindzmarauli or Kotekhi.

Kinzmarauli is a medium sweet red wine made of Saperavi grapes harvested in Kindzmarauli Specific Viticulture Area, situated on the left bank of Alazani River towards west-side to Duruji River, near the city of Kvareli in Kakheti. The soil here is alluvial, non-calcareous and of average skeletal type, with good drainage qualities, while the south-facing disposition of the vineyards enables perfect ripening conditions.

Kondoli Vineyards are situated in Tsinandali Specific Viticulture Area. These vineyards were first mentioned as a source of noble wines in 1742 by the bibliographer Vakhushti Batonishvili in his book “Life of Georgia” and since almost three centuries have been the benchmark of quality, reflecting the best of Kakheti region. Today most of our sought-after wines have their dedicated blocks in Kondoli vineyards.