A little bit of Georgia in Sussex (part 2), by Chris Foss The British Georgian Chamber of Commerce and the Georgian National Wine Agency invited a group of Plumpton students to visit Georgia at their Easter break. At first, the trip was only conceived for eight students, but, in the end, 21 pupils attended,…
Hallgarten & Novum Wines is one of the UK’s leading specialist wine merchants, named European Merchant of the Year in 2019 and 2018, and New World Merchant of the Year 2017 by the Sommelier Wine Awards as well as IWSC Wine Importer of the Year 2018. Understandably, we were very excited to hear that Hallgarten had introduced…
In a quiet corner of Sussex, two cultures have collided. The renowned Plumpton College is playing host to a British first – a cellar or marani of UK-made qvevri wines. Qvevri wines have previously been associated exclusively with Georgia, but the ambition of Henry Mchedlishvili and vision of Chris Foss, recently retired head of the wine department…
Saperavi may be grabbing all the headlines as Georgian wine makes inroads to the UK market. But there’s a white grape we think you need to know about. Rkatsiteli (kat-se-telly) is one of the oldest recorded grape varieties in the world. Clay vessels (early qvevri) have been found with seeds of Rkatsiteli grapes which date…
Caucasian Shepherd dogs guarding Georgia’s wineries make a trip to wine country unlike any other. At the peak of the Gombori mountain pass, travelers find a little hut shrouded in cloud or birdsong, depending on the time of year. For many wine-questing visitors to Kakheti, this coffee house, high above the cloud line, is their…
IWSC Importer of the Year 2018, and highly respected premium on- and off-trade supplier, Hallgarten & Novum’s move to include Georgian wines in their portfolio represents a major cultural shift for Georgia’s international wine making reputation. Steve Daniel, Head of Buying at Hallgarten & Novum Wines was a guest of Wines of Georgia on a…
This walk-around tasting is hosted and promoted by four independent Georgian wine importers: Taste of Georgia; GvinoUK; 8000 Vintages, and Proper Natural Wine. Guests will discover 20 different qvevri wines from across Georgia, as well as exceptional Georgian food from specialist Walnut and Spice. Throughout the afternoon there will be a walk-around tasting with experts…
Gvino UK’s story is reflective of the meteoric rise in popularity of Georgian wine in the UK. Despite only starting to trade in August 2018, Danilo and Anzor have become an important force in both the promotion of Georgian wine direct to consumers, and as importers. Dani’s perpetual grin matches his palpable enthusiasm for his…
Georgia has become internationally known for its qvevri wines, helped in no small part by a swelling global interest in natural wines and orange wines. But did you know that qvevri wines only account for about 1% of Georgia’s total wine production? On the flip side, 70% of the country’s production is sweet and semi-sweet…
In Georgia, “You’ll rarely drink wine without food and rarely eat without wine,” promises Sarah May Grunwald in her Tbilisi guide for Jancis Robinson’s website. If we had our way, the Georgian tradition of ‘supra’ will become the next ‘hygge’. Georgia’s cultural of celebrating anything and everything with lashings of delicious local food and wine…