Red Corner: The Napa Valley of Georgia

We've posted a couple of times before about the wondrous wines which hail from the former Soviet republic of Georgia. And now, the New York Times has discovered them as well.

C. J. Chivers, writing in last Sunday's paper, takes us to the fertile valleys of Georgia for a bit of the old world wine tasting.

Georgians claim that the drink itself was actually first invented in their country thousands of years ago. There is certainly some speculation over this claim, but be it true or not, the reality is that Georgian wine tastes as though they've been perfecting the product longer than anyone else.

Sure, some of it is hit or miss, but that's the case with any country's vino.

Chivers spends much of his time in Kakheti, a region I visited two summers ago which is crammed with vineyards and wineries. In fact, every house in the area is a winery. Grape vines grow over practically every bit of real estate and the locals are constantly producing their own vintage. If you visit, however, don't be alarmed by the copious amounts of wine stored in plastic, one-liter Pepsi bottles. Georgians recycle the containers and regularly use them to bottle their home made wines.

Filed under: Food and Drink, Georgia, Red Corner