Drinks

Wine
Wine is certainly Georgia's foremost national drink and has been produced in the region for more than 6000 years. It is for this reason that Georgians often speak of their country as the cradle of viticulture. There are more than 500 native grape varieties in Georgia, of which approx. 40 are approved for official wine cultivation. Apart from local grape varieties Georgian winemakers successfully cultivate international standard varieties like Merlot, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. The main wine region of Georgia is the Kacheti region east of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. Almost 70% of wine cultivated in Georgia is red.

The traditional method of Georgian wine cultivation is the "kvevri". A "kvevri" is a large clay amphorae that is buried in the ground. After the harvest, the grapes are crushed and part of the must filled directly into the "kvevri". The "kvevri" is sealed and the wine ferments and ages in the amphorae embedded in the ground. Depending on the type and variety of wine, this process can take several years or even decades. Traditionally produced Georgian wines mature without the addition of sulphites and are therefore always organic wines. Since they have a very high tannin content, many of these wines may take some getting used to for Europeans.

It can be difficult to navigate through the many different types of Georgian wine as the information available tends to be about the winery and region. What is often missing is the grape variety and whether it is dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet or sweet.

So here are some examples of grape varieties, their origin and taste:
Aleksandreuli is a red wine, usually dry to semi-dry from the Khvanchkara region in the northeast. Saperavi is also red and the most common grape variety in Georgia. It comes in many different sorts from dry to sweet and mostly grows in the Kacheti region east of Tbilisi. As do Mtsvane Kakhuri, a light and dry white wine and Rkatsiteli, the most common white wine in Georgia, which is usually semi-dry to sweet.

Beer
Although wine is Georgian's foremost national drink, Georgians also like to drink beer. The tradition of brewing beer is said to have originated in Georgia's northern provinces, because the highlands were better suited for beer brewing than for the cultivation of wine.
Today you can find all the known international brands in Georgian restaurants and supermarkets, but there are also quite a lot of local brands from local breweries. For example, Natakhtari, Zedazeni, Sviani or Kazbegi.Most of the local Georgian beers are rather low in alcohol and bottom-fermented. In Tbilisi you can even find some of the popular micro-breweries these days that produce special craft beers for a usually hipster consumer base.

Chacha
If you get to know some of the locals during your stay in Georgia and invited for food and drinks – it doesn't have to be a "supra" - you will certainly encounter "chacha", the famous local grape schnapps. Like the Italian grappa, "Chacha" is made of grape pomace. But "chacha" also serves as a general expression for any schnapps, so you might be served some other fruit distillate. But they all have one thing in common: a high percentage of alcohol.

Non-alcoholic drinks
Those who prefer not to drink alcohol should try the excellent Georgian lemonades ("limonatis"), which come in many different flavors from lemon to vanilla. Of course, coffee is also drunk in Georgia ("qava"), but traditionally in the mocha style of Turkish coffee rather than espresso. And as in the Balkan countries, instant coffee is still very popular. Another popular non-alcoholic drink is green and black tea ("chai"), which is still grown in some regions of Georgia.
A real Georgian classic is the famous mineral water ("mineraluri tsqali") from Borjomi in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The mineral water was and is exported all over the world and, due to its high proportion of minerals, not only has a healing effect, but also a taste that takes some getting used to.

picture credits: Shutterstock (beyondarts GmbH)

Project “Increased regional added value in the tourism sectors of Georgia by Digital Heritage Tourism Guides” was funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with funds of Austrian Development Cooperation.