Kathy and I completed a draft of our third book Georgia, Sakartvelo: The Birthplace of Wine. We thought we would celebrate with a Georgian wine. Of course we were visiting family and had to rely on finding Georgian wines somewhere. We didn’t have to look for long. A short outing to a Whole Foods was successful. Of their small selection of wines, they had two from Georgia. One was an Rkatsiteli from a winery we did not visit, our other choice was a Gavazi from Kindzmarauli Marani. We visited Kindzmarauli Marani in September, but did not try the Gavazi, so I chose that wine for our celebration of finishing the draft of our book.

The Gavazi is a blend of Rkatsiteli and Khikhvi grapes grown in the village of Gavazi in Kakheti, Georgia. The slightly sweet wine had floral notes especially daisies. There were tropical fruit notes on the taste especially banana and pineapple. The wine had a crisp finish that aided in pairing with baked sockeye salmon, baked finger potatoes and baked brussels sprouts.

We sent a few draft copies of the book to readers to get a bit of feedback. Then we will take some time off of writing and return to the book after the Thanksgiving holiday. Next is to rewrite a few parts of the book and then send it to the editor.

Meanwhile, we are searching stores for some white wine made in qvevri in Georgia. This is a challenge as much of the wine made in Georgia is done in an European style. But it is fun to search.

Cheers,
Terry