Terry Sullivan uses a model of a qvevri to explain traditional Georgian winemaking.

We set up for a presentation and book talk about Georgia, Sakartvelo: the Birthplace of Wine at Unionville Cellars in Ringoes, New Jersey on Sunday, April 27th. Although there was a steady crowd there was little interest in attending the book talk and presentation. That is until we corralled some visitors and started presenting.

Our first presentation was with a couple who were new to wine travel. Unionville Cellars was their first winery that they have visited. After taking their photo, with the production area in the background, we invited them to see our slides. They listened attentively and said that they never would have thought that wine growing and making had it origins 8,000 years ago in what is now the country Georgia.

I connected the computer to a projector for our next presentation. An older experienced wine travel couple were interested. Soon other couples joined as did other individuals. We had a small crowd that viewed our presentation and asked questions along the way. To sum their reaction, I would use the word “amazed”. They had no idea that Georgia was the birthplace of wine and were fascinated with the traditional winemaking methods. Equally fascinating were the slides about the Qvevri Museum at Twins Wine Cellar in Napareuli, Georgia.

Kathy and I have discovered that wine enthusiasts that hear about Georgia are fascinated about the varieties, the qvevri winemaking technique and culture of Georgia. Getting the word out is the challenge.

Our next book talk about Georgia, Sakartvelo: the Birthplace of Wine will be an informal talk at the Georgian DC picnic on Saturday, May 24 from 10 am to 6 pm at the Riverbend Park (Great Falls, VA), Picnic area # 2. We will talk about Georgian wine to anyone interested. We are planning to take a few Georgian wines as well as wine we made in Virginia.

Cheers,
Terry