Sept. 18, 2011
Despite the party music, we were all so tired that rest came easy overnight. We woke to a beautiful morning and met for breakfast. We started our morning's adventure with a drive to the Telavi livestock market, which was our first stop of the day, just before 8am. It is a gathering for farmers, buyers, and sellers of livestock. In this day's market we mainly saw cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, horses, and mules. There was also an area which was like a flea market with all kinds of machinery parts and goods from the farm.
Now it was time to make our last visit to the Alaverdi monastery. The bells were announcing Sunday service as we arrived. We went inside the church to watch the service and hear the singing. We got a chance to interview Bishop David after the service, and take our final views of the grounds during this amazing trip.
The programs of the First Qvevri Wine Symposium were now officially over. We had the afternoon to ourselves so we were able to stop in Telavi for lunch at a restaurant which Niko suggested. The plan was to eat, then drive to see Niko's vineyard before meeting back up with the group for a big Georgian wine tasting and the Symposium closing dinner. Since we were by ourselves, lunch in Telavi saw our first meal where we were able to order randomly from a menu. Niko and Darrell did the honors.
For the record...no one ever said that this trip was just about wine! Darrell's smile seconds that notion.
After a very filling lunch, we drove back to the Tsinandali Palace to pack up again because we would spend the night in Sighnaghi. Having loaded up the van with our luggage and gear, we had a chance to look at the Tsinandali Palace grounds and wine cellar before moving on to see Niko's vineyard. We went down into the cellar to view the collection of wines dating back many generations.
After having our final looks at the Tsinandali Palace grounds, we headed to the north east to see Niko's vineyard. It was another very picturesque drive across the valley and along the base of the Caucasus mountains which gave cause for a few photo op stops along the way.
We drove off of the main road onto dirt roads winding through a number of vineyards before stopping at Niko's vineyard which lay directly at the bases of the Caucasus mountains. We took a walk through Niko's Saperavi vines and Darrell cut three clusters of differing Saperavi types. We then stopped at the home of of Niko's vinyard caretakers to taste some of Niko's wine. After the tasting, Darrell suggested to Niko that he should consider expanding on the Saperavi grapes that were the oblong ones because they had the most interesting flavor.
We enjoyed the stop to see Niko's vineyard and the taste of his wine. Now it was on to meet up with the rest of the group to taste lots of Georgian wine and have our Qvevri Symposium dinner. The tasting and dinner was held at Winery Khareba in Kvareli, Georgia, which sits directly at the base of the Caucasus mountains. The cave cellar at Winery Khareba is carved into the mountains and boasts 36,000 square meters of storage space and 8 kilometers of cave length. When we arrived, we were treated to a wine trade style wine tasting directly outside the cave entrance. There were well over a dozen producers pouring and over 100 wines to taste.
The wines were a mix of Qveveri wines and Europe wines made of Georgian grapes. The tasting was mixed with a good opportunity for the Symposium guests to talk amongst themselves before a tour of the caves and finally dinner at Winery Khareba's Restaurant Saperavi perched over one hundred feet above the tasting overlooking the valley below. The cave entrance was quite ornate and the tour fascinating. It's hard to imagine 8 kilometers of cave tunnels dug all by hand.
With wines tasted and caves explored, it was time to assemble for dinner. Because the restaurant was over 100 feet above us, the hosts shuttled the group by small busses up to Restaurant Saperavi, which is perched on the mountainside with a water fall cascading down the mountain and breath taking views of the valley below.
We all filed into the large, brightly lit circular banquet hall and took our places. Our last group meal was a traditional Georgian one. There were many toasts, and a number of traditional Georgian dances and music performed on stage. The food and wine were delicious and filling. After a nice evening, we all departed back to our perspective hotels. Some, like us staying a while in Georgia, and some making a morning journey back home.
For us it was about an hour drive to Sighnaghi where we would check into a hotel for the night. The town was beautifully lit as we pulled in. It was almost like something very European theme parkish. We unloaded our bags and went into the lobby of our town central hotel. It was about 10:30pm and there was a wedding reception going on in the banquet room off of the lobby. It was quite festive. After getting to our rooms, Esther, Jimmy, and I took a short stroll to find a cold beer then retreated to our rooms for a wind down and then a good night's sleep.