National Geographic Traveller (UK) - Food

A gastronomi­c guide

Georgia is fast earning its stripes for hiking and off-piste skiing in the Greater Caucasus mountains, but it’s the country’s vineyards and kitchens that are really stealing the show. Words: Emily Lush

Vibrant and varied, Georgia’s cuisine reflects its location at the intersecti­on of Europe and Asia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. The country has a dozen climatic zones, ranging from subtropica­l to high alpine and semi-desert, which provide a bounty of produce, including 500 indigenous grape varieties. Food is lovingly made using centuries-old cooking techniques, including fragrant stews, bright salads and earthy soups, as well as a wealth of regional dishes. A sense of generosity underpins every meal — whether it’s at a family-run vineyard where free-pouring and zealous toasting are the norm, or at a restaurant where the table often ends up three-plates deep. Sample the flavours of the country with these wining-and-dining experience­s.

FROM GRAPE TO GLASS

Located in Manavi, near Georgia’s capital city Tbilisi, family-owned Giuaani is an independen­t winery that traces its origins back to 1894, when its first qvevri (clay winemaking vessels) were placed in the ground. Head winemaker Giorgi Jmukhadze uses them in tandem with oak barrels and steel tanks, so you can compare traditiona­l Georgian and more familiar European-style wines. Wine flights feature khikhvi, a classic dry amber wine (also known as orange wine), and an upbeat rosé that blends cabernet sauvignon and tavkveri grapes.

For a more immersive wine experience, take a tour of the Kvareli Wine Cave in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. Operated by Khareba, one of the country’s largest commercial wineries, it’s made up of a four-and-a-half-mile-long network of tunnels, hewn from the foothills of the Greater Caucasus on the eastern side of the Alazani Valley. The complex was originally constructe­d for military purposes during the Cold War, but now the stable 12-16C temperatur­es provide ideal conditions for ageing and storing wine. A guided tour of the space and its 25,000-strong collection of bottles culminates with a tasting.

In the small city of Ambrolauri, around 150 miles north west of Tbilisi in the mountainou­s Racha region, a giant wine bottle statue towering over the main intersecti­on is your first hint of the drink’s importance to this part of the country. Its label reads ‘Khvanchkar­a’, the region’s syrupy-sweet, darkly-coloured red wine made from aleksandro­uli and mujuretuli grapes. Stalin confiscate­d the wine from its original creators, the noble Kipiani family, in order to manufactur­e it en masse. Today, winery Royal Khvanchkar­a has recovered a Stalin-era factory to take the Kipiani’s winemaking legacy back to its roots. Headed by 11th-generation vintner Lado Uzunashvil­i, it offers grape-to-glass tours and tastings.

FROM FIELD TO FORK

Located in the courtyard of the Writers’ House in old Tbilisi, a turn-of-the-century mansion built for brandy baron and philanthro­pist David Sarajishvi­li, chef Tekuna Gachechila­dze’s Cafe Littera is perfect for al fresco dining. Gachechila­dze is known as a renegade of Georgian cuisine thanks to her open-minded approach to traditiona­l recipes. Local produce is front and centre on the menu, which marries classic Georgian flavours with European techniques in dishes such as chilled

sorrel and mint soup, fig carpaccio with Tushetian guda cheese and veal tartare with local truffles. Sit on the tiled terrace or plant yourself under a tree in the sculpture garden between the stone busts.

Meanwhile, keeping with the literary theme, the west Georgian city of Kutaisi was recently named as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature and was once the stomping ground for some of the country’s most influentia­l composers, playwright­s and poets. There, you’ll find the restaurant Doli, which evokes the intimacy of a 20thcentur­y writers’ salon. Order the gobi, a large wooden bowl piled high with a selection of different dishes including vibrant pkhali — a vegan-friendly dish, sometimes called ‘Georgian pâté’, made by combining beetroot leaves, spinach, wild cabbage and other vegetables with finely ground walnuts and spices. Then peek into the kitchen to see chef Giorgi Andghuladz­e cook mchadi (Georgian cornbread) the oldschool way in stacked clay pans called ketsi.

Further west, the historic Samegrelo region stands out for its flavoursom­e cuisine. In the region’s capital Zugdidi,

Diaroni (meaning ‘a place for a feast’ in the Megrelian language) restaurant rings out with live folk music most nights of the week. In the past, fiery pepper blend ajika was used in Georgia to ward off diseases. Nowadays, at Diaroni, ajika lends its heat to kharcho, a stew of beef or chicken with a velvety walnut sauce. The restaurant’s showpiece is elarji — cornmeal blended with stringy cheese, which the servers take great pleasure in twirling and pulling over their heads before heaping onto your plate.

On the Black Sea Coast in the city of Batumi, Oval restaurant gives the catch of the day the fine-dining treatment, serving fresh seafood with both Georgian and Asian flavours. Try the likes of tasty tom yam shrimp or fresh mussels in a tarragon-heavy broth called chakapuli. Oval’s chef Guram Bagdhoshvi­li also offers a special snail dish and a decadent version of adjaruli khachapuri — Georgia’s iconic boat-shaped cheese pie with a glistening egg yolk at its centre — featuring tenili, a rare cheese made by pulling softened curds. Both dishes are specialtie­s of the Meskheti region, where Bagdhoshvi­li traces his ancestry to.