News and Press

The winter season brings with it a desire for warmth and richness – qualities that are beautifully encompassed by Saperavi from Georgia. This wine, with its full-bodied structure, powerful tannic mouthfeel, and potent flavors of black fruit, is perfect on cold winter nights. Its unique composition complements hearty dishes, making it an excellent choice for holiday dinners or cozy gatherings around the fireplace.

Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reports from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, regarded by scholars as the birthplace of wine. Alfonsi delves into its deep history of winemaking and the enduring vineyards that have survived thousands of years of invasions, wars and communist rule. She visits the lush wine region of Kakheti to meet monks protecting these ancient vines and one American vineyard owner who is committed to bringing Georgian wines to the rest of the world.

Wine writer Betsy Andrews makes the compelling case that Georgian wine is the best option for your holiday table. Georgia may be best known for its amber wines aged in traditional clay pots, or qvevri, but the country produces a broad spectrum of styles, from aromatic dry whites and delicate sparklers, to richly spiced reds. No matter what you’re serving, there is a Georgian wine fit to pair.

Dry isn’t necessarily better. Turn your nose up at sweetness and you’ll bypass some delicious drinking. Here, our wine columnist’s palate-expanding list of top sweet wines for the holiday season or anytime.

When Halloween falls on a weekday in America, we get multiple weekends of parties on both sides of October 31st. In fact, Halloween has become a month-long series of festivities for showing off costume ingenuity to friends IRL and on social media. One upping each other in who can best reference known memes and cultural moments has become the communication of the month, once the calendar turns to fall and the pumpkin spice lattes hit Starbucks. As you pass out candy corn, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and all the other delicious orange candies, here are some Orange Wines I recommend you pop and sip as you enjoy the onslaught of awesome costumes at your front door.

SOMM TV sits down with sommelier and winemaker Adrien Rodriguez as he shares his journey from the floor of restaurants to making wine in one of the most ancient regions in the world, Georgia.

The history of Georgian wines go back thousands of years of uninterrupted winemaking. On today’s SOMM TV podcast we speak to a french winemaker who has ventured into this ancient land to make traditional wines in one of the oldest countries with planted vineyards.

We are thrilled to announce that Wines of Georgia, the birthplace of wine, will host a one-of-a-kind event at Manhatta Restaurant (28 Liberty Street) on Tuesday, September 26th. What started as curiosity and buzz a few years ago has now turned into one of the industry’s leading trends. Join us for this unique series of events and take a deep dive into one of the most historic and inspiring wine regions in the world, the country of Georgia.

A growing contingent of Georgia wine industry insiders are waging an informal influence campaign to elevate the country’s vast array of wines. It’s a battle of perception: Although the number of Georgian wines exported to the United States hovers just under a million bottles—an increase of more than 3.5 times over between 2012 and 2022—Georgian wine largely remains a specialty offering.

That’s because it’s closely associated with amber wine, also called orange wine. This white wine is aged on skins, which lends it a signature orange hue. Georgia has become known for producing these amber wines in qvevri, or large clay pots, which are generally buried underground and fall into the natural wine category. They have been a part of Georgia’s history for thousands of years.

“Amber wines from the country of Georgia have been a ‘new’ trend (ironic to hear the word new referencing one of the oldest wine making regions in the world anyway!), but the fad has recently grown into an established consumer category,” says Chris Struck, Beverage Director at ilili Restaurants. “Now, they’re not just curious, they’re ready to revisit it with gusto. Skin contact white wines are displacing some rosé sales — we’re seeing the once-unbridled enthusiasm for the pink shade disrupted by consumers clamoring for a darker hue and wines with a more tannic tug.”

A star has emerged, or shall we say re-emerged in the wine world and it shows no signs of dimming. The country of Georgia has a rich history in viticulture and has been producing exquisite wine in the heart of the Caucasus region for over 8,000 years. It was even given the moniker, “cradle of wine.” Recently there’s been a surge in popularity for these wines, particularly those made from the region’s white grapes. According to the National Wine Agency, in 2022 Georgian wine exports to the U.S. increased by 28% and 15% overall in key global markets.

“A good tamada can improvise to respond to the developments at the table. If there are conversations happening on certain subjects that don’t fit their toast, the tamada will come up with a good toast about that,”