Saperavi is a wine with a character

Actually, Saperavi is a grape variety. His Georgian breeders brought him back in time immemorial. In translation, the word "Saperavi" means simply "paint." And this name was not given to grapes by any chance. If the blue berries of other varieties have a white flesh on the cut, it is red in the saperava. Drinks from this grapes have such a rich purple with a purple tint that the "dyer" willingly blends with other species to give a beautiful shade. There is a special term for the color characteristic of "Saperavi": the wine is impermeably red.

Vines are extremely life-resistant to colds and droughts (but not to rains). Because of this flexibility, Saperavi is cultivated not only at home, in Kakheti, but also far beyond Georgia: in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova. In southern Russia, the domestic Michurinians brought out the frost-resistant hybrid "Northern Saperavi". The wine from such berries under the hands of this master is very good. Especially worth noting is the Crimean "Bastardo", produced in Magarach. However, nowhere has the Saperavi been revealed as fully as in its homeland - Georgia.

The berries of this variety exhibit unique technological flexibility. Of these, you can make dry, semisweet, dessert and liqueur wines. Elements such as tannins give the drink an unprecedented astringency and aroma, a long, vibrant aftertaste. Of course, "Saperavi" is a sort of wine, but in Georgia, a dozen blended wines are made, which include a "dyer". You can talk about them for hours. Among the best are the red "Alazani Valley", "Akhasheni", "Kindzmarauli", "Pirosmani" and "Mukuzani". But in each blend Saperavi dominates. Because this wine is with character.

This drink has been produced since the nineteenth century, namely since 1886, that is, it has a solid tradition behind it. The best of all Georgian "Saperavi" - wine, aged ten - twelve years, the material for which grew in the Gurdzhaan apelason (microzone) of Kakheti. In general this drink late ripens, but it is stored for a long time. "Sages" saperavi in four years, and remains excellent until thirty years, when it becomes viscous and dense, like ambrosia. But most wine houses, of course, sell young wines of one or two years of aging.

The taste of the drink, its strength and aroma directly depend on age. The young Georgian wine "Saperavi", the price for a bottle of which even in expensive Moscow is 390 rubles (and in Georgia about five lari) is drunk easily, like the Italian "Sangiovese". It has a fresh smell of blackberry, a harmonious and pleasant taste, a strength of 10.5 degrees. It is recommended to serve under fatty dishes: rice, shish kebab, satsivi.

More mature wine "Saperavi" reviews are called very extravagant, bright, temperamental. The characteristic tartness - a trace of tannins - makes the drink memorable. The amazing taste of black currant and cherry stone has won this drink many medals at international competitions. This is not the wine that is drunk every day. Thick, "with a tear", with an amazing bouquet, it will not leave anyone indifferent.