Guria

The south-west of the country, between Imereti and the Black Sea. Humid subtropics: heavy rainfall, mild winters, the sea evening out the temperature, and a long growing season — picking starts in November and the late varieties hang into December. Vineyards run from a few metres above sea level on the coastal strip up to 500 m in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus; the soils are clay and alluvial, fertile but moisture-retaining. The local varieties are Chkhaveri, Jani, Mtevandidi, Skhilatubani and Sakmiela, and most of Georgia's Aladasturi plantings are here as well. The classic local training is maglari — the vine climbing a supporting tree. That is not folklore but a way of airing the canopy where mildew is the main enemy. The wines come out light: Chkhaveri makes an almost rosé-pale red with low tannin, Aladasturi a pale red closer to a dark rosé. Guria has no appellations of origin: the register of protected zones is built around the eastern and Rachan micro-zones. Gurian wine stands on the shelf under the name of the grape and the estate — a case where the reputation of a particular marani counts for more than the geography on the label.