Kindzmarauli Marani Kisi
This Kindzmarauli Marani Kisi was part of the loot I brought home from Georgia in October. It was a duty free purchase I made before boarding. I remember that I had an awful migraine when I left Georgia. I was in pain, nauseated, and miserable. To add insult to injury, there’s a dedicated wine store in the Tbilisi airport and they offer wine tastings. I had to content myself with at least buying a couple wines as I was too ill to taste any.
Kisi is a native Georgian grape grown largely in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. As with many grapes, winemakers in Georgia use both traditional Georgian and European methods when vinifying Kisi.
KMac and I saw a fair amount of Kisi wines during our trip but never got around to trying any. It seemed liked a good idea then to pick one up in duty free. I ended up with some of the heaviest hand luggage I’ve ever hauled around. I had a backpack stuffed with a 3 kilo 
book (that’s right, a book that weighs 3 kilos) and 3 to 4 kilos of cheese. My hand bag held my camera equipment, various electronic, spices, possibly more cheese, and anything else that wouldn’t fit between the wine bottles in my check bag. To which I managed to shove in the two bottles I bought in duty free.
Kindzmarauli Marani Kisi 2013 Tasting Notes
Kindzmarauli Marani makes its Kisi in the traditional Georgian style-in qvevri. The 2013 is a nice, medium-bodied wine with 12.5% abv and would pair well with lighter foods or served as an aperitif.
In the glass the Kisi was a dark, golden straw color. The nose was full of lychee, tropical fruits, citrus, and herbs; possibly also some pine. On the palate it was creamy and slightly thick feeling. The flavor was fainter than the nose but I got some of the citrus flavors and a mineral finish.