Discovering Baia’s Wine
On my last trip to Georgia, one of my favorite discoveries was Baia’s Wine.
Baia Abuladze and her family are among those Georgian winemakers working to identify and classify local grape varieties. Baia and her siblings Gvantsa and Giorgi grew up watching their parents and grandparents make wine in their home village of Obcha in the western Georgian region of Imereti. The wine they made followed the local tradition of short maceration in qvevri with only a small proportion of skin contact. After Baia finished university she moved to Tbilisi but soon realized that wasn’t where her heart was.
Baia’s Wine
In 2015 she established Baia’s Wine with her family. Together with her siblings, Baia changed the way they made wine. First, they converted to organic winemaking. Second, they used grant money to purchase a bottling machine that would help them increase production and quality. She also increased maceration time, revised what percent of grape skins would be used during fermentation, gave aging wine high priority, and began spending more time tasting and retasting to ensure perfection in each qvevri.
You’ve probably heard of Saperavi which she uses for one of the red wines. However, staying true to her family’s desire to work with lesser-known grapes, she also vinifies emerging varieties like Titska, Tsolikouri, and Krakhuna. The winery’s vineyards all sit in the family’s home village, Obcha in the eastern part of the Sairme Mountains. Here, at 324 meters above sea level, the vineyards enjoy cooling air influences that move down from the mountain peaks at night which creates a good difference between day and night temperatures. Soils are generally alluvial with a mix of clay, gravel, sand, and limestone.
Baia’s Wine Titska Tsolikouri Krakhuna, 2020
This blend includes the trifecta of white grapes with which the winery works with 20% Titska, 60% Tsolikouri, and 20% Krakhuna. The wines, which fermented with native yeasts in qvevri, spent about 15 days on their skins. The final blend was bottled unfiltered. Minimal skin contact gave the wine more of a lemony-gold color verses the amber of a long maceration wine. Despite the lack of filtration, it was rather clean.
From the first sniff to the last sip this was a wow wine. Rich, floral, and fruity with aromas of yellow fruits, honeysuckle, and honey and buttered bread. Bright spritzy acidity burst on the tongue. The palate delivered flavors similar to those enjoyed on the nose with golden apple, and pear compote lifted by citrus fruit with perfumed flowers, and toasty hazelnuts on the lingering finish.
Next time I’m in Georgia, I am looking for more of these wines!