Chona´s Marani -
Michael Chonishvilli
TRADITIONAL KAKHETIAN METHODS
Chona’s Marani" is a family winery, located in Telavi,Kakheti, in the eastern part of Georgia while the 2ha of Vineyards are located in Tsinandali protected area at 550m above sea level. Michael follows the Georgian traditional method of winemaking, which means that the whole vinification process occurs Qvevri buried underground with long macerations.
Ori Marani
The clash of 2 worlds
Originally from Champagne, Bastien was raised in a vine grower’s family. Fascinated about wines he graduated from the University of Burgundy and then went to work in France and around the world gaining experience and knowledge in wineries located in Bordeaux, Provence, Australia, South Africa or Canada. until he married Nino, the main reason for the creation and location of Ori Marani in Georgia. The philosophy of Ori Marani is to gather Georgian and occidental winemaking sensitivities with an authentic approach. Ori Marani means in Georgian : "2 wineries". A wink to the 2 countries France and Georgia but also for the 2 winemaking influences. Indeed, all the wines are grown in Qvevri and Old French oak barrels giving a singular identity to each cuvees. All the wines are aged on their lees allowing a reductive environment and an autolytic extraction of the texture and aromas. The wines are unfined and unsterilized filtered in order to keep them as pure as possible.
Giorgi Natenadze
History of wine and viticulture
Georgia is one of the most ancient countries in the world with an uninterrupted tradition of viticulture and winemaking. In fact, Georgia has been making wine for some 8000 years, leading experts to believe that Georgia is the birthplace of wine.
Giorgi Natenadze has spent much of the past decade traipsing through mountain forests in search of ancient vines growing the way nature intended — up in trees. In his quest, he has found some vines that are more than 100 years old and even one that he reckons is more than 400 years old and are still producing grapes for his wines. Giorgi has uncovered 40 rare grape varieties in the forests in the south of the country, near the border with Turkey, but has only been able to identify 24 of them so far.
Each year he creates a different wine from these ancient varieties at Natenadze’s Wine Cellar in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. His region, was the first winemaking region after the 16th century. Most of his grapes are collected from the forest and the oldest destroyed villages. "So I am making wild wines from volcanic mountaineer region where everything is wild and natural".
The minimum sea level is 1000 meter and the maximum (for vines) is 1650 meter. Giorgi Natenadze wild wines are in very limited production. He produces from 1 to 1200 bottles (from different grapes) in a year. When one taste Meskhuri wine, one feel the whole Meskhetian history, legends, and the absolutely unique and different aromas.