SNAILS AND NATURAL WINE IN A GEORGIAN ALPINE VILLAGE

Borjomi, Georgia — February 2020

By Ross Belfer

A happenstantial beauty laid bare within the walls of the Khachapuridze wine cellar and dining room. The hypothermic temperatures outside and moderately upward trails through pristine Alpine forest succumbed to a microcosm of Georgian wine and hyperlocal gastronomic paradise. As we arrived at the rickety-wooden gate of a far-flung village, the warm and rosy smiles of owner and vintner Nika Khachapuridze and his colleagues were the catalyst for a welcome typical of Georgian hospitality. Pitchers of juicy and pungent amber wine from Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli grape varieties flowed into glasses, putting our group in a dizzying spell of love for this country.

The modest wine cellar, fitted in the traditional Georgian furnishings — Meshketian fireplace, preserved wooden wine presses and clay qvervi (earthenware made for fermentation) et. al. — set a cinematic stage for an infinity of sourdoughs, slow-cooked, locally seasoned fowl and lamb, boiled snails, a local delicacy, and you guessed it: seven varieties (or more) of natural, sulphate-free wine. This is the way it should be. Always and forever. Thank you, Georgia.

A special thanks to Rooms Hotels & Adjara Group for hosting.