Kapistoni Rkatsiteli 2019
Kapistoni Winery is a small, young winery from the Georgian province of Kartlia, close to the capital Tbilisi. Kapistoni is the life's work of Niko Chochishvili. He immigrated from the United States in 2010. The winemaking was then first a 'side job', but Niko is very enthusiastic. Winemaking is his calling. In 2017 he had a wine cellar built and since then his passion has been his (life) work. He makes natural wines in qvevri'. They are clean and pure. He uses grape varieties that are rare even in Georgia.
| Country | Georgia |
| Region | Kakheti |
| Wine maker | Kapistoni Winery |
| Grape varieties | Rkatsiteli |
| Terroir | The hand-harvested grapes come from our own vineyards, in the province of Kakhetia, in eastern Georgia. The vineyard is located in the micro zone of Manavi at an altitude of 450 meters and with a limestone soil. |
| Harvest method | handpicked |
| Yield per hectare | 8 tons per hectare. |
| Vineyard treatment | This is a natural wine made from organically treated vineyards. |
| Vinification | The grapes are slightly bruised and put in the qvevri. The alcoholic fermentation lasted about 7-10 days, after which the malolactic fermentation took place in 15 days. The wine with the skins then matured in the qvevri for six months. |
| Impression | Deep yellow. Fresh acidity of citrus and dried mango. Juicy fruit of kiwi and yellow plums. A walnut bitter with a pinch of tannin. Accessible for orange wine. |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Did you know? | Rkatsiteli is one of the three most widely planted grapes in the world. It grows in Eastern Europe. Because the number of vineyards there has been reduced considerably over the past twenty years, it was perhaps the most widely planted grape in the world during the Cold War. |