Simon J Woolf & Friends on Wild and Wonderful Wines
I’m a huge fan of Georgian qvevri wines – that’s to say, wines made in the 8,000 year old traditional manner, where grapes, skins and sometimes stems are piled into a 500 – 2,000 litre clay amphora-like vessel, buried up to its neck in the ground. The challenge has always been how to get hold of them. But times are changing and one adventurous Dutch wine merchant “Andere Wijn” has hugely expanded their Georgian range.
Damijan Podversic’s decision in 1999 to reject his conventional winemaking education, in favour of a more “back to the roots” style, did not sit well with his dad who denied him usage of the family’s ancestral cellar. Since then he’s developed an impressive and tradition style of skin macerated white wines, following in the footsteps of Josko Gravner.
For those who are interested, here’s the full list of wines that Andrew Jefford, Sarah Jane Evans MW and myself tasted blind, for the Decanter natural wine tasting 2017. Wines with an asterisk next to them were scored 90 points Read more
What’s the biggest problem with organising a natural wine tasting? Defining the parameters ranks very high. Also, if one publicises the results with any level of exposure, being prepared to fight off the negative, trolling comments is sadly a serious undertaking.