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GEORGIA BOUTIQUE TOP WINERY: SCHUCHMANN WINES
My first visit to Georgia was in 2005, the second in 2006. During the press wine tour in 2006, I visited together with two old and good friends Wiktor Bruszewski (PL) and Jørgen Aldrich (DK) some wineries in the Kakheti region. One of them was extremely interesting, including the presented wines. However, we were then wondering if the huge investments made by this winery would be fast enough profitable in a tensed market. Unhappily, things went wrong after the Russian boycott for Georgian wines. The winery was not yet far enough to survive only from their export shares to Western countries and got severely affected by this crisis. Fortunately, after a lesser period (as I have been told), things seem to go much better now with the company TELAVI WINE CELLAR (Marani). I was deeply impressed by our host ZURAB RAMAZASHVILI, his passion, his vision and his charisma. I wish him all the very best from here and hope to meet him again in Marani.
Zurab Ramazashvili in 2006 – © Christian Callec
Another winery was triple worth to visit: firstly, they gave us shelter for one night in their great guest rooms; secondly we had a very nice visit of the winery, the small museum and a good tasting; thirdly, our host was a very interesting, joyful and very communicative guy with a great smile on his face and in his eyes… At that time, he was the oenologist of TELIANI VALLEY winery…
Teliani Valley tasting – © Christian Callec 2006
He told us then about another project, a risky but passionate gamble around a blend between old Kakhetian k’vevri traditions and modern Western quality vinification techniques and benchmarks. The place was not yet totally finished, we visited a well-hidden k’vevri cellar with some oak barrels in it, and a newer cellar under construction. One of the other companions in this project was a Georgian importer of Italian vinification material… His name sounded like ‘Gía’… All went so quick, those two guys (especially this Gia), were so full of enthusiasm, passion and total conviction about ‘their’ project that we really believed this would be the start of a great adventure… Unfortunately, I never heard any more of those two guys after our visit in Kisiskhevi, Kakheti. I just had some pictures and great memories of this starting company called ‘VINOTERRA’…
‘Gia’ (?) flying over the oak barrels at Vinoterra © Christian Callec 2006
Years later, in 2011, I was asked again to be jury member of a Georgian Wine Award competition in Tbilisi. Great! The invitation came from Kaha Gvelesiani, chairman of the organising ExpoGeorgia. We made an appointment at the Georgian wine stand in Düsseldorf, during ProWein. I had the time to taste some nice wines on the Georgian stand. At once, my attention was captivated by the name on two labels, a white and a red k’vevri wines, made by … VINOTERRA! Those wines brought me for a while back to the good old times of my first visit. Then, I was introduced to a German man, called Burkhard Schuchmann, owner of SCHUCHMANN WINES, and his managing partner, Angeles Tegtmeyer. Herr Schuchmann told me that he was now the owner of VINOTERRA. What an amazing coincidence! He invited me to pay him a visit when I would come to Georgia… I promised I would. Many weeks later, I was absolutely excited to read the name SCHUCHMANN on the program of a tour in Kakheti after the competition. Back again to that so well-hidden place, a small and old k’vevri cellar, completely lost in a small village… Well, that’s how I remembered it. But things have totally changed. I was astonished how, in relatively short time, that dusty place became a real ‘Château’, a great boutique winery, blending the old Kakhetian tradition with modern technology and highest Western quality standards. And who do you think was the winemaker of this magic winery? Yes, a very interesting, joyful and very communicative guy with a great smile on his face and in his eyes… the guy in my memories, the old oenologist of Teliani Valley, no one else than GIORGI DAKISHVILI in person… Fascinating!
Giorgi ‘Goga’ Dakishvili at Teliani Valley in 2006 © Christian Callec
This Château, in the middle of nowhere, with the Caucasus Mountain as impressive background, became now a respected and awarded boutique winery, annex restaurant and modern, very comfortable guest-houses! It is a real monument of passion and love… a long cherished dream of his new owner, Burkhard Schuchmann. This very charismatic and enthusiast man did fall in love, like so many before him, with Georgia, the country, the landscape, the culture, the people, the hospitality, the wines, the food, the music…
The visit of the old and new cellars was magic, the tasting and the quick but fantastic Georgian lunch were fabulous. I wish I could have the time to come back there and stayed a few days longer, to feel the spirit of this amazing place…
SCHUCHMANN Wines produces k’vevri made wines (white and red) under the label VINOTERRA and a range of modern wines under the SCHUCHMANN label but also two (white and red) under the VINOTERRA label. They also produce a delicious Blanc de Blancs (100% chardonnay) sparkling wine (méthode traditionnelle, second fermentation in the bottle), very fresh and fruity, with a touch of nuts on the background which gives it extra complexity, a good balance and a perfect … drinkability!
Burkhard Schuchmann and sparkling wine © Christian Callec 2006
I didn’t taste yet the monovarietal and cuvée wines under the Schuchmann label, but I have no doubt about their quality and … drinkability. We tasted again two white VINOTERRA wines, a tasty, aromatic and well-balanced Rkatsiteli and a mind-blowing k’vevri made KISI 2009… the last one is MY vision of k’vevri as a benchmark, with a much shorter period in k’vevri and then one year in oak barriques. Impressive wine, complex, very aromatic (yellow fruits and dried fruits), with a full body and thus a great balance from start to finish. Remarkable wine! I just love it!
The two VINOTERRA reds were also amazing… The k’vevri made SAPERAVI 2008 and SAPERAVI SELEKTION 2008 give a tremendous impression of the great potential of this grape, when properly grown and processed. The second wine (Selektion) is a superlative of the first one; the grapes come from 30-50 years old vineyards. Both wines are very complex and aromatic, but – thank you so much for this! – with ripe, silky tannins and a great … drinkability!
Thanks to Burkhard Schuchmann, Giorgi Dakishvili, Ana Patarahvili (hotel/restaurant manager) and their whole team for this unforgettable moment at SCHUCHMANN WINES.
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