Kindzmarauli
One of the treats that I’m very glad to see on Calgary shelves recently is Georgian wine. It started to trickle in a few years ago when Russia banned the sale of Georgian wines due to asinine political disputes, and Georgia went looking for new markets. First only lurking in very select stores, it is now common enough to appear in my local Olympia liquor store, and consequently on my counter.
My favorite of Georgian wines is Kindzmarauli (say that five times fast), a fine semi-sweet wine with a velvety soft flavor. Please keep in mind that I know nothing about wine. In fact, everything I know about wine can be summed up in two short sentences – I LIKE and I DON’T. I don’t know any wine varietals, can’t pronounce Gewurztraminer, and laugh at most wine descriptions. I DO know that I generally prefer reds, especially full-bodied, bold reds like cabs and shiraz’s. According to experts I enjoy the “rich mouthfeel due to tannins”. Heh.
Anyhow, without slipping into talk that I have no business speaking, here’s all you need to know about Kindzmarauli before making a decision to try it:
• Red
• Rich
• Semi-sweet (close to the max scale of how sweet I can drink it)
• Smooth
• Good balance of sweet and acid
Incidentally this was one of Stalin’s favorite wines, and as strange as that factoid of history is, at least we can conclude he had decent taste.