Our Story
GEORGE BATONI ORGANIC QVEVRI-FERMENTED WINES: A STORY 8,000 YEARS IN THE MAKING.
My name is Nunu. My family and I have a unique vocation. We are restoring ancient wines that were almost lost to this world, and bringing them to your dinner table.
For the first time ever, American and European wine lovers can savour some of the oldest wines in the world. These wines come from Georgia (the country, not the state), which is known as the “Cradle of Wine.”
We began viticulture over 8,000 years ago. That’s 2,500 years before the wheel was invented. From its humble Neolithic roots, expert craftsmen honed their skills. Drawing inspiration and nourishment from the fertile soul of Georgia’s vineyard valleys, unique varieties of grapes were cultivated.
The rich and seductive flavours of Georgian wines were lost to the outside world during the Cold War, but they were the toast of the entire East Block.
Throughout its difficult history and long path of forming its statehood many ancient varieties of succulent grapes were lost forever. Or so people thought.
RECOVERING THE LOST GEORGIAN WINES
That’s where my and my brother George’s family came in. As the great grandchildren of a renowned Georgian vintner of the past century, we set out to find the lost grapes. We just had to grow them once more.
One by one, we tracked down fledgling plants. We brought them to our land in the fertile Alazani Valley of eastern Georgia, famous for its Kindzmarauli appellation.
With tender care, my brother, my two nephews, my husband and I coaxed and nurtured them into bountiful vineyards.
In 2018, a miracle happened. We had our first harvest of TWO unique Georgian varieties of grapes: Saperavi and Rkatsiteli. Fall of 2019 will welcome Four more varieties: Mtsvane, Kisi, Khikhvi and Rkatsiteli Rose.
PIONEERS OF AN ANCIENT CRAFT, A SOULFUL TRADITION
Our mission was not just to breed lost strains of grapes, but to revive the lost art of quevri winemaking in the tradition of our forefathers. We knew that this was the only way to create authentic, old world wines that had once graced the finest tables of Europe. All our wines are as organic as they have been since … forever. We fill the clay vessels, called qvevri (also spelled “qvevry” and “kvevri”), with the ripened grapes and bury them in the cool ground to ferment. Qvevry-making itself is a lost art. Qvevry have been found in 8,000-year-old archeological digs. Today, only a handful of villages in the world make qvevry. One near our vineyard.
We are among the pioneers to restore the tradition of genuine qvevri wines. The taste of qvevri wines differ from barrel wines in that no oak flavor seeps into the wine. We let the quality and character of our grapes speak for itself.
BRINGING OLD WORLD FLAVOURS TO NEW PALETTES
Sophisticated wine lovers will appreciate these incredible flavors that are at once new to the world and older than history itself. These six distinct flavours will impress your most discerning guests and excite the palettes of new wine lovers, as well.
The first bottles of George Batoni wines will be available for eager enthusiasts in 2019. We are thrilled to present these varieties of pure qvevri wines to you for dining pleasure. We invite you to share an exclusive vinicultural experience – to partake in the history and the soul of wines that go back over 80 centuries.
We will be selling these wines from our boutique hotel here in Kakheti, and through distributors around the world. If you visit, we will welcome you with the same hospitality our ancestor welcomed noble people in the past. If you have the opportunity to sample our vintages elsewhere in the world, we hope you will discern traces of the tender care and craftsmanship that we seal in each bottle of our finest wines.
