Rkatsiteli wine is produced in all "grape" countries in the post-Soviet space. It is made from the same grape variety and most often it is dry. It has a complex fruity bouquet and a characteristic aroma. The color of dry Rkatsiteli wine is very saturated with an amber hue.
Georgian wine
Many white varieties are growing in Georgia, but it’s the “rakatsiteli” that is the most common, and by the way, the most inexpensive. Rkatsiteli wine was especially popular during the Soviet Union. But it is worth noting that the best wine has always been obtained in Georgia.
About grapes
Now this variety is grown mainly only in Kakheti, although it is found not only in other regions of this mountainous country, but also in Ukraine, Russia and Moldova. Any grape variety from which wine is made is picky. And Rkatsiteli is no exception. For its cultivation, special techniques are used.
Most often, Rkatsiteli planted in loamy soils in moist areas. This is the kind of locality that loves this variety. Productivity here directly depends on weather conditions. This grape calmly tolerates frosts, but drought is very detrimental to it.
Georgian wine Rkatsiteli is an ordinary young wine, but from this variety they make such vintage expensive wines as Tsinandali, Gurjaani and Vazisubani. It is also part of the semi-dry wine Tbilisuri and semi-sweet - Alazani Valley.
Production of classic Georgian wine
It is in Georgia that there is a unique production technology. This method is called "Traditional Kakheti". It provides for the infusion of wine in qvevri - these are huge clay jugs buried in the ground.
Sugar content of grapes for Georgian wines should be at least 20%. This method has the main feature, the berries are not separated from the pulp (bones and ridges), but are pressed together with it. Further, the resulting mass, and rightly so, the wine must is sent to qvevri.
Since the jugs are buried in the ground at the very neck, a constant temperature is maintained there, about fourteen to fifteen degrees above zero.
When sugar is completely fermented into alcohol, the pulp is removed from the resulting wine. After that, vintage wines are sent to aging in barrels, and young wines are bottled. The latter are Rkatsiteli. Wine, reviews of which are the most diverse, but for the most part, nevertheless, positive. This drink is full-bodied, with a unique floral and fruity aroma and pronounced sourness.
International awards
It was Rkatsiteli (dry white wine) that was awarded several awards at international competitions. This alcoholic drink has two bronze, one silver and one gold medal. The people of Georgia are very proud of the awards of their favorite alcoholic beverage.
The Georgian drink Rkatsiteli, like other white wines, is combined with fruits, vegetables, fish and cheese dishes.
Crimean wines
On this fabulous peninsula, they have been making winemaking for a very long time. The first mention of wine drinks from this territory is dated IV-VI centuries. BC e. To plant grapes on this territory the ancient Greeks came up with the idea. After that, the local brands themselves began to care for the wonderful berries and prepare from them a heady drink. Wine has always been popular on the Black Sea coast.
So much was done in large cities that it was enough not only to completely keep the entire Bosporus alcohol market, but also to export in considerable quantities far beyond the borders of the kingdom.
How in ancient times wine was produced in Crimea
- Then the wort was pressed in three stages. First, berries were laid on a hard surface and crushed with their feet. Then came the turn of the light press, and the action ended with a heavy pressing.
- Juice flowed from the stone in a rectangular-shaped container, and insisting took place in them.
- Next, the unripe wine was poured into pithos, vessels similar to Georgian qvevri.
- On the south coast, some varieties of wine were boiled, thickening in this way.
Naturally, wine of the first extraction was appreciated above all. But the cheapest was considered a drink from under the heavy press.
When the Greeks and Romans left the island, the heyday of winemaking gave way to decline. Only when the peninsula became part of Tsarist Russia, they again began to produce high-quality wine.
One of the main winemakers in Russia at that time was Prince Golitsyn. It was he who resumed the production of a solar beverage at an industrial level. In Soviet times, winemaking in the Crimea continued to remain at a high level. And now Crimean wine is known all over the world.
Modern Crimea and its sunny drink
In our market, table wines (that is, still) are not very highly valued; our people are more fond of sweet fortified wines, but in vain. Indeed, it is drinks of this category that are made only from grapes, they do not include sugar or alcohol. It is to them that Rkatsiteli belongs - white, dry wine.
Such wines can not stand for a long time, a maximum of two years, and their strength does not exceed 12%. This light alcoholic drink is usually served directly to the table, it is almost never used as an aperitif or digestif. It does not need to be eaten. They enjoy it in the process of eating.
On the Black Sea coast there is a growing mass of different grape varieties. The most popular is Rkatsiteli wine, as well as wines from European varieties such as Aligote, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon.
These wines go well with white meat. You can cook chicken skewers or stew rabbit in sour cream, supplement the dish with vegetables and dry white wine.
Just Rkatsiteli - dry white wine, reviews of which, for the most part, are positive. And if you are impressed by the pleasant sourness in wine, then it is Rkatsiteli who is the best suited for dinner on the south coast.
Wines of Moldova
Now Moldova produces quite high-quality wines that fully comply with the international quality standard. The wine assortment of this country contains elite European grape varieties.
But this is not their clear advantage. Moldovan wines have an amazing ratio of titratable acidity and reduced extract. This is a very big rarity.
It is acidity that plays a key role in stabilizing wine. Thanks to acidity, such a valuable fruit freshness and noble aroma appears in our time. Tastes of consumers are changing, people are leaning in one direction or the other, but the group of elite varieties does not change. The Rkatsiteli wine belongs to them.
A bit about technology
Naturally, the most delicious wine is made by aging in oak barrels. But in Moldova such a container was considered a deficit. Very often, the wine was aged immediately in bottles, which gave it its own unique “zest”. And white wines were almost never aged in a tree at all.
If you find somewhere wines from the collection of Soviet times, you will see that the cork there is not cork, but from the sinter.
In modern Moldova, wines have nevertheless begun to be aged in oak barrels, as the official technology recognized throughout the world provides.
In order for a quality Moldovan wine to be born, it is necessary to prepare the wort, then let it completely ferment, so that the percentage of alcohol is from 9 to 12 percent. Sugar in dry wines is absent, and in semisweet is 30-50 g / l.
White wines produced in this sunny country are always light, elegant and low-extraction. These drinks are served chilled. The optimal temperature for serving white wine is 10-12 degrees.
The Rkatsiteli grape variety was brought to Moldova in 1954 from Georgia. But in this region, it gives completely different results. Here the wine is obtained not amber, but a light straw color. Here he has a light velvety taste, and a delicate floral aroma. White wines, including the Rkatsiteli, do not last more than two years.
This drink is so diverse, but always positive reviews about it. Gourmets love its lightness, aroma and unique amber taste. This is a noble drink, which is worth it to take its rightful place in the home bar.