The best wines from Kindzmarauli in Georgia

Kindzmarauli is a semi-sweet red wine made from 100 per cent Saperavi in north-eastern Kakheti, and one of the best-known Georgian wines. Together with Akhasheni, it is one of the two designations of origin (appellations) in Kakheti for semi-sweet wine. Kindzmarauli is also the most exported Georgian wine with a designation of origin.

Check out our wine from Kindzmarauli

The designation of origin was recognised in 2007 and covers some 614 hectares in the municipality of Kvareli, on the left bank of the Alazani river, which runs right through Kakheti. The vineyards lie mostly on flat land at 350 to 400 metres. By the rules, the wine must contain 30 to 50 grams of residual sugar per litre, usually around 35 grams. The alcohol content is between 10.5 and 12 per cent.

The name originally referred to one specific place. Kindzmarauli came into being when the Duruji river changed course and left grey-black slate behind on its right bank, at the foot of the mountain. On these dark stones the vineyards become three to five degrees warmer than their surroundings during the day. As a result the Saperavi builds up more sugar, producing a natural, intense, semi-sweet wine.

The success of Kindzmarauli is closely tied to the Soviet era. Around 1942, Georgian winemakers had mastered the technique of making stable semi-sweet wine without added alcohol. The semi-sweet Khvanchkara from Racha-Lechkhumi became so popular that its small production could not keep up with demand. The state wine company Samtrest therefore developed Kindzmarauli as a new ‘brand’. The area was gradually expanded, and by the time the official designation of origin was established it was almost ten times its original size.

Because of the huge demand for semi-sweet wine, the Akhasheni appellation was launched in 1958 on the opposite bank of the Alazani, in effect a copy of Kindzmarauli. Both wines were hugely popular in Russia, and in the 1960s and 1970s the grapes sometimes came from far outside the area.

As a result, Kindzmarauli has become more a style of wine than an expression of a specific terroir. The wine is intense, with plenty of fruit and extract and soft tannins that keep the sweetness in balance. We currently have one wines from Kindzmarauli in our range. You can view all our wines from Kindzmarauli here.