Pheasant´s Tears

Two of the main catalysts of the modern Georgian wine movement, John Wurdeman and Gela Patalishvili, joined forces in the most unusual, but serendipitous way. John, an American painter had moved to Georgia after falling in love with the spirit of the land whilst travelling from Moscow. He took a job painting the fences at a local vineyard when he was approached by a Gela, a 7th generation vigneron, who was convinced John was the man to help bring the traditional style of Georgian wine to the world. John was hesistant, but Gela persisted. One day after harvest, Gela delivered a truck's worth of freshly picked grapes to John's door. Look at all this potential, Gela cried! It took time, but John was eventually won over, and in 2005 Pheasant's Tears was born. It is said that that the wine is good enough to make even pheasants cry! It isn't obvious why the wine was given to pheasants in the first place, and perhaps we'll never know... Gela plants local varieties Chinuri, Kisi, Rkatsiteli, Tsolakauri, Tavkvevri, Saperavi and Shavkapito in Khaketi. All bunches are fermented whole and aged in qvevri, some of which date back to the mid 19th century. All whites undergo maceration with the skins, from 3 weeks to 6 months depending on the cuvée and Gela's taste.