Wine Predator Gwendolyn Alley with amphora in Portugal
Question: When is a red wine more like a white wine— complete with chewy tannins? Answer: When it is an amber wine or orange wine! These wines with their typical golden color are made using the ancient technique of leaving a white grape on the skins for an extended period of time — long enough to gain a distinctive color. Often this is combined with another ancient technique of fermenting, aging, or storing the wine in large clay vessels with different names depending on the country of origin:
- in Portugal as Talha
- in Italy as Anfore, orci or giare
- in Georgia as Qvevri or kvevri
- in Spain as Tinaja
And in English, Amphora! Happy Amphora Wine Day! Georgia, “the cradle of wine,” is the original home for using these large clay vessels which they call qvevri. In 2023, we tasted and paired three with Georgian cuisine a few days before I left for Portugal’s Amphora Wine Day which in 2025 is today November 15, and to celebrate this year, we have three more amber wines from Georgia, with two of them made in qvevri or kvevri .
2020 Vine Ponto Kisi Qveri, Kakheti
So how do you make wine in Georgian qvevri? “You bury a large clay Qvevri underground, place your grapes inside and leave them to transform. The rest is magic, meticulously executed. And, like all great magicians, Georgians are hell-bent on keeping their secrets,” I learned on the website for Teliani Valley “Glekhuri.”
In Georgia, wineries typically use indigenous grapes that reflect their terroir and techniques with 75% of vineyards and 70% of production in the eastern region of Kakheti which has alluvial soils and a continental climate. In Kakheti, amber wines are made from Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane, Kisi, and Khikhvi. Native to Georgia, Kisi neared extinction, but today is on the rise. We recently tasted Kisi made in both in qvevri and not, with the qvevri wine also seeing some oak, and a Rkatsiteli made in qvevri with no oak making for a fascinating study in comparisons.
What to pair with amber wines from Georgia? While we usually like to pair with the adage “what grows together goes together” in mind, and we’ve done before, this time, I had fresh ahi tuna from the Ventura Fisherman’s Market, which I love seared and paired with Pinot Noir or Washington merlot, so I wanted to see how it would work with these amber wines from Georgia. To round out the plate, we did a salad and a saffron and cumin rice dish considered comfort food and called “funeral rice.” Wow, did this meal deliver!
Amber Wines from the Country of Georgia with pairings
Three Amber Wines from the Country of Georgia
- 2022 Askaneli Kisi, Kakheti
- 2021 Teliani Valley Glekhuri Rkatsiteli Qvevri, Kakheti
- 2020 Vine Ponto Kisi Qvevri, Kakheti
Amber Wines from the Country of Georgia
Pairings for Georgian Amber + Qvevri Wines
- Cheese board including La Tur, apricot Stilton, pecorino
- Mushroom Shila Plavi “Funeral Rice”
- Seared Ahi Tuna
- Spring green salad with apple and walnuts
2022 Askaneli Kisi, Kakheti
2022 Askaneli Kisi, Kakheti
ABV: 12%
SRP:
Grapes: Kisi
sample for my review
The Chkhaidze brothers founded Askaneli in 1998 and named their winery after the village of Askana in the region of Guria where their ancestor Antimoz Chkhaidze built an old wine cellar that still stands to this day. The brothers mostly make their wine using the large underground clay vessels called Qvevri. Antimoz Chkhaidze’s cellar and several pitchers for tasting wine that date back to the 1880 are still in the village of Askana. They own hundreds of acres of vineyards, plus two winemaking facilities in Kakheti and Tbilisi, and a fruit distillery in Guria to be one of the largest organizations in Georgia and is ranked among the top three wine making companies in terms of wine production and vine farming.
Harvested from vineyards in Kakheti, in the village of Maghraani, Akhmeta municipality, these grapes are hand picked but it’s unclear whether they are vinified in qvevri or not.
Appearance: Gold, jewelry gold, shiny, pale yellow rim, crystal clear,
Aroma: Pollen, grassy, warm meadow, grassy florals, chamomile, minerals, clay, slate, dry minerals, kiwi, honeysuckle, black licorice,
Palate: Honeysuckle, lemon curd, caraway, light and mild with an acidic kick, black licorice on the finish, clean, slate,
Pairing: Beautiful with the LaTur cheese, the cheese makes the wine very honeyed and influences that experience on the wine, fabulous with the apricot stilton, bringing out the lovely lemon curd in the wine, pecorino can definitely tango with this wine, the salinity in the cheese is enhanced by the wine and the lovely fruit in the wine is accentuated by the sharp bright cheese, very nice with this hearty complex salad matching the complexity of the wine. the refreshing wine cleanses the palate after each uniquely pleasing bite of the salad, perfect with the rich tuna, the floral saffron and aromatic cumin elevate not only the rice dish but also the wine, the earthy spices in the rice dish highlight the earthen flavors and richness of the wine.
ABV: 13.%
SRP:
Grapes: Rkatsiteli
sample for my review
Established in 1997 on the site of a 19th century winery in Teliani village, Teliani Valley Winery released its first vintage in 2000. They currently produce over two million bottles a year, which is large by Georgian standards. While grapes are grown throughout Georgia, their wine making facilities are in east Georgia in the Kakheti Appellation.
Made in the traditional method fermented in qvevri, they say of “Glekhuri” that “This is the wine of Georgia – a land rich in otherworldly blessings.”
Appearance: Amber, golden rim, clear, very pretty
Aroma: Sage, chaparral, mountainside, pollen, fennel, dusty dry earth, amber, beautiful nose, meditative in the sense that it is kind of calming,
Palate: Intense, bold tannins, bright acidity clay, mushroom, dried apricot, marigold, white pepper, cleansing, fennel
Pairing: Very nice with the pecorino, good with the apricot stilton making the apricots bright and fresh, so good with the creamy flavorful LaTur bringing out the lovely fruit and florals in the wine, flipping heck the rice and the tuna were absolutely perfect with this wine, everything just works and cannot be described it works phenomenally well. The wine works well with the salad as well, but with the tuna and rice it is out of this world.
2020 Vine Ponto Kisi Qveri, Kakheti with seared ahi, salad, funeral rice
2020 Vine Ponto Kisi Qveri, Kakheti
ABV: 13%
SRP: $38
Grapes: Kisi
sample for my review
In a region defined by the mighty Alazani River Valley and the nearby Tsiv-Gombori mountain range, the winery is located in Georgia’s wine capital, Telavi in Kakheti. Vine Ponto’s head winemaker Giorgi Bakuradze preserves traditional Georgian winemaking methods via qvevri and minimal intervention.
Vine Ponto Kisi Dry amber wine uses the local Kisi grape variety with traditional winemaking methods involving fermenting and aging in qvevri buried in the ground followed by aging in oak barrels to produce a rich and robust wine.
Appearance: Deep dark amber, tiger eye, jewel tone, golden rim, fiery when the line bounces off the glass,
Aroma: Hooka apricot tobacco, caramel apple, caraway, rich, vanilla,
Palate: Dry bold tannins, walnut skin, toasted walnut, apricot seed, apricot, yeasty, very pleasurable flavor notes but we both really wanted food,
Pairing: Lovely with the LaTur, incredible with the apricot stilton both the wine and the cheese sing with apricot notes that linger in the mouth long after. A wow pairing! Very good with the pecorino cheese, heaven with the tuna and a heavenly follow up with the “funereal rice”– the wine loves the saffron and the cumin. Lovely with the rich complex salad, so perfect with the sweet savory herbaceous flavors of the dish.
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 
How did your past encounters with amber wines and ancient qvevri traditions shape the way you appreciate their golden color and uniquely tannic character today?
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What a great question— and topic for another article!
We wrote about amber wines from Georgia that make a great introduction. Some are much more mild, less skin contact, different wine making techniques.
Some orange aka amber wines have VA and reduction which can be unpleasant or strong. Natural wines also can be an aquired taste.
I definitely fell for the first one I had — just so fascinated it. Hardy Wallace is a master of the style, and we’ve written about his orange wines as well.
So yes, while I personally fell for orange wines the first time, some are much easier for the novice palate to enjoy! And so start with more “mild” styles and find your groove!
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