Georgian Wine, a Very Short Guide: Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Qvevri

Georgia is where wine is oldest. Archaeologists have traced winemaking in the South Caucasus back roughly eight thousand years, and Georgians will remind you of this — warmly, repeatedly, and usually while refilling your glass. You don't need a sommelier course to order well at a Georgian table in Montenegro. You need two grape names, one clay vessel, and one word of caution about chacha.

The two grapes to remember

Saperavi is the great Georgian red. The name means "dye" — the grape is one of the few in the world with dark flesh as well as dark skin, and the wine pours nearly black. Expect dark fruit, structure, and a wine that stands up to grilled meat, kharcho and long conversations. If you drink one Georgian red in your life, it's this.

Rkatsiteli is the workhorse white — crisp and dry when made in the European style, golden and textured when made in qvevri. It's what you want alongside khachapuri: the acidity cuts through molten cheese like it was designed for the job. It probably was.

There are hundreds of other native Georgian varieties, which is a good pub fact — Georgia grows more indigenous grapes than almost anywhere — but these two cover most menus abroad.

What "qvevri" means

A qvevri is a large egg-shaped clay vessel, beeswax-lined, buried up to its neck in the earth. Grapes — often with skins, stems and all — ferment and age inside it at the steady temperature of the ground. The method is so old and so particular that UNESCO added it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013.

Qvevri whites spend time on their skins and come out amber — deeper in colour, with tannin and a dried-fruit, tea-like character that surprises people raised on Pinot Grigio. If you see "amber wine" or "qvevri" on a Georgian list, that's your invitation to try something genuinely different. Start with a glass, not a bottle; amber wine divides tables, which is half the fun.

Chacha, handled responsibly

Chacha is Georgian grape brandy — clear, strong, made from the pressings left after winemaking. It arrives at the end of a meal, or sometimes at the beginning, or in Georgia occasionally instead of the meal. Sip it; don't race it. One chacha after medovik is a tradition. Three is a decision.

What to order with what

• Adjarian khachapuri → Rkatsiteli, or anything white and sharp.
• Khinkali → traditionally beer or nothing fancy — the broth is the drink. A light red works too.
• Mangal (grilled meat) → Saperavi, no debate.
• Kharcho → Saperavi again; the walnuts and the tannin get along.
• Medovik → tea, coffee, or that one chacha.

Trying it in Budva and Bečići

At Oda we keep Georgian bottles, including qvevri wines, and the team genuinely enjoys matching them to the table — recommending is half the pleasure of a Georgian house. Come to our Bečići restaurant for a cold Rkatsiteli straight after the beach, or stay for the long Saperavi version of the evening once the sun drops. If you're planning a proper wine evening in season, reserve ahead.