Zaza Jakeli

Zaza Jakeli and his brother Malkhaz started producing wine in the early 2000s. Since then a lot has happened both in Georgia and in the development of Georgian art of winemaking. In summer we visited Zaza at his country house in Vardisubani, just before Telavi. There his wife and two daughters run together with him a guesthouse, that offers housing to guests after an extensive wine degustation. One should grasp this opportunity and stay in this house, built with a lot of attention to detail, with artful wooden details that show a wide range of style elements. Zaza is a quiet gentleman who does not look his age (he's 60!). But still waters are deep: For some years now, he has been actively fighting with economic decision-makers to help the natural wine scene gain more prestige and significance. In 2009 he was one of the pioneers when he had his red Saperavi vines biologically certified (certificate CC-AB-039-009, standard Green Caucasus). This involves high costs and particular organizational hurdles, as there are yet no standardized procedures for certification in Georgia. For this reason, not all wines are certified; the same can be said about our imports. However, we were able to assure ourselves on site that the vines are grown and processed according to the same standards as the certified vines. Zaza is a sober realist at this point: a bio-certificate does not necessarily change anything in the wine itself, but ultimately officially acknowledges all the efforts that the winemakers make when they give themselves to the production of natural wine with utter conviction. Since 2015, Zaza also produces white wines from the indigenous varieties Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane, and Kisi in the village Ozhio, 520 meters above sea level. The unique combination of sunny alluvial soils with the particular local climate produces intense, full-bodied, exquisite wines that preserve their personality and the unique aroma of the terroir. Zaza abstains from any chemical additives or from speeding up the wine making process. Since 2017, he has been making his wines only in Qvevri. We look forward to his latest creation, an amber wine from the white grapes of Rkatsiteli and Kisi.