Khikhvi is a fairly rare variety, even in its Kakhetian homeland. The vines produce a small number of grapes, which are richly concentrated. This dry, amber wine has lucious aromas of dried orchard fruits, dried herbs, and black tea. If you enjoy the traditional skin contact whites of Georgia, then this is absolutely a mandatory wine to try and enjoy.

Pheasant’s Tears

Founded in 2007 by an American painter, John Wurdeman, and Gela Patalishvili, a Georgian whose family has been making wine for eight generations, Pheasant’s Tears sits in the mountainous village of Sighnaghi in Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region. The name 'Pheasant's Tears' refers to an old Georgian tale in which it's believed that only the very best wine can make a pheasant cry tears of joy. Dedicated to meeting this 'tears of joy' standard, Pheasant's Tears produces artisanal natural wines with ancient Georgian techniques, growing rare grape varieties and harvesting them organically. All wines are fermented in qvevri, traditional clay amphorae, which are lined with beeswax and sunk into the ground. Natural yeast fermentations are employed. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with no added sulphites.

Pheasant’s Tears was born out of a love of authentic tradition, and culture and endless creativity. It is more than a winery, it's about songs, cuisine, art, heritage, tangible and intangible. For wine is born out of a confluence of the spirit of a place, its geology, its history, and the emotions of the vitner himself. In the end, a dialogue between nature and man, a fine tension between respect for the past and creating a new experience for tomorrow. Traditions here are seen as the nourishing soul for improvisation and respectful evolution.

- John Wurdeman