Grape variety
Rkatsiteli
White and amber wine · Kakheti
Georgia’s most widely planted grape variety, with around 19,000 hectares and 28,000 growers. Its ability to develop high sugar levels while retaining fresh acidity makes it remarkably versatile, from crisp white wines to long-aged amber wines.
- Colour
- White (also amber)
- Home region
- Kakheti, Eastern Georgia
- Harvest
- October
- Acidity
- High
Origin
Native to Kakheti in eastern Georgia, Rkatsiteli is now also grown in other parts of Eastern Europe, China and the Finger Lakes region of New York.
The name
Rkatsiteli means ‘red stem’ in Georgian (rka = shoot, tsiteli = red), sometimes also translated as ‘red horn’. The name refers to the reddish stems of the vine.
In the vineyard
Late-budding and late-ripening. Our grapes for the amber wines come from Chailuri, from vines over 30 years old growing on limestone soils. For our late-harvest white, we source grapes from Kakabeti. Both vineyards lie at around 800 metres above sea level.
The grapes
Medium-sized, oval berries growing in cylindrical bunches. In dry conditions, they develop a pinkish-yellow colour.
Taste and aroma
As an amber wine, Rkatsiteli develops notes of dried and candied fruit, honey, walnut, almond and spice, with fine tannins. As a white wine, like our Late Harvest N°1 2024, it shows notes of white blossom, apple, quince and nectarine.
How we make it
For our amber wines, we ferment Rkatsiteli spontaneously in qvevri, with the skins but without stems, for four weeks. The wine then ages in a second qvevri: twelve months for our N°2 2021 and eighteen months for our N°8 2017. Our Late Harvest N°1 2024 was pressed directly and fermented in qvevri as a white wine.
Food pairings
Amber wines: grilled dishes, couscous, mature goat’s cheese, cured meats, spicy food and traditional Georgian mtsvadi. Late harvest: fish, poultry and pasta with creamy sauces.
Other grapes we work with