Food and Wine.
The Sun was the God of Georgians. Later on, when they didn't believe in the deity of the Sun, they considered it as the source of beauty and fascination. Khachapuri is the ritual pie dedicated to the oldest Sun deity.
Dear Friend and Guest,
You have an opportunity to taste Georgian meals and bate your interest. We are sure that rich Georgian cuisine will raise lot of questions. |
Georgians believe that Georgia is the home of wine.Furthermore, according to a theory, the word wine deriver from the Georgian word ghvino. Archaeological excavations prove that wine was made, and of course drunk, in Georgia seven thousand years ago. j |
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Wine is revered here and is made in almost all households not only in the countryside, but many a resident of Tbilisi, even a busy man, finds time to buy grapes and make his own wine to treat his guests secure. As they say in Georgia, "he is not afraid of a guest", for preparing a dinner takes only hours, while making wine needs time and knowledge. every host takes pride in the good wine of his own making. |
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The best grapes for making wine come from Eastern Georgia. Well-tended vast vineyards are an inalienable part of the local landscape. The Kakhetian-made wines Saperavi, Tsinandali and Mukuzani have in recent years become well known abroad too, and the are on offer at supermarkets of Europe and the USA. |
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Although Kakheti is the land of wine, unique varieties occur in Western Georgia as well, for example, the black grape Khvanchkara from the Racha region. It is grown in a very limited area, is distinguished for superb qualities and wine made from it is very expensive. |
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peasants keep their home-made wine in wine jars (kvevris). These are huge clay vessels (occasionally a wine jar s capacity is up to one ton), buried in the ground. it has a narrow, almost hermetically sealed neck above the ground. in Eastern Georgia wine jars are buried in the marani (wine cellar), while in Western Georgia they are buried right in the yard. The opening of a wine jar and tasting the new wine is quite an event, attended by the supra or Georgian feast, which is a social phenomenon of no small significance in the life of the Georgians. |
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There is much that differentiates Western from Eastern Georgia, even nature, the peoples temperament and the dishes brought to the table. One thing is the same, however, the Georgian table has a tamada or toastmaster, who is a good organizer and occasionally a specialist in settling conflicts. Any supra is a responsible job and Georgians do not entrust it to a person at random.
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Along with wine, Georgian cuisine is a beauty of the supra. The dishes of Western Georgia are more refined_prepared with more spices. and occasionally more piquant. The locals use much walnut sauce. Superd is khchapuri-Georgian closed pizza with sulguni, cheese made of local cows milk, and with freshly caught fish. Dishes mede of egg-plant are popular, as well as pkhali, a dish made of edible plants with walnuts. |
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Dishes of Eastern Georgia are simpler but no less tasty: boiled and then cooled chicken in garlic sauce, long loaves of bread baked on the spot, called lovingly "mothers bread", mutton or veal seaseoned with taragon, called chakapuli; salty sheep cheese, freshly gathered greens and mtsvadi, mead(maily pork) roasted in every corner of Georgia but as the saying goes, it is nowhere as tasty as in Kakheti, washed down with Kakhetian wine.
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In the Caucasus mountains, where grapes do not grow, the traditional drink is fruit vodka, as well beer. The letter is of ritual significance; hence during religious festivals brewing beer is a must for the mountaineers. Khinkali is their favorite food. It is a variety of dubpling whose dough is filled with meat and juice. But the pleasure given by this dish is worth some discomfort. Khinkali is one of the most beloved dishes of Georgia. |
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