Pheasant's Tears, Kartli Quinta 2021

Kartli was famed to be the home of the royal vineyards of the East Georgian regents. In Soviet times, the region was designated for fruit orchards due to poor soil. Pheasant’s Tears and a few other small domains revived rare and nearly-extinct varieties such as the whites Goruli Mtsvane, Chinuri and light reds Danakharuli, Shavkapito and Tavkveri here. 

Quinta is used in Georgia as a musical term to describe an interval of 5ths. Untempered 5ths are a reoccurring harmony in Georgian polyphonic songs. John came to Georgia initially to collect and record such songs.

Grapes: Goruli Mtsvane, Chinuri, Danakharuli, Shavkapito, and Tavkveri

Vineyard: Kartli region, village of Mukhrani. Sandstone and gray clay.  

Making of: Destemmed and gently crushed into stainless steel. Macerated on the skins for 1 day, then racked to stainless steel for 24 months before bottling. These five varieties are co-planted, co-picked, and fermented together.