Oh Georgia –Gaumarjos! The land of sweet wine-and that’s where my love for wine started off. I was never a wine lover but the fresh, fruity, unique taste and the high quality of organic fermented Georgian wine is what drives me till date.
The choices can be made from various ranges of red-white-rose-dry/sweet/semi sweet or Cha-cha (wine-vodka) & not to miss out that unique homemade brandy as there are about 575 grape varieties, more than anywhere else in the world. The wine making and drinking traditions are inseparable from the country’s national identity. The Georgians still remember their ancestors as fierce warriors and winemakers, “who knew how to fight and celebrate their victories with a good cup of wine!” 
“A great wine is the most sincere expression of the land and the people that give it life”
The tour to this country remains incomplete without having a taste of its homemade wine. A lot of Georgian families still grow their own grapes and produce homemade wine and if you haven’t shared at least one glass of wine with a local, then you just haven’t experienced the real Georgian culture.
A home is a living place for a human being. Wine is like a human being, they have lots in common: birth, youth, oldness and death. That’s why wine also needs its own house – a marani. By Sulkan – Saba Orbeliana (Georgian writer)
To be honest, before I entered Georgia I knew very little about the viniculture but what we witnessed inside marani-The Cradle of wine is the most exciting part of the entire tour. “Satsnakheli” (the wooden
wine press) & “qvevri” – (the large clay underground wine storage vessel) is required in a traditional winemaking method. After six months the qvevri is excavated then the wine and very strong spirit cha-cha are separated. The grapevines and its fruit have a strong significance. Though wine is also the part of the Georgian heritage and is associated with celebrations, holidays and rituals which is almost the same all over the world.
I personally feel: Wine- a symbol of transformation, jollification & is best part of every occasion
“Friends will be welcomed with wine, enemies with a sword!” Yes this is what Georgian believes and what Georgia was, is and will be……..
With our last bottle of Chacha, the memories of Georgia & its rich-royal-refreshing wine will always be a pleasant hangover.
Gaumarjos!
Pampa Biswas.