Day 18 Gudauri to Telavi
Today was a driving day, and the weather had turned pretty grim for the first time on the road trip, with low clouds and fog. We diced with the hundreds of trucks that ply the E117 and drove down out of the mountains and onto more rural roads that would take us east to the famous wine region of Kakheti.
I was expecting a rough ride, but this mountain pass was one of the best roads we’d driven on so far in Georgia. We passed through a number of bleak Soviet-style farming villages and stopped at a small rural supermarket just outside of Telavi to load up on supplies, which were at real prices with no tourist markups.
Our accommodation for the next two days would be at the Mosmieri vineyard, but being late autumn, the vines had already been harvested. Nevertheless, the place was seriously classy some serious wine tasting was in order.
Georgia is known as the birthplace of wine, and Kakheti is where 70% of it comes from. It has a tradition of wine making stretching back 8,000 years, after the discovery of ancient grape seeds and buried clay vessels called Qvevri used for fermentation and storage confirmed that the region has been cultivating grapes and producing wine since the Neolithic period. The primary grape, Saperavi, is used to produce a range of red wines, from dry to semi-sweet.
To round off Da’s fiftieth, we tasted seven different wines with a very knowledgeable Sommelier for less than the cost of an average bottle of Cab Sav in Thailand.
Day 19 Telavi
The weather had improved, so we drove back into Telavi to explore the town. The main attractions were a 900-year-old giant tree and the King Erekle II Palace, which was more of a medieval castle. We also took a look at the Telavi history museum, which housed archeological artifacts and an impressive art gallery.
Telavi also has a small bazaar, which was more like a wet market with fruit, veg, meat, fish, cheese, spices, and local delicacies for sale.
The afternoon was spent on the balcony overlooking the autumnal colours of the vineyards. The entire place was so quiet and serene … a far cry from noise-obsessed Thailand with its traffic, construction, music, howling dogs, and screeching roosters assaulting the senses all day.
The evening was spent in the winery restaurant, where we were the only customers, and you could get a liter of house red for a couple of bucks.
Previous: Gudauri
Next: Kvareli
