Asuretuli Shavi

Kartli red (Asureti)

Asuretuli Shavi («the black of Asureti») is a red grape from the village of Asureti near Tbilisi. Asureti was founded in 1818 by German Swabian colonists, and viticulture here long kept a German-Georgian imprint. Around 1830 the colonist Schall found this vine growing wild in the woods and brought it into cultivation, which is why the variety has a second name: Shala, in German Schalltraube.

The grape gives dark, aromatic medium-bodied wines with notes of dark berries and spice; it works in both dry and light semi-sweet styles.

Asuretuli Shavi is of interest not only for its taste but for its history: it recalls the 19th-century German winemaking colonies of Transcaucasia.