Marnaveli Kakheti Rkatsiteli Qvevri Dry Amber

Marnaveli Kakheti Rkatsiteli Qvevri Dry Amber features notes of dried figs, apricot, spice, and ripe pear, with time in large oak adding a further layer.

Georgia has been making wine in Qvevri for eight thousand years, which makes the current orange-wine moment look less like a trend and more like the rest of the world catching up. Marnaveli was founded in 2002 on the road between Tbilisi and Kakheti, working with hand-picked fruit from growers across the country and pairing modern equipment with the qvevri tradition — fermentation in beeswax-lined clay vessels buried underground, with extended skin contact that gives a white wine the tannin and structure of a red.

Food pairing: khachapuri, walnut-thickened stews, lamb with cumin, aged cheeses, or anything heavy on cinnamon, coriander, and dill.