📜 Akhasheni

Akhasheni is a Georgian protected appellation of origin for red, naturally semi-sweet wine made only from Saperavi in the Akhasheni micro-zone of Inner Kakheti, on the middle Alazani. It was registered as Georgia's appellation No. 4 on 30 August 2005. ¹ The EU–Georgia Association Agreement protects the name in the European Union as well. ²

Where it comes from. The micro-zone lies at about 41°48′ N and 45°44′ E and runs from the forest-edge slopes of the Tsiv-Gombori range down to the Alazani. It covers parts of the villages of Zegaani, Akhasheni and Chumlaki, the Kitaani fields and part of the Gurjaani area, between the Cherami gorge in the north and the Tanana gorge in the south-east. The grapes must come only from vineyards there, at 350–700 m, but may be made into wine anywhere in Kakheti. ¹

Sun and warmth. The sun shines 2,150–2,200 hours a year, 1,600 of them in the growing season, and the right bank of the Alazani gets more radiation than the left because it has fewer clouds. The mean temperature is 12.5 °C, about 23.6 °C in July and August and 1.1 °C in January, and the heat sum falls from 3,950 °C at 450 m to 3,700 °C at 620 m. About 860 mm of rain falls a year, and hail comes on only 1.6–2.1 days, less often than near Tsinandali and Telavi. ¹

Warm soils. Roots wake up in mid-May, when the soil at root depth passes 15 °C; from mid-June to the end of September it stays above 20 °C, and in July and August it reaches 24 °C at 40–70 cm. Rendzina-brown soils cover the Tsiv-Gombori slopes, lime-rich alluvial soils lie on the Alazani's second terrace and deluvial soils in the centre. In the lower layers the lime content exceeds 40–50%, and the pH is 7.5–8.6. ¹

Grape and vineyards. Only Saperavi may be used, the most widespread variety in Kakheti. ³ Rows are 1–3 m apart, vines 0.8–1.5 m apart and trunks 60–90 cm high. The grapes must reach at least 22% sugar, the yield is capped at 10 t/ha and a tonne may give no more than 650 litres of wine. Grapes may travel only in wooden or plastic crates, never in plastic bags. ¹

How it is made. The grapes are crushed and destemmed and fermented at no more than 30 °C; fermentation stops on its own or is halted by cold and sulphiting, and no malolactic fermentation follows. Raising the sugar with sugar, sweet concentrate or anything else is forbidden, and the wine is sold only in bottles. ¹ Georgian law defines naturally semi-sweet wine as wine from incomplete fermentation and bans adding sucrose or concentrated must to it. ⁴

In the glass. The specification asks for a dark red, harmonious, velvety and refined wine, pleasantly sweet, with fruity tones and the taste of Saperavi. It needs at least 10.5% actual alcohol and no more than 15.6% total, 18–45 g/l sugar and at least 5 g/l acidity. Volatile acidity is capped at 1.2 g/l and sulphur dioxide at 200 mg/l, and the sugar-free extract must reach 22 g/l. ¹

History. Until the 1940s Georgian wineries lacked the means to make stable semi-sweet wine. On 3 September 1942 wineries, research institutes and scientists met in Tbilisi to develop new technology, and the Academy of Sciences built modern wineries in several micro-zones, including Zegaani. Akhasheni, created by specialists of the state wine trust Samtresti, has been made since 1958, and by 1990 it had won 11 medals: 6 gold and 5 silver. ¹

Why it matters to you. The same villages, Akhasheni, Zegaani and Chumlaki, also lie in the Mukuzani micro-zone, which gives a dry Saperavi, so the name on the label tells you the style. ⁶ Akhasheni's sweetness comes only from the grapes. ¹ Thanks to the agreement with the EU, wine sold there under this name must come from Georgia. ² WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁵