🍇 Kisi

Kisi is a white grape variety from Georgia, number 6283 in the international VIVC catalogue. It is also known as Kissi, Maghranuli and Dampala, and its berries are used both for wine and as table grapes. ¹ Kisi is a traditional variety of Kakheti, made into dry white and amber wines. ²

Origin. DNA markers show that one parent of Kisi is Zakatalis Tetri; the other is unknown. ¹ According to the Ampelography of Georgia, Kisi is younger than the other Kakhetian varieties; in the vineyards it always grew mixed with Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane and went into well-known Kakhetian wines. ²

History. A survey of Kakhetian viticulture from 1896 does not mention Kisi. In the 1930s it was added to the standard assortment as a quality and promising variety, and in the 1940s a research institute described the form from the village of Magraani, on the left bank of the Alazani, as distinct and named it Kisi Magraani. ²

How it was saved. In the early 20th century the variety disappeared from Magraani; local legend says a farmer found the vine climbing a tree by a flooded river, cut canes and planted them. In Soviet times Kisi was not spread because of its small yields, so its survival is owed to local people. Today new vineyards alone exceed 100 ha, and they grow every year. ²

Where it grows. Kisi is grown throughout Kakheti and is allowed for white and amber Kakheti wine alongside Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane and Khikhvi. ³ The most valued Kisi comes from the Magraani micro-zone in Akhmeta municipality: the villages of Magraani, Pichkhovani, Argokhi and Babaneuri, with vineyards at 400–800 m. ²

Magraani's climate. The vineyards lie on the southern slopes of the Caucasus range, which holds back cold air from the north. There are over 2,050 hours of sunshine a year, an average of 12.2–12.4 °C, up to +40 °C in summer and down to −16 °C in winter, and 750–850 mm of rain a year. ²

The two Kisi Magraani wines. The dry white ranges from pale straw to pale gold, with notes of meadow flowers, apple, pear, peach and citrus; the dry amber ranges from golden to dark amber, with apple, pear and peach, and almond and dried apricot with age. The white has at least 11% alcohol, the amber 12%, both up to 4 g/l of sugar, from grapes picked at 19 and 20% sugar. ²

How the amber wine is made. The must ferments with the pomace in a qvevri at up to 28 °C and is stirred 4–5 times a day; after fermentation the qvevri is topped up with the same wine and left on the pomace until 1 February of the next year. The white is made from free-run juice at up to 20 °C. Yields are at most 8 t per hectare and 650 litres of wine per tonne. ²

Why it matters to you. Kisi Magraani on a label means wine only from Kisi grown in the Magraani micro-zone, marked as a protected designation; the amber colour and grip of this wine are not a fault but the result of long fermentation on the skins. ² Kisi can also be part of a white Kakheti blend. ³