Tsitska, Chkhaveri, Dzelshavi & Aladasturi, Imereti, Georgia
Bastien Warskotte came from a winegrowing family in Champagne and worked at wineries around the world—including Nova Scotia’s very own Benjamin Bridge!—before falling in love with his now-wife Nino Gvantseladze and starting Ori Marani in 2016. Focusing on regional varietals fermented in traditional clay amphora qvevri, their wines not only speak to the 8000-year legacy of Georgian winemaking but the new wave of winemakers putting Georgia on the map. Each grape is vinified separately in qvevri and old French oak with a portion done semi-carbonically, then blended with additional aging and lightly filtered with no fining and a touch of sulphur. Bastien calls this “a wink to better days that come after winter,” the first gasps of spring after a long winter, somehow bottled into an herby and singular rosé! Almost like a savoury, botanical Provence-style rosé with benefits – hibiscus, corn husks, cranberry-infused water, tangy rhubarb, dusty white florals & bitter lemon pith with a whiff of ginger & shaved button mushrooms. Put a chill on it, drink during golden hour, ride off into the sunset & have the happiest ending!
