Sunday reflection on Saturday's Visit to Chateau Mukhrani (one to two stops)

We had an amazing day on Saturday, no other way to put it.  Days start in Tbilisi just as they do in millions of cities around the world.  Typically Georgian "time" is like Unitarian Universalist time; an approximation allowing for interruptions and for the unplanned.  Yesterday fit that description for sure.  We had anticipated departing with Nia's sister Luisa at 11:00 but there was a tire going flat and more time needed to get it fixed in her community than it would have taken in Tbilisi.  We were picked up at around 12:30 and headed out for our adventure.

It was a very gray day with low clouds and it certainly appeared to be snowing higher in the hills.  As we made our way north and west of Tbilisi toward Mukhrani there were patches of snow on the ground as well as lots of snow in the mountains.  The purpose of our excursion to Mukhrani was to visit the Chateau Mukhrani vineyard for for some tasting.

The village of Mukhrani is old, according to a little research on the Internet;  2-4 th century is when the area's history began.  That seems less important as you drive the narrow main street following the signs for the vineyard.  What jumps right out at you almost as soon as you enter the village are the small stores or butcher shops where the critters are skinned, gutted, and hacked up.  We passed over a dozen of such shops before Marty asked to stop for photos.

Main Street in Mukhrani with at least three butching operations visible.

 

 

The man above has two plastic containers of "something" we are assuming from the butching process behind him.

 

Not your more sterile butching process you are used to.  But we asked why there would be so many shops like this in such a small town.  Lasha, Luisa's husband, said that the area was known for producing good meat and we strongly suspect that many restaurants buy their meat in this village.

Meat was not our reason for coming and soon we were back on track to the Chateau Mukhrani Winery to see the winemaking operations and for a sampling (and lunch).  Lasha works here as an expert vintner, so we got the best possible tour.  The grounds are immaculate as would be expected for one of the country's best vineyards.  The Chateau Mukhrani vineyard was going strong in the late 1800s and had an oroginal capacity of 1,200,000 litres and the wines even then were marketed and prized all over Europe as well as in the United States.  In 2007 the present owners began modernization into the first-class operation that we see today.  The wines coming from this part of the country are distinctive and differ quite a bit from those in the eastern, Kakheti region of Georgia.  We were anxious to visit as both of us enjoy Georgia's most famous product.

The Chateau is really too big to photograph with a wide angle lens, so this is what you get.

 

 

Barrels of aging wine destined for all over the world, under the Chateau Mukhrani label.

 

The huge vats where the wine is held for bottling.

Tasting and lunch followed our tour.  The food was incredible.  Marty had a hot cherry soup like anything she had ever had while David had trout with vegetables.  There were salads and other dishes all enjoyed!

 

Above, Marty's hot cherry soup with toasted bread for dipping.

 

Yes, we enjoyed ourselves.