Georgia is a country located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region, bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north and east by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. – Wikipedia
This is Amber wine, made exclusively in Georgia. It is made in clay barrels which are dug into the earth. It uses production methods unlike any in Europe. It is neither red nor white. It is Amber.
Forgive me, dear reader, for the extended summer vacation. You last found me in Reykjavik, recovering from a heavy evening with a stranded group of geologists (collective noun for geologists? Answers on a postcard, please…). Since then, a successful journey to London Heathrow ended in the long-awaited reconnecting with family and friends that was way overdue.
And then, the Fit to Fly PCR test and, days later, the inevitable drive to the airport. But wait. What was this? No post holiday malaise? No impending sense of dread? All I felt on that flight was a contentendness that I had achieved my summer goals. So did this mean that I was, in fact, ready to go back?! I was no longer an expat newbie, the novelty had worn off, the honeymoon was over. The flight landed, I got in the taxi outside Abu Dhabi International Airport, felt the blast of A/C after the stifling August air, and made a pleasing discovery.
I was glad to be back.
Well, apart from being electronically tagged at the airport and put under house arrest (quarantine) for 7 days. Everyone I explained this system to in the UK refused to believe it was happening (imagine the reaction if Boris introduced this to the Great British Public) so I include the necessary photographic evidence….
Since my return to Abu Dhabi something has definitely changed, both within your blogger and within the Emirate. Things are, very slowly, getting back to normal, both in school and in the city. But, the icing on the cake of good hope…travel is opening up.
I was detagged, the first half of term flew by, and half term was quickly upon us. A Teacher Abroad was conceived as a diary for my travels in school holidays, so it seemed like a good idea to get down to business. Like anyone trying to go anywhere in the ‘new normal’ I took to Google to peruse lists of where was possible. And then one day in school a colleague said “we’re looking into Georgia.” My somewhat surprised response was met with “no but you’d love it, the wine is meant to be incredible.”
A seed was sown, and it grew. Reykjavik had raised the interesting new travel category of ‘alternative travel destinations that have come about due to Covid restrictions’ and, after a quick Google, it became apparent that the wine rumour was true. Furthermore, Georgia was one of the most emerging tourist destinations of the last few years…
And so, after 3 distinctly average hours on Fly Dubai (the budget airline of Emirates) I found myself in Tbilisi, capital city of Georgia. It is described as ‘the gateway between Eastern Europe and Western Asia’ and was also part of the Soviet Union until 1991 when it regained its independence. This makes it somewhat of a cultural melting pot and this is immediately apparent in the architecture. Look one way and you see conventional European buildings, the other and there are signs of the Middle East. Round the corner and you will be staring at a sheet of post-soviet concrete. However the photos, taken on my first day exploring the city, show why tourism has boomed in the last 3 or 4 years.
Convivial as this was, the idiosyncrasies were also becoming apparent. My hotel, brilliantly located right in the bustling Old Town, was that most excitingly 21st Century of concepts: a boutique hotel. I am a fan of boutique hotels; they are independent, quirky, more personal, less faceless corporate chain. But in this particular case the definition of boutique seemed to mean living in someone’s house. It was certainly habitable, however in the bathroom, for reasons best known to them, the shower floor was pebbled…
So now (with slightly sore feet) to the wine. Surely the rumour must be somewhat exaggerated? Not one bit. Georgia is reported to be the oldest wine making nation in the world: there was archaeological evidence found recently to prove wine was being made in the region 8000 years ago. So why has no one heard of it? Because they still use traditional, organic methods which do not lend themselves to mass production. My Abu Dhabi friend Sam Bingham (Bingers) who was, by happy coincidence, in Tbilisi at the same time, invited me to a wine tasting session at a very high-end wine store in the city.
(Fake news. His sophisticated, bilingual, cultured girlfriend invited me. Bingers, on the other hand, has no interest in wine whatsoever and insisted on WhatsApping me throughout the tasting telling me he wished the wine expert would stop going on so we could get pissed).
Our sommelier informed us that large scale production would compromise the quality of the wine and so they (for the most part) choose not to export it. I would have to enjoy it whilst I was here and so a very happy afternoon was spent sampling…
Tasting done, an early night was needed as the following day, my last in Georgia, I had booked an all-day sightseeing and wine tour. The tour company had WhatsApped me with an itinerary: we were to leave Tbilisi at 9am, returning at 9pm. A traditional bakery for breakfast (freshly baked Georgian bread and the saltiest cheese on the planet), a nunnery, a hilltop village, a traditional Georgian lunch (with wine) and, after lunch, 2 winery tours. All for the princely sum of around £25. Our tour guide, George, was superbly well-informed and the whole day had to be about the best value I have ever had for money…
The next morning, weary from my grand day out, I had time to lie in and reflect on my weird and wonderful Half Term Minibreak before an afternoon flight back to the UAE. But not before a final walk around the Old Town in pursuit of coffee, during which I happened upon a final flourish of eccentricity…
The wine is Amber. The cheese is salty. Very salty. PCR tests are done in a caravan and the shower floor is pebbled. I am returning to a city that strives like no other for absolute perfection; for now, I will love this place for not doing so. For doing things in exactly their own way. Marilyn was right; it is way better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. Georgia: you were not absolutely boring.
A Teacher Abroad 