25 Oct Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Sherma Family Wine 2020 Krakhuna, Imereti, Georgia
My week in the Republic of Georgia was based in the capital city Tbilisi and the neighboring Kakheti wine region, the dominant wine region of Georgia. But with an 8000-year history of making wine and 525 indigenous varieties, wine is made across Georgia. While I did not travel to Western Georgia on this trip, I was introduced to a wine from Imerti in Western Georgia at my lunch at Restaurant Satatsuri in Tbilisi. It was the Sherma Family Wine 2020 Krakhuna. I was so enamored with this wine that I brought a bottle home with me and it is this week’s Please The Palate wine of the week.
About Sherma Family Wine
Sherma is a family winery owned by the Shermadini family. They are located in Imereti, a region situated in the central-western part of the republic. It is the most populous region in Georgia and home to the historical capital of Georgia. Shota Sgermadini is the owner of the winery and the winemaker, as well as an accounting manager for an audit, accounting and consulting company. While the family has been producing wine for generations, they started producing wines commercially in 2020. They are a small winery focused on making natural wines using native yeasts without filtration and in the traditional Georgian style.
About Krakhuna
Krakhuna, which means “crispy” in the Imeritian dialect, is indigenous to Imerti and mostly grown in the central part of the province, around the villages of Sviri, Obcha and Dimi. It is a late-blooming variety. If produced in the European style, it can be a full-bodied, straw-colored white wine with notes of apricot, banana and honey. When produced in qvervi, the wine is a deep amber color with stone fruit and herbal flavors and a tannic backbone. It is a wine that has great aging potential. Interestingly, Krakhuna is also eaten as a table grape.
Tasting Note
The Sherma Family Wine 2020 Krakhuna spent 30 days on the skins. The resulting color is golden brass. The wine is very aromatic with floral and vanilla notes, as well as aromas of orange zest, apricot, apple, and banana. On the palate, the wine is light-bodied with a fresh lift and soft tannins.
Food Pairing
The Sherma Family Wine 2020 Krakhuna is a very food friendly wine with tannins and texture that can pair with a variety of dishes. It is wonderful to have a wine that is so amenable to multiple dishes and I enjoyed the wine with two dishes. First, I drank it with pumpkin soup with Feta cheese and chicken that had a little bit of spice. And then I enjoyed it with Tashmijabi with beef and berry sauce. Tashmijabi is like mashed potatoes but is mixed with lots of cheese. The wine worked with both the creaminess of the Tashmijabi and the tartness of the pomegranate.
I am looking forward to drinking the bottle I brought home with me and seeing what other foods it will pair with.