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Georgia

It is fall when we are in Georgia. It is grape picking time for wine.

More grapes on the way to the crushing site.

In Tbilisi our hotel is walking distance just around the corner to the tasting room and bottling plant of the Duruji Valley Winery. For generations, Georgia has taken pride in its distinction as the birthplace of wine. Now, aided by emerging archeological findings and material evidence, many of the world’s most noted experts agree. The recent discovery of 8,000 year-old grape seeds and remains of vines sealed inside ancient clay vessels only reinforces Georgia’s position as the world’s cradle of viticulture.

Duruji Valley Wines feels strongly that when tasting their wine, the consumer should be able to feel, taste, and smell the unique features of the place in which the vines were cultivated, to get acquainted with traditions and history that are connected with the vineyards, and to embrace the traditions and customs of the vineyard's ancestors.

Many years ago the ancient wine cellars were used to store the wine in the ground to age the wine.

Old and the new systems for aging the grapes to make the best wines.

Oak Barrels lie on their side for aging.

Hand placing the labels on each bottle.

Automated filling the bottles with wine and sealing each bottle with a cork..

I was told the average monthly income in Georgia is the equivalent of $410 US .

The Duruji Valley Wine company only produces special and traditional wines that have the right to bear the place of origin's name and identity. Now for the best part of the tour ... sampling the various Reds and whites wines.

Let's see now which one of these was my favorite. I think I need to taste them one more time.

Specialty bottles for sale too.

Georgia is situated where Europe meets Asia. It is surrounded by the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the east. Despite a compact footprint, Georgia spans a broad range of elevation as it climbs from the shores of the Black Sea to the soaring peaks of the Caucasus mountains, Europe’s highest mountain range.

Each city in Georgia has a Modern Glass Building designed for that city. This building is referred to as the "Peoples House" A one stop for everything.

Gremi was the capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Church of the Archangels was constructed at the behest of King Levan of Kakheti in 1565 and frescoed by 1577. It is a cruciform domed church built chiefly of stone

Tsinandali Estate is in a village in Kakheti, Georgia, noted for the estate and its historic winery which once belonged to the 19th-century aristocratic poet Alexander Chavchavadze . It is situated in the district of Telavi, 79 km east of Tbilisi.

After David Chavchavadze’s death, due to the failure to pay the debt to the Russian Public Bank, the estate passed to the property of the Imperial family. The Tsinandali garden was renovated in 1887 and passed to the state in 1917. In 1947, the estate was organized into a museum.

George W Bush highway in Georgia

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