Activities and cultures of Batumi. Acquaintance with the culture of winemaking. The head of the "Garage Wines" establishment is Ziya Haidarov.

«Garage Wines»

In the grandfather's garage, which was converted into a wine cellar, they are engaged in the dissemination of Georgian culture and wine, they sell consumer culture. As a result of their activity, they want to get a lot of attention to natural Georgian products. There is one good trend called "slow food, slow kitchen", which calls for using in cooking the food that grows nearby, and not the one that gets frozen from other countries.

Zia does not work with wine and cheese suppliers, but directly with their producers. He wants to understand the production itself, the very process of cooking products. To convey to your friend that there are really natural products in this institution, you should simply say that there is unfiltered wine here, and you can even understand this by feeling: the taste is richer, it is much more intense, more complete, the aftertaste is longer. Alcohol is made in the traditional Georgian way.

They also explained to me that fortified wine is the one in which alcohol is added so that the drink does not spoil. The Portuguese traveled across their seas and oceans, and they had their own wine, but it began to deteriorate, and the only way to save it was to add alcohol. That's how port appeared. And dry wine is the one in which the residual sugar content is less than 5 grams per liter.

Residual sugar is the sugar that remains after the grapes are plucked due to incomplete completion of the fermentation process carried out by yeast. The speed of the process depends on the temperature, the environment. Dry wines contain up to 5 grams of sugar, semi-dry from 5 to 15 grams, and semi-sweet and sweet more than 15 grams per liter.

You don't need any serious medical or higher education to understand that the products that grow next to you are grown without the use of industrial fertilizers, pesticides, and pesticides. They are much more useful than those that grow and consume different chemical compounds.

The main target audience is the local population and tourists. Both categories usually become victims of globalization, and when they come to the store, they meet exclusively industrial wines, cheeses, teas and do not know that they have a wonderful assortment of natural products at their side.

Wine tasting, according to the man, is not an easy process. If you are going to drink white wine, then your stomach should be full, or you need to have something to eat. Because this type of wine has high acidity and your digestive system will turn into a war zone if you drink it on an empty stomach. And as for red and pink wines, it is enough to wash them down with water to make a qualitative transition from one wine to another. It is better to drink white wine during the day, red wine in the evening, and pink wine can be consumed at any time of the day.

Wine is usually eaten with cheese, and cheese is washed down with wine for the reason that both of these products are enzymatic. If you make the right combination, then you will feel the shades of a particular taste more intensely.

Creating a garage

The idea came all the time when Zia and her friends in restaurants did not find the kinds that they would like to try or when the wine turned out to be of inadequate quality, but it was not cheap at the same time

The essence of wine is its proper storage, serving, consumption. You need to understand what to do, when to do it and why to do it. It is necessary to show proper attitude to a living, natural product. I would like to get the appropriate natural product in the country that is the ancestor of winemaking. That's why the man decided to take the initiative into his own hands.

Programs

Various programs are held in the garage: tastings, where a person is given to taste 2 types of wine for free, specifying his preferences in characteristics, master classes on wine love, where they teach how to evaluate wine, store and consume it. The same programs are held with cheese tasting, of which there are 3 types in the institution: suluguni, miruli, smoked suluguni, semi-smoked or non-smoked. Some types of cheeses have the status of a UNESCO tangible cultural heritage. There are also events dedicated to Georgian traditions. You can get an unforgettable experience, a genuine feeling when you can sit in the company of Georgians, sing songs with them, drink real Georgian wine, taste natural dishes.

Instagram Facebook and Instagram social networks can provide all the information on the cost in the menu or in the social networks. A set of 5 wines costs 15 lari, a master class for one person costs 25 lari. If there is a dinner party, then depending on the dishes, the price will vary from 25 to 35 GEL.

In the future, it is planned to introduce programs related to the history of Georgia, with what kind of people live in it. It is possible to conduct trips to tea plantations, where tastings, excursions to Georgian sights will be held, and in the evening stories about winemaking, where kvevri will be shown and there will be a tasting, a feast.

This institution differs from other similar ones in that here visitors are provided with an informed choice. A person himself tries what can suit him, and not what is given to him without the right to choose. Since the main contingent is the local population, the prices are very affordable for excellent quality.  

The number of participants in the program depends on the format they choose. There used to be tastings, where there were 150 people. The garage has a lot of locations, due to the fact that Batumi is a very beautiful city, therefore a wonderful atmosphere during tastings is provided. The question is about time. For example, a master class takes about 45 minutes, a tasting takes half an hour. But the experiment with the experience of a Georgian evening, a feast, so that a person can feel the genuine Georgian atmosphere, is usually carried out in groups of 15 people and lasts long enough. At the time of shooting, Garage Wines has 2 tasting rooms, but depending on the number of visitors and demand, new ones may appear.

The artists who sing and dance here are ordinary people who have free time and are ready to devote themselves to hobbies. Their performances are much more pleasant to watch than the activities of those people who play, for example, at weddings, and I want them to finish faster. Immediately watching them is a pleasure.

We were also told about Georgian etiquette. They told me how it is more convenient to hold a glass so that you don't have to reach too far. Zia's task is to weed out everything unnecessary and leave those traditions that are the main ones in tasting wine, cheese and other natural products. For example, it is impossible to hold a vessel with white wine with two hands, because by this action it only warms up, which is unacceptable for a drink whose temperature should be within 11-15 degrees. But you can keep red wine like this: its serving temperature is from 15 to 19 degrees, so sometimes you even need to hold it with both hands to bring it to an optimal state faster, when you can feel all its tastes and aromas.

Wine without decanting, without oxygen enrichment, will not be ready for consumption, so you need to let it breathe. And for this process, it is necessary to hold the glass correctly, at the top or by the leg itself. The more the wine is enriched with oxygen, the richer its taste will be, the more the aromatic components will be revealed. But, again, it all depends on the wine. If the wine is 1.5 years old, then you can safely leave it open all night, by noon the next day it will be perfect. There are special devices - decanters, which are designed to increase the contact surface with air, so that the wine is saturated with oxygen faster.

Zia told about the characteristics of the wines. In addition to the two main ones, price and quality, there are several other criteria: acidity, sweetness, strength, tannin and body. These items can be specified when ordering wine, then you will be brought a drink with such characteristics. But the taste moments are individual. There is no need to look for some high notes, you can call everything by its proper name.

A recess at the bottom of the bottle is made to collect noble sediment, so it is easier to estimate the amount in the bottle. If you put your palm up and notice that the sediment is only one finger, then the wine is normal, and if more, then you already need to think whether to drain the sediment or not, change the bottle or not. This method allows you to find out how much the wine is contaminated.

In industrial production, 70-90% of the cost goes into the bottle, and the rest goes to the wine itself. If the drink is of high quality, then the cost of the capacity is from 40 to 60%. In the garage, sterilization takes place, as with real winemakers, which is why there is a considerable saving of money, and the wine is cheaper at the price, but still has high quality.

The garage is engaged in the sale of consumer culture and Georgian dishes, feasts. Here you have the opportunity to touch simple authentic Georgian dishes, recipes that you can use wherever you are, and they will be useful to you in life, unlike complex dishes of European countries. Here you can buy wine, cheese, honey, tea, books.

And now briefly on each item

1. The main audience is those people who are trying to get a state of altered consciousness without using any prohibited substances. Because these products are enzymatic and with their specific use, a person can enter a state of altered consciousness, into which he can introduce the right combinations of cheese and wine, tea and wine. This condition can be adjusted. It has a lower and upper bars. If you don't have a snack or drink wine, you can step over the top bar that you are striving for, then you will already be far from the truth because of the intoxicated state. And if you drink wine or jam, then the altered state can last for many hours.
2. Through posts on social networks or during the tastings themselves, Zia tells people about wine. It is always mentioned here that the truth lies in the balance that must be observed when drinking this drink. Wine should always be washed down with tea or water, or have a snack with cheese. An altered consciousness can be obtained from one glass, but only first you need to eat half of what you usually eat during the period of drinking this drink.

Ziya Haidarov wishes our viewers to remain true to their traditions and be a little closer to the truth, to become victims of any trends of globalization, to be closer to the moment and the land where you are.

I want to come back to Garage Wines again and again, as well as participate in the events held there.

If after watching the video, you have any questions personally to Zia or his team, please leave them in the comments under the video.

See you soon.

Garage Wines - 8 Mazniashvili str., Batumi