red grape · regional staple
Saperavi
Kakheti, Georgia
Say it
sah·peh·rah·vee
Georgian საფერავი means 'paint' or 'dye,' referencing the grape's rare red-pigmented flesh; stress falls on the third syllable
On the palate
black cherryblackberryblack plumblack currantlicoricetobacco
How you spot it blind: teinturier: both skin and flesh carry red pigmentation, not just skin
The story
First written down · 17th century, Kakheti, Georgia
One of the world's few commercially significant teinturier varieties, native to Georgia's Kakheti region, where it accounts for approximately 33% of national wine production.
Where it lives
Kakheti (Georgia) · Imereti (Georgia) · Moldova · Russia · Finger Lakes USA
Shows up as
still redsweetMukuzaniKindzmarauli