red grape · regional staple
Tavkveri
Kartli, Georgia
Say it
tahv·kwehr·ee
The 'vkv' consonant cluster has no English equivalent; run the v and kv together as one quick cluster.
On the palate
red cherryraspberrypomegranateearthdried herbsblack pepper
How you spot it blind: bright sour cherry and high acid with barely-there tannins; Georgia's Beaujolais
The story
First written down · 19th century, Georgia
A 2014 genetic study (Springer) found Tavkveri and Saperavi were each independently domesticated from distinct wild Vitis sylvestris populations, unlike most other Georgian cultivars which share a single origin.
Where it lives
Kartli, Georgia · Kakheti, Georgia
Shows up as
still redrosésparklingorange