Artizani - Salomé Andrazashvili, Irakli Gvaramia & David Mgeladzé
We are 3 young winemakers believing in a world where the future belongs to minimal intervention wines. Artizani grew out of our passion of natural winemaking. We want each bottle to reflect the raw essence of the grapes and the soil it comes from.
The grapes are handpicked from vineyards of high elevation in the Kakheti region. They are gently crushed with stems removed. To fully extract its rich phenols and flavours, the must is macerated with skins during 5 to 18 day primary fermentation on wild yeasts. Fermentation temperature is maintained at 18-25C in stainless steel tanks. Depending on the vintage, we choose between punch-downs and pump-overs, which we do every 4 hours during the primary fermentation. Once the primary fermentation is over, we separate the macerating juice from the solids and allow spontaneous malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks. No addition of SO2 or any other preservatives during any stage of winemaking.
As we do not have our own vineyards yet, we work with trade grapes. Every year, we carefully select the vineyards based on their quality and viticulture practices. Our aim is to ensure that the natural balance in the vineyard and the surrounding area is well taken care of, with no use of synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Once the vineyards are selected and the harvest dates are agreed, we take charge of hand picking the grapes with the help of our friends and family. Bunches are collected in small baskets, preventing berry contusions and crushing, and then transported to our wine cellar.