My Ojaleshi Story
BACK TO ROOTS
My fate has led me on the roads of many countries, however there comes a moment when you realize that your past, your experience and energy should be connected to something rejuvenating.
My father passed away in 2006 and I returned to my native village of Salkhino from distant Russia to pay my last respects. The village of Salkhino is located in the most beautiful part of Georgia, in Samegrelo, on the border of the foothills of the Western Caucasus and the mythical plain of Kolkheti. The blue strip of the Black Sea can be seen from the south yard of our old house in good weather, while from the north, the view is the dizzying panorama of the snowy mountains of Caucasus. The winding river Tekhuri brings crystal-clear waters from the Caucasus glaciers to the sea. At the edge of the village, another river Tsachkhuri joins Tekhuri. The source of Tsachkuri itself is located at the top of the mountain Kvibia and flows between the green-clad boxwood forest slopes. Here, in this green paradise, I recall my sweet childhood.
Then, while in the yard of our old wooden house with my beloved relatives and drinking in memory of my father, an old neighbour approached me and offered me a glass full of dark pomegranate- coloured wine. The wine had a wonderful deep fragrance and a taste of ripe cherries and strawberries. I instantly recognized the aroma of Ojaleshi. Soon I remembered that children with a fever had been given a small teaspoon of Ojaleshi as a medicine ... that was the taste of my childhood.
From that day on, my life has been closely connected with this unique Ojaleshi vine, which was almost on the verge of extinction, especially in our homeland - the fabulous Salkhino. God created this land so that it can play with the sun's rays and fill the grapes with its amazing, fragrant juice.
THE HISTORY
Ojaleshi is the oldest aboriginal variety of vine. Its name is related to the Megrelian word “ja”, which means tree. This is not surprising, since this rare vine, which irresistibly strives for the life-giving rays of the sun was grown by our ancestors on tall trees. The Argonauts who arrived in Colchis (modern Black Sea coast) for the Golden Fleece may have found trees covered with ripe bunches of black grapes, one of the many wonders. “Ojaleshi” means climbing, growing on a tree.
In 1848, Marie Brose, a famous French orientalist, visited the chief of Samegrelo, David Dadiani in Zugdidi. During his visit, he tasted the Ojaleshi wine, made from the grapes grown in Salkhino and wrote with admiration: “God knows what nectar is this "Ojaleshi... The chief treated us with great honour and asked for the eighteen- year-old wine to be served to us. I would only compare it to the most famous Bordeaux wines”.
The summer residence of the Dadiani clan used to be in Salkhino and we should be grateful to David Dadiani’s European education which contributed to the first Ojaleshi cultural plantation there.
Later Dadiani’s residence with its vineyards was handed over to David's daughter, Salome Dadiani and her husband Achille Murat, grandson of Napoleon Bonapart’s famous commander, the King of Naples, Joachim Murat. Achille Murat duly assessed the unique climatic conditions of the village and increased the area of Ojaleshi vineyards to 16 hectares. Murat engrafted the vineyards on phylloxera-resistant rootstocks, and this measure saved Ojaleshi from the destructive spread of an infesting pest from America. Under Murat’s special winegrowing practices the grapes were harvested late in the beginning of December, and fermented on chacha. Therefore, the wine acquired a special extraction, rich colour, flavour and depth, while the alcohol content reached 14- 14.50. In 1912 at the Paris Agricultural Exhibition bottled Salkhino Ojaleshi was highly esteemed and awarded a gold medal.
After the establishment of the Soviet Union, the collective farm in the village of Salkhino produced a limited quantity of the Ojaleshi brand of semi-sweet wines, and they were sent to special distributors of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Moscow. Under the conditions of the Soviet state-planned economy, this unique variety could not be widely produced, due to the fact that it was rather difficult to cultivate a relatively low-yielding and late grape variety of Ojaleshi. Instead, varieties like Tsolikouri and Isabella were mostly grown on an industrial scale throughout Samegrelo. Ojaleshi was practically on the verge of extinction. Years later, the Soviet Union also collapsed. The treasure of the land of Colchis - the unique vine of Ojaleshi - needed to be saved.
THE NEW LIFE
Since 2008 I have been running a family wine farm in my village, Salkhino. I started buying lands and cultivating Ojaleshi. In addition, I bought seedlings and pesticides for my fellow villagers who delivered the harvested crop to me in order to make wine.
Now that I look back on those first steps, I realize how ignorant I was. Our villagers no longer remembered the specific rules of how to take care of Ojaleshi. The grapes sometimes could not reach the required amount of sugar and they were rotting. Neither did we know the selection of soil properties thoroughly nor were the seedlings of the required quality. We made a considerable number of mistakes and learned from these bitter lessons.
However, along came 2015 and we were rewarded with an amazing harvest. I would not risk it anymore and took our grapes to Kakhetian winemakers in the wine cellar of the company “Besini” to produce Ojaleshi. Later on, this wine won the Grand Prix at the Tbilisi International Wine Festival, "Winexpo". I sent some bottles of the 2015 Ojaleshi to Italian specialists for analysis of the taste and from their reaction I realized that I was holding a real treasure. But this treasure required proper nurturing and enhancement based on scientific knowledge.
I didn't think twice about it - I travelled to Italy and started my studies at the Vicenza Agricultural University in Veneto. I gained fundamental knowledge about soils suitable for vineyards. I learned how to select rootstocks based on the results of soil analysis, to properly cultivate vines, to take care of them, and to carry out green operations.
I gathered a group of five enthusiasts in the village of Salkhino and we all travelled to Vicenza together to study agricultural mechanization and agro-technologies.
We were now ready to plant the exemplary vineyards of Ojaleshi in our homeland and to run a modern winery in order to start a new life for the ancient Colchian vine. We wanted to make the highest quality European wine in the cellar.
OUR WINE – THE HARMONY OF GEORGIAN LAND, SUN and WINDS
On the outskirts of the village of Salkhino lies a small plateau where tea plantations used to be cultivated. The locals call this hill “Legale”. The plateau is exposed to the scorching rays of the subtropical sun all day, but from the limestone mountains of Askhi, where the alpine pastures are spread out, a cool and dry breeze called “Maskur”, is constantly blowing here during the day. This breeze blown from the Alps balances the hot and humid climate of the Colchis lowland and offers a vital force to this place by creating a unique microclimate. During the morning and evening hours, a light, cool wind starts blowing from the gorge of the river Tsachkhuri. That is the exact secret of Salkhino's unique microzone, which is ideal for Ojaleshi grapes.
We assumed that from the viewpoint of this microclimate and exposure, “legale” in the area of Salkhino would be the best place to grow Ojaleshi. This opinion was confirmed by our Italian consultants, our friends - agronomist Roberto Albertini (the owner of the company “Sosieta Agricola Montespada”) and winemaker Celestino Gaspari (the owner of the company “Zyme”).
After that, we started cultivating the soil. The plateau was ploughed several times. In fact, the entire village was involved in extracting the tea roots from the soil. From the streambed of a small river Vakha, we brought crushed limestone gravel and mixed it into the acidic soil of “Legale” - 1200 tons per hectare. We repeated this procedure the next year, this time adding up only 400 tons of white per hectare. We have been preparing the soil for more than 4 years in total. Now everything was ready to receive Ojaleshi seedlings.
Today, in the village of Salkhino, on an area of 8 hectares of the “Legale” plateau, we have planted about 45,000 vines and we have a fully prepared and technologically equipped winery for receiving and processing grapes. During the process of wine making, two excellent Georgian enologists - Archil Lobzhanidze and Giorgi Barisashvili – together with the Italian colleagues offer their professional advice and supervision.
Great wines are not born somewhere, by chance. This occurs only where a set of unique climatic and geological conditions creates a rare equilibrium. Such a place is Salkhino, especially the terraces of Legale, which is a unique vineyard environment for Ojaleshi.
Similar to Achille Murat, we also delay harvesting of the grapes - in late November, and sometimes in early December - when the water content in the juice decreases; when the clusters are saturated not only with the rays of the scorching summer sun, but with the golden autumn sun too. The half-year solar energy accumulated in the juice gives special properties to the wine.
We have bottled the “Ojaleshi” of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 vintages. These are dry, red wines with a very exceptional, highly extractive, unique aroma and rich taste, which are distinguished for their harmony, elegance and lingering flavor.
Do you want some advice? Respect the aroma of Ojaleshi and leave the remaining drops in the wine glass unwashed overnight! In the morning the room will be soaked with the airy scent of grapes!
See you soon with glasses full of “Odjaleche” wine in your hand!
Klimenti Kekutia
Wine maker
Odjaleche Ltd.
Georgia, Municipality of Martvili
The village of Salkhino
06.10.2020
