After lunch we headed down the Duruji Valley to the Kindzmarauli Winery.  There we took a tour of the entire wine making process.  We learned that there are 2500 different grape varieties in the world and that Georgia has over 500 of those grapes.  We also learned that scientists have now proven that Georgia has been making wine for at least 8000 years.  They were able to test the ancient clay pots, determine they had wine in them, and then date them back.  The traditional way of making wine in Georgia is by using clay pots that are buried under ground, allowing for a consistent temperature during the fermentation process.  Georgia uses both the traditional as well as the European style to make their wines today. The winery processes 3000 bottles of wine per hour!

We toured the winery and most of our group had a wine tasting from 4 of their premium wines, their most expensive bottle being $10.37 . . . sounds like quite the bargain, if you’re a wine connoisseur, which I’m not. I was in the air conditioned van with a bottle of cold water cooling off from the very, very hot weather we are having!

Tomorrow we visit a local farmers market, several monasteries, and another winery.