The next installment of CB Pantry Raid, a series in which our walk leaders give a guided tour of the local pantry and discuss the staples that have sustained their communities over the years, features Paul Rimple, our Tbilisi bureau chief, who will be talking all about wine from Andro Barnovi’s marani (wine cellar) in the Shida Kartli region. Tune in on Thursday, May 21, at 10 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) on Instagram Live.

Paul and Andro will talk grapes and discuss a bit about the region’s significance in Georgia’s wine culture (Shida Kartli is also home to Samtavasi Marani, a winery that conjures magic from chinuri grapes, and the sleepy village of Garikula, Paul’s summer retreat). Wine obviously plays an important role in Georgia, as any glance at our deep archive will tell you. Paul has written about winemaking in Kakheti and Samegrelo, wine bars in Tbilisi (including a wine cellar in the sky), natural wine festivals and even the art of the Georgian toast. It’s also a subject that features heavily in our multi-day Georgian culinary adventure and in our CB Book Club, which includes Q&As with noted wine authors Alice Feiring, Simon J. Woolf, Lisa Granik MW, Miquel Hudin and even the filmmaker Emily Railsback.

To join the live video on Thursday, head to our Instagram account. When we’re live, the Culinary Backstreets profile picture will appear with a colorful ring around it and the word Live. Tap our profile picture to view the live video. When our live stream ends, the video will be available to watch on IGTV.

By 
Culinary Backstreets
, photos by 
Justyna Mielnikiewicz

Published on May 19, 2020

Related stories

Join our Tbilisi walk to bone up on Georgian wine
October 12, 2019

Vino Underground: Wine Heaven

Tbilisi | By Paul Rimple
TbilisiÈnek poured a rosy-colored splash of wine into our glasses, avidly explaining how this particular Aladasturi grape vine was meticulously cultivated in its native west Georgia. In a tasting ritual uncommon in Georgia, we swirled it, sniffed it and savored the flavor as it caressed our tongues. Here in the “cradle of wine,” the land…
Get a crash course in Georgian wine on our Tbilisi walk
October 7, 2019

Wine Harvest 2019: Grape Expectations in Samegrelo

Tbilisi | By Paul Rimple
TbilisiWe used to spend a lot of time in western Georgia’s Samegrelo region when breakaway Abkhazia was our beat. Zugdidi, the regional capital, was our overnight stop coming and going across the river to the disputed land in the north. Our local friends would welcome us with Megrelian hospitality, decorating their tables with hearty and…
March 4, 2016

Old Town and Beyond: A Tbilisi Silk Road Feast

Food Tours | By Kristo Talakhadze
Food ToursQuick bite: On this Tbilisi food tour – an epic day of eating – we’ll explore the delicious roots of a cuisine that developed over centuries of Georgia being a juncture on the Silk Road. Our day begins where Tbilisi got its start millennia ago, by the natural hot springs in the oldest part of…