The Chinuri vinyards are located in Mukhrani, Kartli. The soil is brown alluvial, with sandstone and lime rock. The Chinuri grape is a rare endemic Georgian variety praised for its refreshing tones of pear and introspective minerality.
About the Winery:
All of the wines at Pheasant's Tears are fermented and aged in qvevri.
Pheasant's Tears qvevri vary in age but, some date back to the mid 19th Century. The winery built their cellar in the vineyard itself to minimize the damage to the grapes in transportation, allowing them to harvest and press before the hot hours of the sun. It is usually a question of hours before the harvested grapes are already pressed and in the cool qvevri.
In accordance with Georgian traditional winemaking methods, the ripest of stems are added to the grape skins, juice and pits, for both reds and whites produced by Pheasant's Tears. The maceration time depends on varietal and the size of the qvevri and varies between 3 weeks and 6 months.
Since all of Pheasant's Tears' wines are aged exclusively in qvevri, no flavors are imparted from oak barrels. What some might consider a lack of oak, the winery views as an opportunity to let the quality of the grapes and the resulting wine shine through.
