The Qvevri Soul & the Georgian Renaissance

The story of Pheasant's Tears begins with a painting — and a song. John Wurdeman, born in New Mexico and raised in Virginia by artist parents, was drawn to Georgia from a young age after being introduced to traditional Georgian polyphonic folk music by an exchange student he met in high school and later married. After college, he moved to Russia for graduate studies at the renowned Surikov Art Institute. While there, he visited Georgia for the first time in 1995, returning the following year to help a friend harvest grapes and to explore the traditions of harvest time through his art. A fateful visit to the village of Sighnaghi convinced him to move there; in a matter of weeks, he bought a house overlooking the Alazani Valley, which included a small vineyard and orchard.

John and his first wife soon separated; he remained in the village and later met his second wife, Ketevan Mindorashvili, who grew up there and is a specialist in local folk music. It was Ketevan who introduced him to Gela Patalishvili, a local farmer and winemaker whose family's connection with wine goes back eight generations. The two met in 2005 when John was painting in a vineyard — a moment of artistic and viticultural destiny. They decided to work together, and in 2007, Pheasant's Tears was born.

The winery's name is a nod to a Georgian folk tale, which states that only a truly superlative wine could make a pheasant cry tears of joy. From the beginning, John and Gela's aim was clear: to create wines that honor and represent the land and culture they both love dearly, with a focus on ancient techniques and vessels. They would track down and revive near-extinct native grape varieties from all around Georgia — a country home to over 500 indigenous varieties — and ferment them in qvevris, the traditional clay amphorae that have been buried underground in Georgia for 8,000 years. Organic farming practices and minimal intervention in both the vineyards and cellar have been integral to their mission from day one.

Today, Pheasant's Tears works with hundreds of ancient varieties that they sought out and initially propagated themselves. John has had an indelible impact on protecting and promoting Georgian wine: in addition to Pheasant's Tears, he founded Tbilisi's first natural wine bar, Vino Underground, in 2010, and helped found the country's Natural Wine Association. The winery has expanded beyond its Kakheti base to vineyards in the western region of Adjara and the volcanic terroir of Samtskhe-Javakheti. The Pheasant's Tears restaurant in Sighnaghi — John Wurdeman's first — has become an independent experimental culinary hub, led by chef Gia Rokashvili, who adapts the menu daily to what the forests, rivers, and meadows offer. It is more than a winery; it is a cultural movement — a dialogue between nature and man, a fine tension between respect for the past and creating a new experience for tomorrow.

At Pheasant's Tears, the winemaking philosophy is rooted in the most ancient continuous winemaking tradition on earth. All wines are fermented in qvevris — traditional clay amphorae lined with beeswax and sunk into the ground — using natural yeasts. The qvevri is not merely a vessel; it is a way of being, a relationship between wine, earth, and time that has defined Georgian viticulture since the Neolithic era. The wines are made with no fining, no filtering, and low to no added sulfur dioxide — a level of non-intervention that would be radical anywhere else but is simply tradition here. Slightly different techniques are used to make each wine: some have moderate skin contact, others have minimal (3 weeks to 6 months). Stems are included. It is all decided by taste — John's palate, Gela's instinct, and the voice of the grape itself.

John notes that qvevri wines seem to age faster than conventional wines — not because they are less stable, but because the qvevri accelerates the natural development of complexity and integration. The clay breathes, the beeswax protects, the earth insulates, and the wine finds its own path without the need for oak, steel, or technology. This is not nostalgia; it is functionality — a system perfected over 8,000 years that produces wines of extraordinary depth, texture, and longevity. The qvevri method is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Pheasant's Tears is one of its most passionate and articulate guardians.

"Rkatsiteli Tibaani" — The Introductory Amber: The Rkatsiteli Tibaani is Pheasant's Tears' most accessible and joyful amber wine — an introductory Georgian wine that is drinkable and fresh with light tannins from the skin maceration and minerality coming from the terroir. For John, the shorter maceration is very food-friendly: you don't lose the flavors of apricot, dried fruit, ripe fruit. It's easy-going and very fun. The grapes come from the "Golden Belt" of Tibaani — sandstone and quartz soil, hot and dry by day, cool and windy by night. In the 2024 vintage, the grapes spend just 10 days macerating on skins, producing a peachy-toned wine with nice grip and texture but easy drinkability. Grapes are picked on the earlier side to keep good acidity. Salty on the nose; flavors of peach tea, apricot, and a pleasant bitterness. In the 2022 vintage, gently destemmed and crushed into qvevri, macerated for one week, racked off the skins, then racked again in 6 months and aged in stainless steel for one year before bottling. Serve at 12–14°C. Drink young to medium term. ~€18–€26 / ~$20–$28 USD.

"Rkatsiteli Bodbiskhevi" — The Direct-Press Revolution: The Rkatsiteli Bodbiskhevi is Pheasant's Tears' most surprising and revolutionary white — a rare expression of Rkatsiteli without skin contact, born from necessity and kept by love. "We broke away from the dogma of the region in this one!" John explains. "In 2014 we had a drought, and the skins of our Rkatsiteli grapes were scorched by the sun. So we did a direct press, a Rkatsiteli without any skin contact, and we absolutely loved it. We've been making it ever since." The grapes come from Bodbiskhevi — "gorge of Bodbi," an important pilgrimage site from the fourth century — where 45-year-old vines grow on carbonic alluvial soil with sandstone and quartz, lime rock and sea-floor fossils deeper down. The 2024 vintage is harvested early and direct-pressed into stainless steel using a pneumatic press. The result is a rare expression of Rkatsiteli without skin, letting its shy fruit side and subtlety come through. Sea floor soils impart oceany minerality — salty and nutty alongside super-bright pear and stone fruit. John finds it reminiscent of some Catalonian macabeos. "I found that if you pick early enough, you can get this incredible shy beauty from the grape — almost quiet aromatics like in a pear. It's a really fresh, pretty, fruit-forward wine with umami backbone that's even been described as seaweedy." Serve at 10–12°C. Drink young. ~€18–€26 / ~$20–$28 USD.

"Kisi" — The Classic Amber: The Kisi is Pheasant's Tears' most classic and substantial amber wine — "one of our most classic styles of wine for the region," John says. Made from 100% Kisi from the Tibaani vineyard, the 2023 vintage undergoes whole bunch gentle crushing, then maceration on the skins in qvevri for 6 months. It is racked into a new qvevri, where it is aged for one year before bottling. The result is a beautiful, hefty and hazy amber orange with notes of apricot. Kisi is both a tannic and very aromatic grape, and its skin maceration makes for a more grounded black tea profile with almost Biryani-like spiciness. "Kisi with skin maceration becomes grounded, more handsome, has more substance," John explains. "With its structure, this is a style of wine that's entirely made to go with food — all of a sudden the tannins become a certain firm resistance that can embrace the punches of intense flavors. This is not the wine for your pre-dinner aperitivo!" Pair with Thai, Mexican, Indian, and other cuisines with strong character. Serve at 14–16°C. Age 5–15 years. ~€22–€32 / ~$24–$35 USD.

"Khikhvi" — The Six-Month Maceration: The Khikhvi is Pheasant's Tears' most intense and deeply textured amber wine — a wine that pushes the boundaries of skin contact to its logical extreme. The 2023 vintage undergoes whole bunch maceration, with all skins and all stems gently crushed, then macerated on the skins for 6 months before being racked into a new qvevri and aged there for one more year before bottling. The result is a wine of extraordinary depth, tannic grip, and aromatic complexity — a wine that demands food, demands attention, and demands patience. Khikhvi is a grape that rewards prolonged maceration with a transformation from fruity to profound, from simple to symphonic. It is the kind of wine that makes you understand why the Georgians have been burying their amphorae for 8,000 years — because the result is unlike anything else on earth. Serve at 14–16°C. Age 5–15 years. ~€22–€32 / ~$24–$35 USD.

"Saperavi" — The Semi-Carbonic Red: The Saperavi is Pheasant's Tears' most powerful and structured red — a wine made from Georgia's most famous indigenous variety, a teinturier (red-fleshed) grape that produces wines of immense depth and concentration. The first vineyard at Pheasant's Tears was the 12-hectare plot in Tibaani, which had 4 hectares under Saperavi vines. Saperavi is a powerful tertiary grape and Tibaani is the hottest, driest part of Georgia. The semi-carbonic maceration helps lighten the extraction and give more finesse to the otherwise broad-shouldered variety. The 2023 and 2024 vintages use 4 different clones of Saperavi from 25-year-old vines. Grapes are hand-harvested early. 70% are de-stemmed and crushed after cooling down to minimize extraction, with the other 30% remaining whole-cluster. The two are combined in qvevri for semi-carbonic maceration, after which the juice is pressed off and moved into different qvevri. The wine is racked several times before finishing aging in stainless steel. The 2023 vintage offers fresh acidity balanced with strong tannins, black currant and dark red fruit. "2023 was quite reserved," says John. "There's a certain evolution of flavor here that's interesting and complex." The 2020 vintage is dark and earthy, with notes of plum, black currant, and smoke. Serve at 16–18°C. Decant. Age 5–15 years. ~€20–€30 / ~$22–$33 USD.

"Vardisperi Rkatsiteli" — The Pink-Skinned Mutation: The Vardisperi Rkatsiteli is Pheasant's Tears' most delicate and beautiful amber-rosé — a wine made from a rare, pink-skinned mutation of Rkatsiteli that the estate was one of the first to bring to international attention. The name translates to "like a rose," and the wine lives up to it: the amber cousin to a rosé, with a gorgeous pink-copper color and notes of dried flowers, rooibos tea, sea salt, and crunchy berries. Fresh and ocean-y with nice grippy tannins. The 2024 vintage is hand-harvested, de-stemmed, and spends 3 weeks macerating on skins. "This is a really pretty wine," John says. "It fits that category of being light, drinkable, approachable — there's something delicate and attractive about it both in color and in flavor." It is a wine of grace and charm — proof that even within a single variety, nature can produce extraordinary mutations that deserve their own stage. Serve at 10–12°C. Drink young. ~€18–€26 / ~$20–$28 USD.

"Poliphonia" — The 150-Variety Field Blend: The Poliphonia is Pheasant's Tears' most ambitious and experimental wine — a field blend of 117 recognised indigenous Georgian varieties and 40 more that John and his team are still researching, given to them by the Ministry of Agriculture to help preserve and research indigenous grape varieties. It is a co-plantation and co-fermentation of a mix of yellow, green, pink, red, purple, and blue varieties — a dayglow spectrum of color and texture. "Poliphonia" is the Greek word for "many voices at once," and refers to a style of structured harmonic singing in Georgia — it is also the name of John's restaurant in Tbilisi. The 2024 vintage is macerated on skins for 10 days, fermented and aged entirely in qvevri until bottling after one year. The result is stewed red fruits in brown butter — salty and fresh yet decadent. The palate pairs vivid, transparent fruit with strong tannic structure. Darker in color than the 2022 vintage thanks to a riper year and longer skin contact; a great pairing for meat dishes. The 2022 vintage was direct-pressed into qvevri, then racked into stainless steel 6 months later, aged for one year, then bottled — citrusy, skinsy and wild, with tea-like tannic structure. Serve at 14–16°C. Drink young to medium term. ~€25–€40 / ~$28–$44 USD.

"Tsolikouri" — The Imereti White: The Tsolikouri is Pheasant's Tears' most linear and mineral white — a wine from the western Imereti region that demonstrates the extraordinary diversity of Georgian terroir beyond Kakheti. The grapes come from the village of Shuagora in the Vani region, on clay and limestone soils not far from the Black Sea — an area where tea and citrus are also grown. It is a relatively humid climate with soils that naturally have low pH, providing the wines with a beautiful acidic backbone. The 2022 vintage is made by direct soft press, free-running juice, fermented and aged in stainless steel for 1 year, then one year in bottle. The result is a beautiful, linear, straightforward wine, reminiscent of Chenin in its good acidity, fit body, and rich salty minerality. It is proof that Georgia can produce whites of genuine elegance and precision — not just amber wines of power and texture, but delicate, crystalline expressions of place. Serve at 10–12°C. Drink young. ~€18–€26 / ~$20–$28 USD.

"Chkhaveri" — The Adjara Light Red: The Chkhaveri is Pheasant's Tears' most playful and pretty light red — a wine from the remote highlands of Adjara that captures the lighter, fresher side of Georgian viticulture. The vineyards are planted in a region where vineyard traditions were weakened by centuries of repeated incursions from Turkey, revived in collaboration with John's godson, Jambuli Disamidze. The 2021 vintage comes from clay and granite soils at 500m above sea level, in mountains near the Black Sea. The grapes are harvested by hand, then destemmed and gently crushed into stainless steel. After one week of skin contact, the grapes are removed from the skins. Fermented and aged in stainless steel for one year, followed by another year in bottle. The result is a playful and pretty light red, Jura-style — fresh, vibrant, and utterly charming. It is a wine that speaks of the Black Sea, the mountains, and the resilience of Georgian viticulture in the face of history. Serve at 12–14°C. Drink young. ~€20–€28 / ~$22–$30 USD.

"Quinta" — The Kartli Revival: The Quinta is Pheasant's Tears' most historically significant and musically inspired wine — a revival of rare and nearly-extinct varieties from the Kartli region, famed to be the home of the royal vineyards of the East Georgian regents. In Soviet times, the region was designated for fruit orchards due to poor soil. Pheasant's Tears and a few other small domains revived rare varieties such as the whites Goruli Mtsvane, Chinuri, and light reds Danakharuli, Shavkapito, and Tavkveri. "Quinta" is used in Georgia as a musical term to describe an interval of 5ths — untempered 5ths are a recurring harmony in Georgian polyphonic songs, the very music that brought John to Georgia. The 2021 vintage is a blend of Goruli Mtsvane, Chinuri, Danakharuli, Shavkapito, and Tavkveri from the village of Mukhrani, on sandstone and gray clay. Destemmed and gently crushed into stainless steel, macerated on the skins for 1 day, then racked to stainless steel for 24 months before bottling. These five varieties are co-planted, co-picked, and fermented together — a symphony of voices in a single wine. Serve at 12–14°C. Drink young to medium term. ~€22–€32 / ~$24–$35 USD.

"Soif da Vsvam" — The Volcanic Field Blend: The Soif da Vsvam is Pheasant's Tears' most exotic and mineral-driven wine — a blend of 16 ancient indigenous varieties from the volcanic terroir of Meskheti. The Meskheti project was launched to explore the rare and exotic soils of the southern region, where high elevation (1,000 metres above sea level) and volcanic rock create great minerality and airy quality in terraced vines on the bank of the Mtkvari river. The 2022 vintage is a blend of Khikhvi, Meskhuri Mtsvane, Akhaltsikhuri Tetra, Bezhano, Tskhinis Dzudzu, Kharis Tvala, and Chitis Bude from the village of Khirtvisa, on volcanic soil of pink and black basalt. Destemmed and gently crushed into stainless steel, macerated for 1 week, then racked to stainless steel and aged for 9 months before bottling. It is a wine of otherworldly character — proof that Georgia's viticultural frontier extends far beyond the familiar names of Kakheti. Serve at 12–14°C. Drink young. ~€22–€32 / ~$24–$35 USD.

"Phoenix's Tears" — The Catalan Collaboration: The Phoenix's Tears is Pheasant's Tears' most playful and collaborative wine — a pét-nat (pétillant naturel) made in collaboration between John Wurdeman and Nuria Renom from Les Cantarelles in Catalonia. Two close friends who wanted to make bubbles together. Every year it is a bit different — one pét-nat or a couple cuvées, always in very limited quantities. The 2022 vintage is a field blend of the same 117+ indigenous Georgian varieties from the Poliphonia plot, direct-pressed into qvevri, then racked into stainless steel 6 months later, where it ages for one year until bottling. It is a wine of joy, friendship, and cross-cultural creativity — proof that the Georgian wine renaissance is not an isolated phenomenon but part of a global community of natural winemakers who share a common language of authenticity and experimentation. Serve well chilled at 8–10°C. Drink young. ~€25–€35 / ~$28–$38 USD.

"Rkatsiteli Mtsvane Tibaani" — The Flor-Developed Amber: The Rkatsiteli Mtsvane Tibaani is Pheasant's Tears' most sophisticated and food-friendly amber wine — a 50/50 blend that John calls "probably the darling of the 2024's." The wine develops a tiny amount of flor, giving it a slight oxidative note that makes it food-friendly, easy-going, and approachable. And for such a young wine, it has quite a long, developed, almost mature palate. The grapes come from Tibaani — sandstone and quartz soil, a very dry, hot area, technically a semi-desert. The 2024 vintage is hand-harvested and macerates for 3 weeks on skins. The wine then ages in qvevri for 6 months where it develops a small amount of flor, before being transferred to stainless steel in the spring. Racked twice for gravity filtration and bottled in June. The result is sophisticated and mouthwatering aromas of caramel and honey, orange blossom, honeysuckle, sea salt, and apricot; marmalade on the palate. "Mtsvane is more floral, with exotic aromas — while Rkatsiteli is more stoic, more quiet, more structured," John explains. "And I think they lend something to one another; the Rkatsiteli gives the Mtsvane a touch more structure, and the Mtsvane has this beautiful aroma but suspended across the Rkatsiteli so it's not too overwhelming." Serve at 12–14°C. Drink young to medium term. ~€20–€28 / ~$22–$30 USD.

Vessels & The Cellar: The Pheasant's Tears cellar in Tibaani is a place of both ancient tradition and living innovation — a space where 8,000 years of Georgian winemaking meet the creative energy of a global natural wine movement. The winery is equipped with traditional qvevris — beeswax-lined clay amphorae buried underground — for fermentation and ageing of the majority of wines. Recently, stainless steel has been incorporated for selected cuvées, particularly those from western Georgia where the maritime climate and lighter style benefit from the precision of temperature control. The combination of vessels allows John and Gela to match each wine to the container that best complements its character: qvevri for the amber wines of Kakheti, where skin contact and earth contact create the signature texture and depth; stainless steel for the fresher, more delicate wines of Adjara and Imereti, where purity and precision are paramount. All wines are made with hand-harvested grapes, natural yeasts, no fining, no filtering, and low to no added SO2. The cellar is cool and dark, the qvevris buried deep in the earth — the perfect environment for the slow, patient transformation of grape into wine. There is no rush, no forcing, no excessive manipulation — just the natural evolution of the must, guided by indigenous yeasts, ancient clay, and the passage of time. As John says, "Traditions here are seen as the nourishing soul for improvisation and respectful evolution."