Freddy R. Troya

8.9

Silk Road – Amber-Sec Semi-Sparkling 2022
Kakheti – Georgia 🇬🇪

Overview
A rare style, this is an amber wine made semi-sparkling and finished sec (off-dry). Produced in Kakheti, it combines Georgia’s ancient qvevri skin-contact tradition with a playful sparkling twist. (Educational note: Semi-sparkling wines usually have 1–2.5 bars of pressure, giving gentle bubbles rather than the intensity of Champagne.)

Aromas & Flavors
Apricot, dried orange peel, and candied ginger on the nose, layered with honey, tea leaf, and light floral tones. A touch of sweetness balances its earthy amber character.

Mouthfeel
Light-bodied with a soft effervescence — lively but not aggressive. Gentle tannic grip from skin contact, rounded by off-dry sweetness. Clean, refreshing, and slightly savory on the finish.

Food Pairings
Pairs beautifully with spicy Asian dishes, roasted duck with orange glaze, or Middle Eastern mezze. Also works well as an aperitif with aged cheeses or nut-based snacks.

Verdict
A fascinating crossover: the grip and depth of amber wine with the fun, festive lift of semi-sparkling bubbles. The 2022 vintage is lively, slightly sweet, and truly distinctive — both rustic and playful. 🍷✨

Did You Know?
Georgia’s amber wines are almost always still, making a semi-sparkling amber-sec highly unusual — a creative modern spin on an 8,000-year-old tradition.

Hidden Gem 💎
An amber-sec semi-sparkling wine from Kakheti is about as rare as it gets. This Silk Road 2022 shows Georgia’s winemakers aren’t just keepers of tradition — they’re also innovators. — 14 days ago

Norman

8.9

Different. Carbonated mix of vacuum-distilled beet molasses and Belgian saison yeast spirit, sour cherry, black currant buds, young pine cones, walnut wood, keemun black tea and macaw pepper. Made on Copenhagen, Denmark. — 5 years ago

Connor Smith

9.4

The 17th century saw an explosion of beverage options in Europe. Spirits were coming into their own, flavoring with hops was finally the standard for beer, and chocolate, coffee, and tea began flowing from overseas. Wine was no longer the only kid on the block, and had to offer something new to stay on top.

Sparkles in wine due to second fermentations were nothing new, but it was the leap in English glassmaking technology in the 1620s with coal-firing that allowed them to be harnessed. No longer would there be constant risk of bottles exploding from pressure, and bubbles came ever more into vogue - much to the chagrin of the great advocates of still blanc de noirs Champagne, Dom Perignon and the Marquis de Saint-Evremond. But there was no holding back the tide, and by the end of the century sparkling Champagne was the drink of choice for high courts across Europe.

(This is adapted from notes for Le Dû’s Wines ‘History of Wine 1453AD-Present’ seminar, where this wine was poured.) — 6 years ago

Daniel M

9.0

A biodynamic, organic, no sulfites, low intervention pinot noir from Alsace that's not just gimmicky but also a superb juice and has a complex structure. Where do I sign? I must confess that I don't really care for the esoteric aspect of biodynamic wines and I really don't like the philosophical background of the founder of biodynamic principles. But I like a good wine when I taste one and this one is clearly up my alley. Cherry, cherry liqueur, earth, black tea, bramble, soy sauce. The nose is quite complex ! The palate is pretty broad and bright, with sparkling notes of black cherry and cherry juice all along, great width, a super soft and nice mouthfeel that is disturbed by surprisingly playful tannins that give a gentle drying effect on the tongue, before a nice, juicy, slightly drying finish that goes on for a while and shows a bit of a mentholy touch, as well a tiny savoury note in the very end. I can taste the wine 30 seconds after having swallowed a sip. For around 25 EUR in equivalent local currency you get a serious alternative to a nice village Burgundy PN, that is showing concentration but focus too, bright fruit but complexity, layers of complexity and a savoury twist in the end. Give it at least 30 minutes in a decanter to shine and exhale a bit of co2. Great stuff! — 3 months ago

David Kline

9.1

Motor oil monicker is apt for this black beauty. Big top springs into action in latte tones, and is pulled back to the viscous tar. Tea leaves lacing slide slowly to obscurity. Licorice and chai nose flecked with sparkling candies ginger and an array of mints. Medium heavy mouthfeel lifted by ethereal spices flaunts cardamom, clove, allspice, nutmeg and citrus oils, dark sugar and coffee notes framed by oak and buried vanilla. Sticky finish lingers; pair with ginger snaps. Must be fall.
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#hiwire #hiwirebrewing #hiwire10w40 #hiwireimperialstout #chaibeer #abv #stout #imperialstout #ncbeer #beer #bier #biere #birra #cerveza #cerveja #darkbeer #motoroil #chai #10w40 — 4 years ago

with Courtney

David Kline

9.3

Offering a color between iced tea and cream soda and a cottony head with active wellsprings, and adhesion like shaving soap that slowly unravels to spun sugar pile linings. A nose of raspberries, dried and plump, balsamic peppers, a yeasty barnya. rd echo, blood orange entwined with cherries atop a cedar plank. There is a grilled brackish eel skin, pepper and bright citrus keeping it all diurnal. Grape leaves around peeled, ripe, white grapefruit, bing cherry, blood orange, tangerine, lime seeds, bay leaf, lemon verbena and broken orange pekoe. — 6 years ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.0

If you’re looking for a non-alc alternative that you can sip out of champagne glass and actually enjoy - this is really good! — 10 months ago

Emily Kresie-Harrington

9.0

2020 vintage. Orange sparkling Pinot Gris-Muscat. Medium-bodied, mild funk and leesiness. Dried apricot, dried mango, green tea, dried chamomile, straw, dustiness. — 3 years ago

Sarah

9.5

Eistee mit Sprudel — 5 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.1

Alpine sparkling goodness. No dosage. Floral elements abound, some tropical fruit, white tea and biscuit dough. One of the more distinctive sparklers I’ve tried outside of champagne — 5 years ago