There are always these fascinating stories in the wine world about established managers or industrial magnates who succumb to a landscape and its wines, and for this very reason decide to swap their desk and their well-appointed job for a winery in that very landscape they love. This is exactly what happened to the German industrialist Burkhard Schuchmann, who travelled to Georgia as a student and fell completely in love with this unique landscape. In 2008, his dream of owning his own winery came true, but Schuchmann is not just a winery that has long been celebrated as one of the great up-and-comers in Georgia, it is a world of wine experiences in its own right. The winery includes a remarkable hotel, a spa, swimming pools for the warmer seasons, a restaurant where you can enjoy Georgian specialties and, of course, tasting rooms where you can experience Georgian wine first-hand, for example by tasting old vintages or wines that could only be produced in strictly limited editions. The entire facility is a gem, located not far from the provincial capital of Telavi. Burkhard Schuchmann pursues a chateau concept similar to that found in France. He is assisted by Dr. George Dakishvili, an oenologist who is considered by experts to be one of the best in the country. The vines are planted on three specially selected vineyards, which have proven to be ideal in terms of their exposure to the sun and microclimate. The indigenous varieties Saperavi, Rkaktsiteli, Kisi, Kindzmarauli and Mtsvane are cultivated, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon. In the cellar, the common standards of Western Europe, as Burkhard Schuchmann knows them from Germany, for example, are combined with the almost 8,000-year-old methods of Georgia. This is why you can find modern wines matured in steel tanks or barriques as well as those fermented and stored in the classic Qvevri. Schuchmann has earned an excellent reputation when it comes to wine in the few years he has been in the wine business here.
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