When the cafés closed, so, too, it might be imagined credibly, did a piece of Georgians’ cultural soul. Discussions of the roots of Georgia’s ancient wine industry, its emergence in recent years as a pioneer in organic techniques, its award-winning appearance on much of the global wine table—and of Georgia’s distinctive cuisine marked by unique regional variations and adaptations—inevitably find a way into most conversations of both Georgians at home and visitors to Georgia who have returned to their own countries. Georgia is many things, and among the foremost are wine and food.
As Georgia re-opens, these important parts of its economy have begun to spring back to life, and with them the society they encompass. “I don’t miss Georgian food as much as I do the revelry I associate it with,” notes food critic Paul Rimple. “We sit at the table because there is no better place to be with the people we love. Our closest friendships in this country were made at the dinner table, sharing food from communal platters, keeping our wine glasses topped off and making heartfelt toasts (or not). Shkmeruli doesn’t taste the same without hearing a chorus of carnal moans, “Oh my god this is SO good!” Small wineries, expecting a bumper year of tourists before the pandemic broke, are eagerly awaiting the first travelers.
Georgia has stepped up to the challenges caused by the pandemic in ways that will make its many cultural, culinary, and geographic treasures available to tourists, just in new ways. It will not rebrand so much as recalibrate. Those seeking to exercise their muscles as well as their intellects and imaginations will find plenty to do, for example a stunning walking tour of Tbilisi, or a hike along the new Transcaucasian Trail.
And for those who cannot travel far this summer, Georgia’s delights are soon re-opening outside of Georgia, for example in Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C.