Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Peaches? No, Grapes!

My colleagues on the staff of the Senate Democratic Caucus in Olympia have been very enthusiastic about my upcoming journey to The Republic of Georgia...

They keep telling me to have fun in Atlanta, and asking for me to bring back some peaches and an autograph from Anderson Cooper at CNN...

But I'm going to "the other Georgia" - the one named after Saint George, not King George.

Of course, that begs the question: Exactly what does one bring back as a souvineer from the Republic of Georgia?

For those in the know, the answer is obvious - wine!

Yes, believe it or not, the Republic of Georgia is known for its wine - at least in that part of the world.

In fact, Georgia has a history of winemaking dating back 7,000 years, and is believed to be one of the first places where grapes were cultivated specificially for winemaking.

While it doesn't have the reputation that other wine-producing nations have, I'm definitely looking forward to sampling some of the local product again - many of the meals I enjoyed during my mission last year in neighboring Armenia were accompanied with Georgian wine, and it was quite good if a bit sweet for my taste...

So - I've managed to bring back Albanian Konjak (cognac) and Armenian Ararat Brandy from my prior missions...

How about a nice bottle of Ojaleshi?

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