Hope you're well. Sorry for being so busy... I promised a letter about a month ago and you've probably haven't noticed, but there hasn't yet been one.
So, to make up for it, I'm going to try and compensate my negligence with a story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNEOl4bcfkc
Monday is my favorite day of the week. I have a busy work-hours and then I get to lecture at the University. I texted my college friend Salome to come and present at my class for students. Her workplace finances researchers to do what they usually do and I thought it might be interesting for class of "Research Methods" to understand how the system works. Afterwards, I was planning to suggest to visit this newly opened wine bar close to the university.
Name: "8000 Vintages" (and it's not the thrift shop/vintage shop you should be thinking about right now)
Location: Tsintsadze Str. 26 (a.k.a. Saburtalo Street)
Open: from 11 in the morning till 11 in the evening
I wish you knew night streets of Tbilisi. Not the ones cramped with tourists but the ones where real "Tbilissians" live. These streets get quiet by twilight. Cars don't roar anymore. And you suddenly start noticing the houses above closed shops, life above the first floor, trees (who have lived here far longer than people)... You'd be able to imagine actual moms cooking dinner for their small families, in their modest condos; children - watching TV; elders, trying to squeeze a word or two and start a conversation about something they heard on the news earlier that day (which they tried to memorize to seem interesting again)...
And in the town where everyone runs somewhere, there's one place where you're never late.
I admit, I might be slightly biased because my friends have been planning to open "8000 Vintages" for more than few years now. But I promise, I won't be long.
You enter the store and it's much bigger than you had imagined. Walls are covered with plain shelves where dark bottles stand and quietly listen to the city going back to sleep.
Oh, and the effortless charm of "8000 Vintages"...
I won't bore you with lengthy talks about servers who have invested much of their time testing, tasting, trying, reading, studying and loving the wines. I've never wanted to buy something without history. And here you're able to dive deep into the flair of each bottle. One should not only study the taste but the soul of the wine. Don't laugh and blame me. I'm just and average Georgian and like many others (who have accidentally been born at this tiny piece of land) I take a great pride in representing the continuous 80-century-process of wine-making. That's why I bombard servers with questions each time.
"8000 Vintages" explains why you should be drinking wine instead of bottled Martini with a meticulously pointed pinkie. Don't get me wrong, I'm married to Martini but every once in a while I slip back into love with Wine. The bar puts special emphasis on the ART of Feeling the drink. However, I've not always been this sophisticated wine-lover. For years I was convinced that it was an evil drink which turned even the most serious man into a faun (not a great look, btw). But only people who can or want to truly breath-in the culture should visit the shop. It's not how much you can DRINK but how much you can APPRECIATE. I took one of the cheapest bottles and I can honestly say that for an hour, I was having a serious relationship with that chubby glass of red semi-sweet. And let me assure you, it hasn't been a one night stand either (have you ever noticed how some bottles are better than most people?!).
The whole concept of the store revolves around Class (and that's with a capital "C"). It's not a barrel-house you're sitting in. Put a nice shirt on, groom yourself, for "8000 Vintages" is a temple of refined art. This is the place of subtle intimacy and exceptional traditions.
Do me a favor and don't go alone. Take your friend, take your lover, take your foreign guest or take your mom (if you must) and try the cheese board (or a fish-board, or dry fruits). Ask questions because for once in your life you might actually get useful information from a server, owner or a wine expert who might just casually be hanging out at next table. You won't have to pay much (in fact, prices are well below the touristic "chic" Leselidze "standards") but don't be cheap and tip generously. And days seem pointless without a glass of sensual exposure to life. Or even better - a BOTTLE!
"8000 Vintages" has yet to become another "hot spot" in town. And if you're lucky you might be able to spot Nina Ananiashvili, the living treasure of Georgia, sitting in an ordinary chair, sipping an ordinary wine, as though she's an ordinary woman.
I don't really remember how I got back home. And at this point I'm too afraid to ask.
I've always believed I was far from being Jerry (the mouse, MGM) but I honestly dreamed about cheese all night.
Ever thine,
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