Amlakhu
Amlakhu - is a red grape, lightly-spread Abkhazian vine type; from its grapes we make high quality golden-pink table wine.
Among the local vine-growers and in special vine-growing Literature, Amlakhu is known variably as: Achkik, Achkirk (V. Cherniavski, 16), and also as Amlaxuji, but in this case in error as this latter is grown in the village of Abgarkhuk, but is blackgrained and different from real pink Amlakhu. For this reason it was also called Shavi Amlakhu.
Amlakhu is a local old-type of vine. It originates from Kolkheti’s cultural vine types. With its morphological and agricultural features, Amlakhu belongs to the ecological-geographic group of the Black Sea (proles pontica, subpr. Georgica Negr). It stands closer to Abkhazian vinetypes, more correctly, it is their typical representative. We do not have any information about the time of its origin. According to academician Iv. Javakhishvili, we do not have any information about Georgian agricultural history before the period of the 13th century. But the fact that Amlakhu was well known from the 18th century gives us the basis to think that it is an older type of vine. In the history of agriculture, Amlakhu was first mentioned by V.Cherniavski, K.Madjavariani and others. In their work is given a short description of the type and characterization of its production, wine and grape.
Different authors differently explain the origin of the type. K. Madjavariani, maybe because of the similarity of the words, considers that Amlakhu was taken from Amilakhvars. This consideration does not conform to reality because Amilakhvars’ vineyards were located mainly in Kartli, and a late type, such as Amlakhu, would not be able to ripen in the Kartli environment and so it could not be spread there. Linguistic analysis of the name can give us a clearer answer about the origin of the type.
The name “Amlakhu”, according to the explanation of the academician S. Janashia, is an Abkhazian word which means “hungry meal” in Georgian. Perhaps Amlakhu bore such large and sugary bunches, that its one bunch was quite enough to satisfy a hungry man. It is obvious that not only the bunch of Amlakhu has such character, but in this case, more important is that the origin of this name is local, that gave us basis to consider it as a locallyoriginated old-type like other Abkhazian types.
It should be mentioned here that several different types of vine are known as baring the name of Amlakhu, such as: Pink Amlakhufemale with flowers, Pink Amlakhu- hermaphroditic with flowers, and Shavi Amlakhu. A more complete description is given in the work of Professor T. Kvaratskelia, where he remarks that Amlakhu is spread in the form of some roots in the mountainous part of Gudauta. Its flower is functionally female. Bunches are long, quite dense, cylindrical or cone-cylindrical. Grains are middle-sized, oval, and dark pink. V. Cherniavski characterizes Amlakhu in the following way: „It is a notably Abkahzian type; lightly spread. Its berry is large and round; we make from it an excellent golden-pink wine.“
Amlakhu is planted in the 171st row of the ampelographical collection of the Institute of Viticulture and Enology. It was received from the collection vineyard of “Magarachi” (Crimea), where- in the distant past - more than 12 vine types were brought and cultivated, among them Amlakhu and Apapniji from Abkhazia. Amlakhu was imported from Crimea, but in old times exported from Abkhazia. It is a typical Abkhazian type in its morphological and agricultural characteristics, and is mostly similar to the Amlakhu that was described in Gudauta by Professor T. Kvaratskhelia, only different from it in its hermaphroditic-type flower. As regards Shavi Amlakhu, it is very different from Pink Amlakhu. In old times it was grown in the village of Abgarkhuk but is now cultivated in vine-growing base of the village of Akhalsopeli as several roots. Shavi Amlakhu is so different from the Pink that it has nothing in common except its name and that it is very much similar to the type of Atseiji.
Thus, we should find out which Amlakhu is the original; the one described by Professor T. Kvaratskhelia or the one cultivated in the collection vineyard of the Institute. These two types are extremely similar to each other. They have almost identical downiness of flower, size and shape of bunch, and size and color of grain. They are mainly different from each other in the shape of flower and grain. According to Professor T. Kvaratskhelia, it is oval, but according to V. Cherniavski it is round. By our observation we find berries of both shapes, but large berries are mostly oval in shape.
We consider that, especially during pruning in high formation when in the period of blossoming, cross-pollination is difficult because of frequent rainfall and so it would be difficult to select the female type of Amalkhua for wide industrial spreading. On the other hand, the two existing similar types, different only in their flower type, makes it permissible to cultivate them together. Thus we can admit that Amlakhu consisted of two similar types- a mixture of female and hermaphroditic.
Such mixtures were more frequent in old vineyards than in purevarieties plantations. This is in accordance with V. Cherniavski, who gave instruction that Amlakhu wine was not made of only one type of grape. Because of this, the female Amlakhu will be elaborated upon and characterized and the hermaphroditic Amlakhu will be briefly described according to observations in Kakheti.
To restore the Kolkhis type, historically known as a sparkling wine, it is necessary to cultivate together two types of vine named Amlakhu, to separate them from each other during harvest and to test the quality of the wine both separately and together, with various relativity, to establish the quantitative relativity of real Amlakhu and its components.
According to T. Kvaratskhelia and K. Machavariani, Amlakhu was widespread in Abkhazia, especially in Gudauta and Sokhumi. It was grown in almost all villages in Gudauta, but most frequently in the village of Akvaskemtsa - in the yards of the former Abkhazian leader. Because of the spread of fungal diseases and phylloxera, Amlakhu became totally extinct, and could not even be found in the vineyard base of the village of Akhalsopeli.
Only in recent years (1947) were several roots of Amlakhu found; in villages of Gudauta: in Dzirkhvasa, Durifsa and Kulanurkhva. The largest quantity of Amlakhu (three roots) was preserved in the village of Akuaskemtsa, abandoned and attached to a tree.
The local base-point was charged with taking care of and reproducing the type for plantation in the Experimental collective of Amlakhu.
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Botanical description
This type is botanically described in the village of Akuaskemtsa. It is a tree climber and is abandoned. During the creation of a monograph this type was used in Abkhazian vineyard bases headed by Tabidze.
The leaf
Grown leaves of Amakhu (9-12) are of average size (17 x 16cm), rounded, rarely slightly oval, or kidney-shaped. The blade of the leaf is thin and straight and has a dark green color. Often, leaves are three-lobed rarely can we see almost unlobed whole leaves and more rarely five-lobed leaves. The surface of leaves is smooth with net-like wrinkles.
Upper incisions are light and of average depth. The shape of incisions looks like the letter V or is lyre-like with a rounded shape; we rarely see intruded angle-like shapes. Very rarely we see spindle-shaped closed incisions.
Lower incisions are weakly developed. They often have intruded angle-like shapes. Lower incisions are usually weakly depicted.
The shape of sprout incisions varies slightly. We often see open lyre-like shapes with rounded basis and, rarely, almost-closed oval-shaped incisions with acute basis.
The main leaf lobes end with triangular teeth, we rarely see arch-like shapes of teeth. Lateral teeth are serrated and one side is convex and has an acute tip.
The down of the underside of leaves, according to its size and location on the length of shoot, varies significantly. The down of grown leaves on middle tiers is quite thick. It consists of spidery thin hairs and quite thick straight-standing bristle-like down. The down of leaves increases from top to bottom.
The petiole of leaves is shorter than the main lobe; rarely is it equal to the length of the main lobe. The petiole has a light green color and a pinky tone. It has no hairs and is accompanied by an almost unnoticeable web.
The flower
The flowers are a functionally feminine type. Stamens are short and curve under pistils. Pistils have a narrow cone-like shape and their connection to the small receptacle is almost unnoticeable- because of this, the throat is not well depicted.
The bunch
Bunches are larger than average. The length of bunches varies from 16 to 22cm; their width from 6 to 12cm. The average size of a well-developed bunch is equal to 20x8cm. Bunches have mainly narrow cone-like shapes, rarely cylindrical-cone-like, and more rarely still, cylindrical shapes. Bunches are mainly dense and medium-dense. The density of a bunch depends on the weather: during flowering, in the case of frequent rains, because of complicated free-pollination, bunches become sparse. The average weight of a bunch is 120 - 150g and the amount of berries in a bunch varies from 80 to 120. We often see smaller-than-average, rounded, incomplete berries. Petioles of bunches are grass-like, but to the basis get rough and gains the shoot color. The length of bunch-petioles is 4-5cm. The petiole of berries is green, with a length reaching 0.7-0.8cm. The receptacle is wide and cone-like. It is covered with small wrinkles. Grains are closely attached to the petiole and do not easily separate.
The grain
Grains are of an average size. The length of a berry varies from 1.5 to 1.7cm and width from 1.4 to 1.5cm. The size of an average berry is equal to 1.60x1.45cm. Grains are mainly oval, incomplete, while those less-than-average size are rounded. The tone of berries is motley and uneven. In the same bunch we can see light pink and dark pink berries. Undeveloped berries are green, and turn dark pink when fully ripened. The skin of berries is thin but dense and does not easily separate from the soft flesh. The flesh is plump, crunchy and not so juicy. The juice is light pink. The taste of berries is sweet and cheerful. It has a weakly depicted typical aroma.
The seed
The number of seeds in a berry varies from one to three. On average there is 1.6 seeds in one grain. The length of seeds is 7.0mm, and width 4.6mm. Seeds are dark brown with a yellowish tone on the tip. The kalaze is located in the upper side of seeds, and is elongated and slightly inwards-curving. The Ghartafi from kalaze to the basis of the seeds is quite wide and divides the seeds almost into two parts. The abdomen of the seeds is curved; the cleft through the scar deep and narrow, and with an orange basis. The length of the tip is 2mm, and it is of a cylindrical-cone-like shape. On its upper side it has a light brown color and inside it is orange.
==Agro-biological description
The vegetation period and course of phases
The vegetation period of Amlakhu is long: its bunches ripen late. Its grape usually ripens at the end of October and the beginning of November. According to the old rules of harvesting, Amlakhu was picked in November-December, when the leaves had fallen and the trees were often covered in snow.
According to the observation that was conducted in Akuaskemtsa in 1947, abandoned Amlakhu ripened on 15.X. At that time, the amount of sugar in the grapes reached 20%, and acidity 9.8%. According to these findings, Amlakhu belongs to the fourth period vine type.
Strength of vine growth
Amlakhu cultivated in high places grows strongly. Almost all authors consider Amlakhu as a strong growing vine. Nowadays, such pruned Amlakhu, as there is in Akvaskemtsa, is strongly built: its long, quite small shoots wind round and cover large trees.
The productivity
The productivity of Amlakhu, as well as conditions of climate and soil also depends on the vineyard being cleanly planted or whether it is a mixture; cultivated on lowlands or high. From this can be explained the diverse views of the different authors towards productivity of Amlakhu. For example, Timophev considers Amlakhu less productive, Kvaratskhelia- medium-productive and Machavariani: productive. More precise information about the productivity of Amlakhu was given by Tabidze, the former head of the base-point of Abkhazian viticulture. According to his notifications, in the farm of landlord Ribo, Amlakhu was cultivated on lowlands of 3 hectare. The vines were pruned and decorated following the bilateral Georgian rule: 2-2-8-10 budding support and 2 x 2 budding remaining cane. Vines were separated from each other in rows, and rows were also separated from each other by two arshin. In conditions of the above-mentioned feeding area and care-treatment, productivity of Amlakhu varied during some years from 2 to 4kg, which per hectare amounts to 100-200 centners of grape. It is clear that such uncertainty in productivity is caused by a lack of fertile vines or by uneven distribution. In the village of Akuaskemtsa, according to the observation of some roots, productivity during vine abandonment on trees and bad treatment does not exceed average. If we take this into consideration, it will be clear that by planting female and hermaphroditic Amlakhu in turns in rows, and by the timely and good treatment of the vineyard, productivity can be significantly increased. For this, it is first of all necessary to inculcate rules of pruning and shaping that conform to the biological features of the type. In old times, it is known that Amlakhu was selected to be cultivated at height and in this case it gave abundant and qualitative production. So, first of all a rule of pruning must be selected to give the vine the right loading. From pruning rules, the most suitable for Amlakhu is multi-lateral wallpaper; a basin-like shape with three to four cordons with cutting ring. The mentioned shapes and experiments to cultivate female and hermaphroditic Amlakhu together, will at last show the real Amlakhu and reveal the best rule of pruning. All this will be the basis for the restoration of production of an historically known high qualitative, habitual sparkling wine.
Durability against pests and fungal diseases
Comparative durability against fungal diseases and phylloxera has not been studied well. According to observation by a number of authors, its durability against iodium when it is cultivated at height is weak. Tabidze mentions its relatively weak durability against mildew in the period of flowering. Durability against phylloxera is less studied. Its early degredation in conditions of high cultivation will be inconclusive to the theory that it is susceptible to phylloxera, because vines cultivated at height are in any case more often destroyed by fungal diseases.
Observation of its durability against other pests and diseases has not been conducted; it is clear they do not seriously harm the vines so their role was not mentioned.
Response of varieties to different environmental conditions
Because of the light spread of Amlakhu, information about its durability against frosts, droughts and other meteorological factors is not available. Its spread in particular villages and high places in old times indicates the necessity of using such places during restoration-cultivation of Amlakhu.
Agro-tecnical characteristics
Mechanical structure of grape
Bunches of Amlakhu have a beautiful external appearance, but the density of bunch, average and uneven size of grain, chemical consistency of juice, and mechanical structure of bunch indicates an advantage of its use for making wine.
According to the analysis done by agronomist Tabidze, grape, taken from the village of Abgarkhuki, has the following consistency. (See Table 1).
As we can see from the data shown in the table, Amlakhu is characterized by the features of a wine type, particularly through the quite high outlet of juice.
Chemical structure of juice
The juice of the Amlakhu grape is characterized by quite high sugar content and acidity. This is mentioned by both Machavariani (12) and Timofeev. Information about its sugar content and acidity is shown in Table 2.
As we can see from Table 2, in both years, Amlakhu was characterized by quite high sugar-acidity.
Use of grape and quality of wine
As mentioned, Amlakhu is a wine grape type. In old times, Amlakhu was used only for making habitual table wine. The wine of Amlakhu was historically recognized. Amlakhu is considered a high qualitative wine by a number of authors, namely Machavariani (12), Kvaratskhelia (11), Egorov (9), Pushkaraev (14), and Cherniavskiy (16). The historical name of Otarauli and Jegerduli belongs to Amlakhu and Avasirkhva. Geesevi and Shareri consider Amlakhu as a comparative type, which gives a golden-pink wine. Machavariani and Timofeev noticed great strength, aroma and natural inclination to sparkling. Kvaratskhelia characterizes Amlakhu as a soft, perfect, energetic wine with a habitual aroma. Journal “Caucasian rural Farm” wrote the following: “Once upon a time, wines of Samegrelo and Abkhazia were considered to be equal to the best wines of Transcaucasia; among them Ojaleshi from Samegrelo and Abkhazian Amlakhu were considered as extraordinary (hors ligne) wines.
The old wine of Amlakhu has also gained high estimation. For example, 14 year-old wine made from the harvest of 1909 in the village of Gulripsha, took 7.4 points (from a 10 point system) at an expert commission of the 1923 Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow. Egorov, a member of the expert commission and a well-known wine-maker, considers this estimation high. He characterizes this wine as red, habitual, with a typical interesting bouquet, look of fruit; perfect, soft, less cheerful, and energetic. This characterization indicates a high quality of wine.
Aside from wine, Amlakhu can also be used as a table grape. Professor Kvaratskelia thinks that, in this regard, Amlakhu has a great future. The external appearance of the grape is attractive; however, its dense, uneven mature and average size of berry does not draw great perspective. Because of this, it is unreasonable to use such a qualitative wine type as a table grape. So Amlakhu must be used only for making qualitative, habitual table wine.
We will now briefly characterize hermaphroditic Amlakhu, which is presently in existence in the collective plot of the Institute of Viticulture and Enology. As was mentioned above, this type was imported with other types from Crimea in 1932. By its morphological and agricultural features it is a typical Abkhazian vine type. It differs from the female Amlakhu (as described by Kvaratskhelia and ourselves) in its hermaphroditic flower. In order to compare the two, let’s briefly characterize the hermaphroditic Amlakhu.
The leaves have the same shape, but are slightly veinier. The down of the underside is quite thick and consists of thin web and thick straight-standing bristle-like down. The hermaphroditic flower contains five or six straight-standing stamens. The ratio of threads of stamen to the height of pistil varies from 1.25 to 1.50cm. Pistils have a narrow cone-like shape and connect to the small rounded receptacle via a narrow column.
Bunches have narrow cone-like shapes and are of average density. Grains have an average size. Large berries are oval; average and small-sized are rounded. The number of small berries in a bunch reaches 5%. The color of berries is pink and relatively equal. During full ripeness they turn a dark pink color.
In Telavi, Amlakhu has quite a long vegetation period and is unable to reach full ripeness. For example, in 1939 it was harvested 4.XI- by this time its sugar content had reached 13.2% and acidity 11.2%. In 1948, its sugar content reached 17% and acidity 7.6%. The coefficient of fruiting is 1.2; the average weight of a bunch is 100-150g. Harvest from one root reached 1.5 – 2.0kg. In Telavi it is averagely productive.
As we can see from this short description, hermaphroditic Amlakhu is very similar to female Amlakhu. More precise detail is unavailable, because one of them is cultivated in Telavi on lowlands and another in the village of at height. Despite this, we can conclude that these two Amlakhu are very similar but different types. So it is easily possible that these types were cultivated together. Otherwise, it is difficult to imagine, even from Ribo’s vineyard, to yield a harvest if it only consisted of female Amlakhu. It is clear, then, that Amlakhu is a mixture of female and hermaphroditic Amlakhu. In this connection, it is necessary to cultivate these two Amlakhu together and test separately to determine the quality of wine. Then, according to the received data, we can determine which one- separate or together -gives the historically recognized high qualitative sparkling wine of Amlakhu.
General Evaluation and Distribution by District
Amlakhu is a local lightly-spread vine type. It gives a high qualitative golden-pink wine. Amlakhu wine is habitual, aromatic, energetic and distinctive and is characterized by sweetness and natural sparkle.
Positive features of the type are: a relatively good productivity, high quality of wine and usefulness for making naturally semi-sweet, naturally sparkling and table dry wines. It can also be used as a table grape.
The type has indisputable perspective for restoration, reproduction and wide Experimental for listing in regional standard assortments and inculcation in productive conditions.
Bibliography
- Ketskhoveli N., Zones of Cultural Plants in Georgia. Tbilisi, 1957.
- Obeliani Sulkhan-Saba., Georgian Dictionary. Tbilisi, 1928.
- Tabidze D., Development of Viticulture in Georgia. Tbilisi, 1950.
- Cholokhashvili S., Viticulture, Book II „Ampelography“. Tbilisi, 1939.
- Javakhishvili Iv., Economic History of Georgia, Tbilisi, 1934.
- Jorjadze L., Viticulture, Wine-making and Improvement. Tbilisi, 1876.
