Mtevandidi
Mtevandidi – is an indigenous red grapevine variety of Guria, mostly used for making quality table red wine.
In some villages of upper Guria (in Fartskhma, Sachamiaseri, and Dablatsikhe) it is known also by the name „Akido“ meaning twobunched sprout. Acad. Iv. Javakhishvili also mentioned “Akido” as one of the indigenous grapevine varieties of Guria; however he carried out research and revealed that Akido is a synonym of Mtevandidi; otherwise they are the same; this is also affirmed by agr. E. Nakashidze (9) in his work.
Another synonym of Mtevandidi is „Female Mtevandidi“ called so in the the village of Baghdati.
In some villages of Chokhatauri it is also named Didmtevana. There are no written sources regarding the origin of Mtevandidi, however, based on its botanical and agricultural features, this grapevine variety is indigenous, a fact also indicated by its Georgian names – Mtevandidi, Akido, and Didmtevana.
As its name implies, Mtevandidi must be characterized with large bunches that has no place in reality as it has moderate bunches, so perhaps it was named so because of its comparative largeness over other grapevine varieties.
Acad. Iv. Javakhishvili, in his work (6), indicated Didmtevana in Guria characterized with red grape, and Mtevandidi in Adjara, characterized by white berries.
However, this information is not relevant to the truth and might have been conveyed incorrectly to this outstanding scientist. A a long explorative investigation was conducted, after which was revealed that Mtevandidi and Didmtevana are the same varieties, consisting of red grapes. Also, white Mtevandidi could not be found in any villages of Adjara.
Mtevandidi, as a high productive and quality grapevine variety, is mostly used for making wine in Guria, particularly in its eastern part; wherein vines were cultivated as high-formations, which, even though, the went uncared for, could maintain strong growth and development as well as high quality.
After the spread of fungal diseases and phylloxera, since the second half of the 19th century, high vineyards of Mtevandidi were massively destroyed.
By the initiative of local residents , concerned with viticulture issues, in Chokhatauri and Makharadze (the villages Kalagoni, Dablatsikhe, and Baghdati) in 1905 and 1906 grafts of Mtevandidi were cultivated as low vineyards, some of them still in existence even today, and characterized with high productivity and normal development of vines.
The modern area of Mtevandidi cultivation is limited, even though it is characterized with high productivity and quality production. This may be determined by the extensive cultivation of the famous grapevine variety of Imereti – Tsolikouri, and also by the fact that people do not know about this grapevine variety. However, recently, great attention has paid to the cultivation of Mtevandidi.
In Chokhatauri district, in the villages of Dablatsikhe, Sakvavistke, Fartskhma, Kalagoni, and Gora Berejouli, grafts have been planted of Mtevandidi; also in Makharadze district and the village of Baghdati; they can be found in Adjara, in Keda collective vineyard.
In other districts of Georgia, Mtevandidi is presented only in testing vineyards, as for example, based on the 1947 description, Mtevandidi is not indicated as being cultivated in other districts of Georgia.
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Botanical description
Mtevandidi was described in the villages Kalagoni and Dablatsikhe (Chokhatauri) and in Baghdati (Makharadze).
These districts slightly differ from each other in climate. In the village of Kalagoni, the vineyard was cultivated in 1905, and is inclined to the south. The soil is reddish sub-clay and less fertile; vines are grafted on Rupestri Dulo, formed by Georgian guideline.
In the village of Dablatsikhe it is cultivated on the right bank of the river Sufsa, on a plain area; where the soils are alluvial, dark brown, quite fertile. This vineyard was cultivated in 1907, grafted on Rupestri Dulo, formed by Georgian guideline.
In the village Baghdati, the vineyard of Mtevandidi was cultivated in 1909, on a slope positioned to the north-western, consisting of sandy, sub-clay and quite fertile soils; vines are grafted on Riparia x Rupestr 3309, formed by Georgian guideline.
The young shoot
The cone of growth is white, slightly reddish on one side and covered with thick felt-like white coating. The newly opened first leaf is covered with white-reddish down, on the underside is covered with a thick-felt like coating, the petiole is also covered with a reddish white coating; the following second and third leaves are lightly coated on the topside, which is grayish and downy. On the underside is a thick felt-like coating; the petiole of the third and fourth leaves is bright-green; violet on one side and slightly covered with hairy down.
The young shoot is bright green on one side, while on another – violet, and lightly covered with a grayish hairy coating that becomes more extensive to the tip of a shoot.
The one your sprout
The mature one year sprout is middle sized, bright reddish-brown with dark lines; the axils are darker in coloring and are distanced from each other by 10-18cm.
The leaf
The well-developed leaf is bright green, slightly yellowish, middle-sized or large; is roundish or slightly oval, unnoticeably lobed, about 17.9-21.5cm long and 18.6-19.6 cm wide. The incision of the petiole is lyre-like, consisting of three veins, having rounded or sharp basis. Elliptical incisions can also be found.
The upper incision of a leaf is open and slightly cut, with sharp or rounded basis. The lower incision is opened and cut insignificantly The leaf is three-lobed; without secondary margins. The margin of a tip to the blade creates an obtuse angle.
The teeth of tips are triangular, slightly convex-sided and it is possible to find roundish triangular or saw-like teeth. The secondary teeth are similar to the major teeth.
The leaf is flat, or slightly curled like a funnel. The surface of a leaf is smooth or wrinkled like a net. The underside is covered with a short-downy coating. The major veins are lightly coated and are bright green. The proportion of the pedicel to the major vein is 0.9-1.0, and is bare and bright green.
The flower
The flower is hermaphroditic with normally-developed pistil and stamens. There are about 5 or rarely 4 stamens in a flower, which are as long as the pistil. The number of flowers in an inflorescence is 300-500.
The bunch
The pedicel of a bunch equals 8-12cm; the bunch is about 15-17cm long and 11-14cm wide. There are about 100-130 berries on a bunch; the size of an average bunch is 12-14cm long and 9-12cm wide, consisting of 80-90 berries.
The bunch is thin, unstructured, wide cone-shaped or branched, or quite dense; the pedicel of a bunch is woody nearly up to the middle and bright red-brownish, while its remaining part, including scion, is grass-like and bright green.
The berry
The pedicel of a berry, including the receptacle, equals 5-9mm, and is green. The receptacle is slightly yellowish, with abright green tone, is wrinkled and narrow cone-shaped, rarely wide – cone-shaped and the berry is firmly attached to it.
The berry is dark blue (almost black) and middle-sized – about 15.3mm long and 13.4mm wide. Large berries are 17mm long and 15.8mm wide, while small berries – 9mm long and 8mm wide. The berry is oval, wider in the middle part, with a rounded end and; this is thick-skinned and symmetrical, quite fleshy and juicy. The skin is covered with thick waxy spots.
The ripening of berries on a bunch occurs unequally- a characteristic feature of Mtevandidi.
The seed
There are 1-4, mostly one seed in a berry. The seed is 7-8mm long and 3-4.5mm wide, is brown, while to the inside bright yellow. The basis is placed nearly in the middle of the rear, is oval, rarely triangular; its backside is triangular. The beak is rusty-colored, and about 2mm long .
Agro-biological description
The course of vegetation phases
The course of vegetation phases was described in the collective vineyard of Kalgon, Dablatsikhe (Chokhatauri district) and Baghdati (Makharadze ditrict) villages. Below are shoen the statistics of each individual phase over 3 years (See Table 1)
The vegetation period from budding to full ripening lasts 208-216 days, and until leaf-fall 236 - 240 days. The vegetation period of high vineyards is 10 - 15 days less than that of low vineyards due to the influence of fungal diseases and early fall of leaves, whereas, in low vines, if cultivated properly, the leaf-fall lasts even through to December. The break of buds begins from beginning of April, the blossom period from the end of June according to the observation held in Chokhataruri district, Dablatsikhe-Sakvavisti zone. The ripening of the grape occurs at the end of August (26-28) or the beginning of September, while the full ripening – from 20 - 25 October. Flower-fall takes place from mid November to the first half of December.
In Chokhatauri and Makharadze districts, the sediment (1280-1540mm) and abundance of sun (sum of 4000º) can result in the prolonging of Mtevandidi’s vegetation period, but the vine manages its full ripening during the above-mentioned period.
In Baghdati and Dablatsikhe zones, the growth-development is so much influenced by ecological conditions that the length of shoot can reach 2.25m.
The productivity
With proper cultivation and in suitable ecological conditions, Mtevandidi is very productive. The first sign of harvest comes in the second or more frequently the third year, white full harvest takes place from the fourth or fifth years. On a sprout there are two bunches; rarely, one or three. The coefficient of harvest is 1.7-2. The shoots generated from substitute buds are characterized by average growth, giving a 1.1 coefficient of harvest. Shoots generated from dormant buds can grow but are more productive.
Below is shown average indicators of harvest in Chokhatauri and Makharadze districts
The harvest of one vine when loaded with 8-12 buds totals 2.5 - 4.0 kg, meaning 120 centners per hectare. The coefficient of harvest is 1.5. The shoots generated from substitute buds are characterized by average growth, giving a 1.1 coefficient of harvest. Shoots generated from dormant buds can grow but are more productive. Such productivity in Bagdati zone is caused by soil conditions and secondly during the irrigation during full harvest.
Durability against phylloxera and fungal diseases
In the warm and wet climate of Guria, Mtevandidi is very susceptible to disease. High-growing vines get infected most commonly, due to the difficulties of cultivation and aftercare.
Lower area vines are treated with pesticide on time and, if all guidelines are followed, the vine is protected from diseases.
Observation shows that its durability against pests and diseases is strong (Chkhaveri, and Nakashidzis Jani). Its durability against oidium, when cultivated, is low and if necessary actions are not taken- such as treatments with sulphur to protect the vine from oidium diseases –the entire harvest can be lost.
Data of the testing station in Telavi (Telavi zone) shows that Mtevandidi is resistant to diseases, which can be explained by dry ecological conditions.
In the Imereti Mountains the durability of Mtevandidi against pests and diseases is strong, and that is why it is not spread widely and it provides a low yield. If well treated, Mtevandidi, engrafted on a rootstock is characterized by strong growth-development and regular productivity.
Mtevandidi’s durability against phylloxera has been less studied.
From rootstock vine types, the best results for Mtevandidi can be brought from hybrids of RipariaXRupestri-3309. Mtevandidi engrafted on this rootstock is characterized by high growth-development.
Mtevandidi is not much bothered by soil condition. It develops successfully in low land as well as on high land. This is an honorable wine, but with an unfortunately small harvest.
Agro-technical characteristics
Grape samples for the mechanical analysis were taken from the vineyards of Kalagoni , Dablatsikhe (Chokhatauri district) and Baghdati village (Makharadze district) collective plots.
Below are mechanical analysis of statistics of the places from where samples were made (Table 3)
The average weight of a bunch is 196 – 235.5g, on average 207 g. Per bunch there are 110-120 berries. The consistency of the bunch is as follows: berry 95.5-96.2%; shoot 3.3.%; skin 25.5-26.4%; seed 4-4.8%; and juice 66.3%.
The average weight of 100 berries was 168-180g, while the average weight was 174g .The number of seeds in every 100 berries was 155, having the average weight of 6.5g. 12% of berries have one seed; 57% have two seeds; 32% have three seeds; and 10% of berries have four seeds, with seedless berries at 1%.
During good weather in autumn, the sugar level in Mtevandidi dramatically increases (22 - 23%) and full acidity decreases. Such production can be received from vineyards on the right side of the Merisi valley and sun-lit Zvare Zone (the right side of Adkaratskali valley). It provides quality table grape, transportability, storage ability and high taste features The result of the chemical analysis during fill ripening. (Table 4)
As is shown in Table 4, despite its late harvest (end of October and beginning of November) the sugar consistency did not rise at all. This process can be explained by the coefficienct growth of sediments. The sample from Kalagoni and Dablatsikhi villages showed that sugar consistency was 21-13.5%, which is considered as a good sign for making good quality table red wine. In Baghdati village, despite the late harvest, the sugar does not succeed 21% (29.X-8.XI).
The sample was taken in 1949 and 1950. Below are the results of the chemical analysis of the wine (see Table 5).
After much experience and observation, on the wine plot of Kalagoni and Danlatsikhe wine samples, Mtevandidi has indicated its character, namely, that it can maintain a normal alcohol volume (11.2-11.6º), but at the same time the acidity is slightly increased (7.1-7.3‰). The volatile acidity is (0.58-0.70%), extract – 25.88-26.71, and tannin (0.89-.0.94)
The samples of wine were taken by Institute of Viticulture and tasted by Degustation Commission. The sample received high reference as red table wine, dark rose color, round shape and harmony. In Baghdati village, wine was evaluated as local ordinary red table wine.
Here are the results of the Mtevandidi wine analysis which was organized by V. Demetradze (1) at Sakare testing station in 1936-1937. The samples were prepared from grapes of the Dablatsikhe and Baghdati village plots (see Table 6)
The last two samples from Dablatsikhe village did not satisfy the requirements and the accumulation of sugar ranged between 1,692 and 3.780, so decreasing the value of the wine. It is possible to improve the wine sample and increase the alcohol, in order to bring honor. Mtevandidi storage and transportability has not yet been investigated. But the organoleptic and acidity feature prooves the tendency to good transportability.
Variations
From the list of variations in Guria, Mamali Mtevandidi is distributed. Which, according to its botanical features and agro biological description differs from Mtevandidi. Mamali Mtevandidi, as a variation is uninteresting. It grows up to 4-5m and produces smaller than average bunches.
General evaluation and distribution by district
According to its morphological and agro-biological features, Mtevandidi belongs to the Guria variety group.
Attention must be paid to the successful usage of the production of Mtevandidi. Jani blended with Skhilatubani were mixed and the mixture was called “Maris Wine”. This was successfully distributed outside Georgia to Black sea Basin countries.
For high quality red wine preparation, Mtevandidi must be cultivated in the eastern part of Guria, near the rivers Supsa and Khevistskali – in Chokhatauri, Dablatsikhis, Ianoulim Nogha, and Kokhnari Sachamiaseri micro-zone.
On the initiative of local residents concerned with viticulture issues, grafts of Mtevandidi are cultivated as low vineyards, some of them still in existence today, and characterized with high productivity and normal development of vines.
Bibliography
1. Demetradze V., Materials for Dividing Western Georgian Viticulture and Enology Industry into Regions and Specialization. Kutaisi, 1936.
2. Ketskhoveli N., Zone of Cultural Plants in Georgia. Tbilisi, 1957.
3. Orbeliani Sulkhan-Saba., Georgian Dictionary. Tbilisi, 1928.
4. Ramishvili M., Vine Types of Guria, Samegrelo and Adjara. Tbilisi, 1948.
5. Cholokhashvili S., Viticulture, Vol. II, Ampelography. Tbilisi, 1938.
6. Javakhishvili Iv., Economic History of Georgia, T.II. 1934.
