The grapes are grown in the Kakheti region in eastern Georgia, where the climate is moderately humid, with hot summers and cool winters. The vineyard is situated at an altitude of 320 metres above sea level, where the vines are trained according to the Vertical Shoot Position (VSP) method and are double Guyot pruned. The soils are clay and loamy, which provide good water retention properties to sustain the vines during the hot summers. The vineyard is planted with cover grass between the vines to reduce weeds; the soil is mulched and treated with organic mineral fertilisers. The Saperavi (pronounced Sap-e-RAVEE) variety is an indigenous dark skinned, pink fleshed Georgian variety. Saperavi translates as dye which is apt for this teinturier grape which produces richly coloured wines with marked acidity. The grapes were hand-harvested at optimal maturity.