FOOD & WINE
IT'S TIME TO TRY A SYRIAN ROSE OR A LEBANESE PET-NAT: GET TO KNOW EMERGING GLOBAL WINEMAKERS WITH GO THERE WINES
It’s one thing to open a restaurant that nails a perfectly cheesy, crispy khachapuri or to train a team capable of coaxing a stubborn Napa Cab–head into ordering a bottle of Georgian rosé. It’s an entirely different thing to build a business that supports small wine producers from Syria, Lebanon, and Georgia by assuming much of the necessary financial and logistical risk tied to bringing their wines to an American audience.
“Small winemakers just need cold, hard cash up front for the nature of the work,” explains Rose Previte. Previte, owner of restaurants Maydan and Compass Rose in Washington, D.C., is also a cofounder of Go There Wines, a new kind of wine venture that coproduces vintages with small winemakers in countries that aren’t typically represented in bottle-shop aisles and on restaurant menus.
The model is relatively simple: Previte and her husband, journalist David Greene, approach winemakers — many of whose wines have been featured previously at Previte’s restaurants — with the idea of cobranding a bottle of wine that lets winemakers work with grapes and production styles they are excited about: For Abdullah Richi, a Syrian refugee living in Lebanon, that’s a pinot noir rosé pét-nat, while over in Georgia, sisters Baia and Gvantsa Abuladze have produced a light, chillable red from local Dzelshavi grapes. “We look to balance the collection, so you can see there’s a couple of reds, a couple of whites, a pét-nat,” Previte says.
Go There funnels 25% of profits on the coproduced bottles to the winemaker; this profit-sharing model helps winemakers get closer to goals such as opening tasting rooms or buying land to grow their own grapes instead of relying on other vineyards, says Previte. “It’s truly a partnership. They’ve taught us so much, and we hope that we’ve gotten them a slightly bigger stage in the market.”
3 to try
Go There Wines are available individually or through Previte and Greene’s Drink Differently Wine Club, which ships a selection of six wines for $180 quarterly. For more information, visit gotherewines.com.
2021 Go There Extra Brut Reserve Sparkling Rosé ($35) Nondumiso Pikashe runs Ses’fikile Wines, based outside of Cape Town. This Extra Brut Reserve Sparkling Rosé is made with South African Cinsaut grapes using the méthode ancestrale, which is also used to make champagne. Expect aromatic notes of cherries and strawberries with a lingering butter cookie finish.
2020 Go There Merwah Blend Sauvignon Blanc ($32) Lebanese winemaker Maria Frangieh blends ancient, indigenous Merwah grapes with sauvignon blanc to make this stunning, crisp white wine with notes of dried pear and orchard fruit and pleasing, subtle grassiness. It’s the perfect wine to chill down for a summer meal or a lazy afternoon drink.
2020 Go There Pinot Noir Rosé Pét-Nat ($34). This pét-nat from Syrian refugee and winemaker Abdullah Richi is a mellow sparkling wine with modest tartness. Think crunchy Morello cherries, lemongrass, and a surprisingly savory brioche finish, making it a winner as an aperitif and even for dessert.
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