Rkaziteli - wine grape variety

Rkaziteli is a local variety from the Tbilisi region of Georgia where it is grown around the town of Telavi in the Alazani river valley. It is also grown in Moldavia on the Black Sea coast where it is known as Gratiesti and in Bulgaria where the wine is exported to Germany under the name of Son-nenkiiste. It was imported into Australia in 1971 and a small amount has been planted in the warm irrigated region of the Murray River Valley. It is a vigorous variety with a strong erect growth habit. It is not fruitful in the basal buds and should be cane pruned. The growing tip is felty white with strong carmine colouration on the margins of the young leaves. Shoots are long and straight, green with reddish nodes and turning yellowish brown when mature. Leaves are medium in size, a little longer than wide and 5-lobed.

The petiolar sinus is lyre shaped and is sometimes closed. The leaves are dark green with some blistering on the upper surface. They are glabrous on the upper side with some tufted hairs underneath. The teeth are irregular and obtuse. The bunch is medium in size, conical, elongated and loose with a long peduncle. The berries are white, medium in size, slightly ovoid with a thin skin which often shows a reddish golden colouration when exposed to the sun. In Australia the yields are medium to low. The wines are well balanced but generally lack character.