ALADASTURI

Among vine types with red grapes, spread throughout Guria, Aladasturi has always held a prominent place as a productive wine and local consumption table vine type. 

Written information about its origins does not exist. A very brief description of this type was given by E. Nakashidze and G. Sharashenidze. According to the first author, Aladasturi belongs to the group of low quality wine, and the second author places this type on the list of six best vine types. 

Aladasuri, with its botanical characteristics, as well as agro-biological features, is a typical representative of the Kolkhetian vine variety. Confirmation of this can be found in its strong growth and ability to climb high trees, leaf spots and intensity of down thickness, of berry skin and consistency, late ripening of grapes and long vegetation season. 

Aladasturi is cultivated in the ecological conditions of Kolkheti and is spread throughout upper Guria and in its adjacent territory of Imereti. 

Among Gurian indigenous types of grapes, Aladasturi was widespread in the past, particularly in the Eastern part of Guria on the border with Imereti. Vines were cultivated on the hills and even when uncared for, it was greatly harvested with an above-satisfactory quality of product. 

The local population used this type of grape for creating a table wine from the bland-making material, while also keeping it as grapes for winter consumption. In Gurian peasant families, the grape most used as food during the winter was Aladasturi.

Aladasturi was widespread in the Imereti valley zone, especially in the villages of the Vani region. Using Aladasturi, locals there made a high quality table red wine. 

As a result of fungal and phylloxera diseases, Aladasturi became massively distinguished; in comparison with other local types of vine, Aladasturi was well-preserved in Guria and in regions of the Imereti valley. 

Nowadays, as in olden times, the local population pays a great deal of attention to the spreading of the Aladasturi vine. In the above-mentioned regions, this type of vine can be found planted on hills and in alleys, the locals still use this grape to make table red wine, and its grapes are still kept as bunches for winter consumption. 

According to the vinery survey of 1953, the total territory of Aladasturi planted in Western Georgia was 60.81 hectares. Of this, hills accounted for 45.22 hectares and alleys, 15.59 hectares. See Table 1 for the individual districts.

In the central regions of Imereti, Aladasturi can often be seen being used to shade open wine cellers or for decorating private plots. 

In the eastern region of Georgia, we meet Aladasturi only on collective farms such as in the office of the educational farm of Vasiani (Mtskheta district), The Institute of Viticulture and Enology of Telavi Experimental Station and the Office of the educational farm of Dighomi (on the outskirts of Tbilisi). 

In some villages, Aladasturi is known as Shavi Kamur, but research shows that the actual Shavi Kamur is totally different from Aladasturi-with its own specific taste and ampelographical characteristics. 

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION 

Aladasturi was botanically described in the villages of Kalagon and Upper Partskhma (Chokhatauri region) with stick formation. The vines are not treated and are grown on high posts. A strong vine is decorated with five to six fruit canes and the same amount of spur canes. 

. In a village called Kalagoni is an Aladasturi plot which curves to the south-east and consists of reddish soil mixed with clay, containing a large amount of calcium-carbonate. In another village, Upper Partskhma, the Aladasturi plot curves gently to the south and also consists of reddish clay soil, but with only a small amount of calcium carbonate. 

The young sprout: In the period of bud, the growth is rusty-white; the cones are white with a reddish tone and are covered with hair-like white down. Newly expanded first leaves appear light green on the upper side with a yellow tint and are thickly covered with whitish-gray down. Their under-sides are covered with thick down, which has reddish tone. The leaf axil is covered with whitish-grey down and has a reddish color. The second and third young leaves are a light green to violet color. On the upper side the down gradually decreases, while on the underside it is thick. The down on the second leaves is whitish-gray and on the third,  

gray. In both cases the down is hair-like and sometimes a red tint can be seen. The young sprouts are rounded, of a light green color and are lightly covered with hair-like grayish down which gradually intensifies along to the sprout tip, which often has a reddish color. 

The one-year shoot. Shoos are medium-to-large in size and of a dark chestnut color whereas the axils are darker. Faint brown lines run through the shoot. The length of inter-axil spaces can reach 10 - 18cm. Some shoots are strongly developed. 

The leaf. Mature leaves are larger than average and are rounded or slightly oval. Their length is 16.6 – 20.3cm and width 16.6 – 16.2cm. 

The axils of leaves is lyre-like and consists of three or four incisions. It has a pointed basis. In some cases one or two simple teeth develop on the basis. 

The upper part is deeply cut and has close edges and narrow holes, with a pointed base. We can also see an egg-like shape, with one tooth developed on the base. The under-side of the leaf is light and sufficiently cut. 

There are usually three or five lobes. The tip of the top lobe creates a corner with the leaf plate. The teeth of lobe tips are triangular with convex sides and a pointed or rounded trianglular tip. Other teeth are more often rounded, triangular and with convex sides and pointed tips. 

The underside of the leaf is thick; the upper side smooth, laminar or curled. The main incisions are sufficiently downy and have a light green color. The ratio of leaf-tips to main central vein is 0.6 - 1mm; and they are lightly downy and have a cherry red color. 

The flower. The flower is hermaphroditic and has a regularly developed pistil and stamen. Stamens are normally of a curved form with the pistil being almost twice the size of the pistil. There are five pistils in a flower, and occasionally four, six or- rarely- seven pistils. Sometimes the number of flowers exceeds 300-900. 

The bunch. The length of a grape bunch is about 8 - 11cm, the length of the bunch is 18 - 20cm and width is about 9 - 11cm while the length of an average bunch is 7 - 10cm and the width 6 - 9cm. 

The shape of the bunch is cone-cylindrical or cylindrical. It is sufficiently dense. The tip of the bunch is a grass-greenish color and is rough up to its axils. Bunches are hard to separate from the shoots. 

The length of the berry seed, including receptacle, is 6-9mm and has a green color. The receptacle is warty and has a cone-like shape. The berry on the receptacle is firmly attached. 

The grain. Grains are black, medium-sized or larger than average with a medium length exceeding 17.6mm with a width of 14.9mm. They are of an oval shape and oblong; wide in the center, with a rounded and symmetrical end. 

Grains have quite thick skin which easily separates from the part of the body. The color elements are not consistent in the soft part of the body, which is quite fleshy and juicy. It has a sweetish taste. The skin of the seed is slightly covered with wax. 

The seed. The number of Seeds in a berry ranges from one to four. Two seeds are considered surplus. The length of a seed is 6 – 7.5mm and the width 2.5 – 3.5mm. A Seed is light brown with the cleft on the abdomen side being yellowish.kalazi shows faintly and is located in the middle of the rear side. It has a long-oval shape and, on rare occasions, a triangular shape. 

The rear side is smooth; its tip brownish and its length 1.5 – 2.0mm. 

AGRO-BIOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION

The vegetation period and course of phases. Observation took place in the Chokhatauri district, on the plots of the villages Kalagoni and Upper Partskhma. 

The table gives the average data relating to the course of vegetation phases over five years. 

The length of the Aladasturi vegetation season, phasing from expanding bud to full ripeness of grapes, in Chokahatauri, is 201 - 205 days, and the total length until the fall of leaves, 239 - 240 days. The awakening of the vines starts in early April, with the bloom of bud on around the 6 - 8 April. Flowering starts from early June and ends before 15 June. Grape bunches start apearing at the end of August or at the beginning of September, and ripens from the end of October. Leaves begin to fall in mid November and stop at the end of November or at the beginning of December. 

As a result of warm and humid weather, the vegetation phase of Aladasturi is considerably prolonged. Despite this, shoots of the vines- except the growing tips of sprouts- reach their ripening stage by the time of mass grape ripening and also around this time take on the characteristic tone of this type. 

Aladasturi, with its development of vegetation phases, belongs to the group of strong young vines. By the end of the vegetation season, the length of some shoots sometimes reaches 3.5 - 4 meters. 

The productivity. According to observation, Aladasturi gives first sign from the third year of its planting, sometimes the second year, but in the phase of primary development it develops a-typical bunches. It gives a complete harvest from the fifth year. Aladasturi is characterized by abundant productivity. 

In the (Table 3) below information is provided about Aladasuri’s productivity (Statistics of 5 years duration).

The total number of berries in bunches grown on stick formation can reach 40 - 45. The amount of fruit-giving sprouts averages 75 - 77%, and the co-efficient of productivity does not exceed 1.7 - 1.8. Often, there are two bunches on a shoot, sometimes one. The harvest of one bunch from stick formation reaches 8 -9.5kg. It is conclusive that by conducting agro-technical operations at the right time and in the right way, we can increase productivity of Aladasturi to reach 150 centners. 

Flower fall is unknown to this type; the fall of flowers is only noticeable during unfavorable weather. 

Sprouts originating from old branches of a vine is do not usually yield a crop. 

Durability against pests and fungal diseases. Observation over many years shows that Aladasturi better endures phylloxera than other types (Chkaveri, Jani, Mtevandidi, and Skhilatubani amongst others). From this, we can explain the fact that quite an amount of Aladasturi, on its own root continues to grow on hills in Guria and in Imeretian alleys. 

Of the fungal diseases, Aladasturi has good durability against mildew but can be easily damaged by iodium. An additional injection of sulphur is necessary against iodium, especially in blooming and pepper-corn size periods. 

Response of varieties to different environmental conditions. In the regions of Guria and Upper Imereti, a large amount of warmth and surplus sediments creates supportive conditions for a number of pests and fungal diseases. In order not to be infected and to give a high quality harvest, Aladasturi must be planted in sun-lit places. On such plots, as a result of the intensified actions of sun and wind, the normal development of vines and also a good or abundant harvest is guaranteed. In clay-sand soils, consisting of a quantity of lime, Aladasturi gives a higher quality production than when in non-clay type soils. 

In Guria and lower Imereti, the action of winter frosts is irrelevant, with temperatures rarely exceeding -6° or -8°; only in some years reaching -10°. Such minor frosts almost never have a negative influence on vine parts - vines awaken normally and the vegetation parts develop as usual during the vegetation season. 

In the case of Aladasturi’s formation on lowlands- and following the traditional Georgian rule- harvest from one root does not exceed 2kg, but, if cultivated on a hill following the local training system “Olikhnari,” its harvest can be increased significantly. During pruning, by rule, it is necessary to determine the height of the posts within one meter and as a result of correct pruning, to create 5-6 formation elements. 

It is advisable to follow the cordon-like rule when pruning Aladasturi vines. In this case, a vine can be loaded with 36 - 40 buds and the feeding area can be defined as 3 sq meters, which will allow the taking of 130-150 centners from one hectare. In the case of planting Aladasturi in a large cordon-like formation rule of vine, an increased harvest will be guaranteed by the widespread use of mechanization and the rational conduction of working operations, which in turn will significantly reduce expenses in viticulture. As a result, prime costs will be significantly reduced. 

AGRO-TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS 

Mechanical structure of grapes. From the agricultural point of view, Aladasturi is a wine-type. It can also be successfully used as a local table grape, because it has good transportability and preservation-qualities. 

Samples of Aladasturi’s grape for mechanical-chemical analysis were taken from the villages of Kalagoni and Upper Partskhma in 1949, 1950 and 1951. The results of the grape mechanical analysis can be seen in Table 4.

The average weight of 100 berries reaches about 207g. There are 259 seeds in 100 berries with a weight of 15g. Grains with one seed make up 7%, berries with two seeds- about 41%, berries with three seeds- 39%, berries with four seeds- 12%, and berries with five seeds- 1%. 

According to the weather conditions, the number of small berries in a bunch can reach 5% and, at the time of grape-ripening, these small berries also ripen normally. 

Samples for the chemical analysis of sugar were taken from the same villages. The results of this analysis are shown in Table 5.

Aladasturi is usually harvested at the end of October or at the beginning of November. Despite such a late harvest, the sugar content does not exceed 21.5% and more often is 19.9 - 20%, with a total acidity of 8.5 - 9.4%. The accumulation of such a small amount of sugar results from the large amount of sediments during the period of grape-maturity and the increased amount of water in the seed. Despite this, as a result of this ratio of sugar-acidity from the samples of sweet, it was possible to make quite a high quality wine. 

Chemical results of wine sample analysis (See Table 6).

As we can see from the results of the chemical analysis, the alcohol in Aladasturi does not exceed 10.4 – 10.8°, which is caused by a low amount of sugar accumulation (19.8 - 20,9%); with reduced alcohol, in the materials of analysis, there is a little more acidity (7.1 - 7.8). The reduced amount of voletile acidity is an indicator of healthy wine. In the pattern, there is a normal amount of extract (24.15 - 28.40); the low sugar quantity is an indicator of wine fermentation. Aladasturi wine, as a result of testing, created the following estimation: a light red color, quite rounded and harmonic, with a specific-type taste and surplus acidity. 

Aladasturi wine has a good durability for close-range transportation and its characteristic taste features can remain unchanged for three to five years. 

GENERAL EVALUATION AND DISTRIBUTION BY DISTRICT

Among the Gurian red grape vine types, Aladasturi has a place of honor due to it giving quite a qualitative production- which is successfully used to make local table red wine and bland material to improve the features of some low qualitative wines, for example, it can be successfully used to improve Izavela wine. Observation shows that mix must be produced as a grape and the sweet fermented from whole husks of grapes. Wine made in this way removes any specific unpleasant taste; the smell disappears and it gains the typical ordinary features of wine. 

In conditions of surplus sediment, the Aladasturi grape does not completely perish. As a result of its great taste and conservation ability, it is successfully used as a local consumption table wine. 

So, Aladasturi, with its agricultural purpose, belongs to a group of local wine and table grape-types, which, with a high index of production, is characterized by strong growth-development, ability of easy adaptation toward environmental conditions, and abundant productivity. 

For negative aspects we must note a weak durability against iodium, but this pest can be discouraged by an additional injection of sulphur during the vegetation period. 

In order to receive high quality production from Aladasturi, its continual distribution must take place in the regions of eastern Guria and Upper Imereti; regions richly lit by the sun, and on south-facing slopes where the soil consists of quite an amount of calcium-carbonate. In order to get an abundant harvest, heavy-loading is strongly recommended (Mravasakavebliani, Olixnari, Krdoni, Kheivani). To produce ordinary wines from Aladasuri, it can also be successfully planted in other Western Georgian vine-growing regions.