I’m visiting Georgia’s Alazani Valley to participate in this years wine harvest, inspecting and sampling the grapes, helping them into the Qvevris and naturally taking an interest in previous vintages. The Alazani Valley benefits by being warm in the summer when the grapes are ripening, and is fed by the Alazani River, which originates from snow melt high in the Caucasus Mountains, irrigates the valley, and flows east. It empties out into the Caspian Sea. The mountains also provide a natural enhancement for vine cultivation here – grapes do not appreciate hot nights, they like to be cool in the evening. This means the Alazani Valley is one of the worlds great wine producing areas – cool air sweeps down at dusk from the Caucasus and blankets the entire valley with cool air overnight, until the morning sun burns that off once again and summer temperatures rise to 32 degrees. These are perfect conditions for grape cultivation.

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I have travelled to the Caucasus to be involved in the 2016 wine harvest in both Armenia and Georgia, however the first stop has to be a re-introduction to Georgia’s excellent Qvevri Wines. I was last in Georgia a little less than a year ago, and wrote about the wonderful Qvevri method of wine making at that time. Different to the Western European methodology, in Georgia the grapes, seeds, twigs and all are shoveled into huge terracotta jars (Qvevris) buried deep underground, and left to sit on these lees for several weeks or even months. The result are very tannic wines, with the whites especially taking on a beautiful golden amber hue. Such wines are good with light meats such as roast pork, as well as with dried fruits such as apricots and cheeses. The reds are also excellent, and can deal with very powerful dishes, even up to curries. Qvevri wines may be an acquired taste, but for me they represent wine making at its most organic.

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Having been in Asia for so long, I’ve missed a lot of my European heritage, and haven’t had a property anywhere in Europe since 1986. As I now wish to reconnect with the European part of my background, I’ve been looking for a suitable place to be. Eighteen months ago I purchased two apartments next to each other, overlooking the Msida Marina. The construction work looked like this:

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I’m back to Malta, and what better way to enjoy the summer than to take the 68 foot, Pendennis Yacht Margaret Ann out for a spin? Built at the Pendennis yards in 2004, she was a finalist in the Superyacht Society Awards in 2005.

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I have just acquired at auction a hand drawn book of Russian Skazki (Fairy) tales by the Russian Princess Marina, a gifted artist. She wrote the book, in the French, and the drew the paintings in 1926, nine years after the assassination of the Tsar, her Great Grandfather.

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The London Underground has many strange and weird stories to tell, but one that has almost fallen through the cracks of history is the Station designed by Russian Futurists in 1936. At the beginning of the 1930’s the Soviet Government decided to press ahead with plans for a Moscow Metro system, giving the design contract to do so to Lazar Kagonovich with a brief to include elements of Soviet superiority including the new Russian Futurist art movement, which was appreciated by Stalin as portraying a ‘new era’ of technical design based on an analytical approach and fascination with the dynamism, speed, and restlessness of modern machines and urban life that modern technologies of the day were ushering in.

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One of the great things about Sri Lanka right now is the rise of quality boutique hotels. There are numerous 5 star brands being built in Colombo as I write, in addition to luxury resorts popping up along the coast. However, the country has a wealth of old colonial buildings, and many of these are also being upgraded and obtaining a new lease of life as boutique hotels and restaurants.

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This is “The Mount”, a British colonial Mansion dating back to 1860. I have just purchased it. The property sits on top of the highest hill in the Talpe area of Sri Lanka, hence the name. Its about 2km inland, overlooking Paddy Fields, and has some amazing mature trees – there are King Coconut, Jak, Olive, Woodapple, Mango, Cashew and Ebony all here, this is valuable stock. In its day it was a much loved family house, after having cleared out what was essentially jungle that hadn’t been cut back for years, lilies and other flowering plants began to appear.

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I’m very fortunate that in Sri Lanka there are six renowned botanical gardens throughout the country. I wrote of the famous roses at the Hakgala Gardens in Nuwara Eliya earlier, Peradeniya’s Gardens date back rather more, to 1371 and their founding by King Wickramabahu III. Peradeniya’s speciality, apart from it being a beautiful 147 acres, is its 4000 different species and its collection of rare orchids. There is also a large resident population of Fruit Bats,  (Flying Foxes) which are the largest bat in the world and while mostly nocturnal, can be seen at any time of the day flying around the grounds.

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It’s back to Sri Lanka, and almost immediately into safari mode. I am fortunate that the Udawalawa reserve is just a 2 hour drive from where I live, and I have been several times to this impressive location, just south of the hills and mountains of Sri Lanka’s finest tea country. Adams Peak can be seen rising in the distance. I’ve written about going on safari at Udawalawa before   and it is always a great pleasure to be able bounce around amongst wild untamed lands. Udawalawa has Sri Lanka’s highest population of wild elephant, and my guest specifically wanted to see these. We were going to be in for a treat.

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