Tasting Georgia
A Food and Wine Journey in the Caucasus

Written and photographed by Carla Capalbo

Published by Pallas Athene

In Tasting Georgia, Carla Capalbo travels through the country, visiting restaurant chefs and home cooks, natural winemakers and qvevri potters, cheesemakers and other producers of Georgia’s distinctive foods, telling their stories and collecting their recipes.

Tasting Georgia is a unique guide for those who want to visit Georgia and for those who prefer to explore a new country from their armchairs. It includes 70 authentic recipes, so it’s perfect for those wanting to master Georgian cooking. Carla visits over 40 wineries and 65 restaurants, wine bars and cooks. Her beautiful photos of Georgia’s people, food and landscapes illustrate why she’s found the country so irresistible.

The challenge

In addition to the book being more than 400 pages’ long and costing £29.99, another publication on a similar topic, by a celebrity chef, was being launched a few weeks later. Some journalists told me candidly that because of this they wouldn’t cover Carla’s book (!!!)

The solution

I believed firmly in Carla’s title, the fruit of several months’ travel by the author across Georgia. It was masterfully produced by Pallas Athene and its exhaustive nature established it as the Bible about Georgia (as put by a well-heeled travel journalist who had lived in the country).

The result

The coverage was overwhelming and our concerns about competing with a celebrity proved to be unfounded overall. A wealth of newspapers covered the book, including The Financial Times Magazine (ABC circ. 193,211), The Metro (ABC circ. 1,476,115 – a two-page feature!) The Sunday Times (ABC circ. 792,210), the Sunday Express (ABC circ. 334,232) and the Scotsman (ABC circ. 29,452). Several leading magazines welcomed it enthusiastically, a few examples: National Geographic Traveller (ABC circ. 38,820), Jamie Oliver (ABC circ. 43,047), Olive (ABC circ. 37,329), and elegant lifestyle title Country Life (ABC circ. 39,257). Lastly BBC Good Food featured Carla on Instagram (they have 300K followers!)