Supra - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Restaurant Review

Supra

by tony-ware • February 23, 2018

A supra is a Georgian feast; it is also the name of a 4,000-square-foot, 136-seat addition to the Shaw neighborhood showcasing the Eurasian country’s cuisine. Opened by Jonathan and Laura Nelms, who enlisted Malkhaz Maisahvili, former Embassy of Georgia executive chef, to run the kitchen, the restaurant offers what’s likely the largest Georgian wine list in the US, with over four-dozen labels, one-third by the glass. Most are made in the traditional earthenware amphorae called qvevri (marked with a “Q” on the list) and from native grapes; to help diners navigate, the Nelmses provide tasting notes and group the wines in categories such as “Play it Safe” (a juicy, purple-fruited Vinoterra Saperavi) and “Take a Leap” (Our Wine Rkatsiteli, a deeply tannic, earthy white)—cues to the degree to which the choices stray from Western ideals when it comes to funk and tannins. Don’t fear the unusual, however: When it comes to the garlic-laden vegetable pâtés, rich cheese-stuffed pies and the one-two punch of tkemali (sour plum sauce) and ajika (chile paste) on the kebabs, tannic whites and earthy reds make a lot of sense.

1205 11th St. NW, Washington D.C.

Georgian

202-789-1205

This story appears in the print issue of February 2018.
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TAGS Georgian Restaurant Washington D.C.

David Paradela
Associate Editor

David joined Wine & Spirits in 2021 after immersing himself in the world of wine at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally from Boston, he graduated from Boston University with a degree in English and completed a master’s degree in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College in 2021. Prior to working at the magazine, he served as an editor and staff writer for the music blog Sound of Boston and worked in scientific publishing. Aside from wine, he loves basketball, arguing about Taylor Swift’s best album, and everything Greta Gerwig touches.

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Tastings Editor

Corey Warren moved to New York in 2015—fifteen years too late to join The Strokes—after earning a degree at Cornell in Comparative Literature. He started polishing glasses at Betony and threw himself into the restaurant world. Later, while a captain at Aquavit, he began working part time in the Wine & Spirits tasting department. Now, in addition to running tastings, he serves as critic for the wines of the Loire, Southern France, Argentina and South Africa. Corey likes almost anything bubbly, from Miller High Life, the Champagne of beers, to Champagne, the Champagne of Champagne, but he’ll drink anything once, and loves finding unique wines.

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After graduating with a degree in journalism from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Patricio Tapia attended Bordeaux University in France, where he studied for a diploma in wine tasting and winemaking. Since then, he has visited wine regions around the world and authored several books, including his annual Descorchados, a Chilean wine guide; The Wines of Colchagua Valley; TodoVino and Wines for Great Occasions. Tapia is also the South American correspondent for The Oxford Companion to Wine, The World Atlas of Wine and Oz Clarke’s Pocket Wine Book. For the past three years, he’s been a host on the El Gourmet channel in South America. At Wine & Spirits, Tapia is the critic for the wines of Argentina, Chile and Spain, and regularly contributes articles on these regions.