Georgian food is one of the great undiscovered cuisines in Europe and Central Asia, shaped by the country's position on the crossroads of empires and its extraordinary agricultural diversity. Khachapuri — cheese-filled bread in several regional forms, the Adjarian version arriving as a boat-shaped pastry with a raw egg and butter stirred in at the table — is the Georgian dish that stops conversation. Khinkali, the pleated soup dumpling filled with spiced beef and broth, is eaten standing at a khinkali house, the twisted top discarded as the bottom is consumed bite by first. Churchkhela, the candied walnut string dipped in thickened grape juice, hangs in market stalls like edible jewellery. Georgian wine, made by the traditional qvevri method (fermenting with grape skins in buried clay vessels for up to six months) produces amber wines of unusual complexity. Chacha (grape pomace brandy) closes most meals. No rush.