Why the table is part of the route

In Kakheti, the first toast does not signal the beginning of dinner so much as a change in how time will be kept.

Dishes arrive without courses. Stories circle back. A neighbour appears with another bottle and becomes part of the table without requiring an introduction.

The point is not excess. It is attention. For a few hours, eating is not the thing squeezed between two sights. It is where the journey is happening.