1 00:00:11,211 --> 00:00:19,819 >>> IF YOU WANT ONE MORE BLESSING TO COUNT THIS WEEKEND, MEET NATHAN SCHMIDT'S CAMP OF CLIMBERS. 2 00:00:19,886 --> 00:00:28,294 THEIR MOTHERS ARE WIDOWS OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE WHO GAMBLED THAT A WEEK OF CHALLENGE IN THE ALPS -- 3 00:00:28,361 --> 00:00:33,433 >> BREATHE IN. TWO, THREE. >> COULD MEND THEIR BROKEN HEARTS. 4 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:43,510 >> CAN'T HEAR THE SOUNDS OF WAR HERE. YOU JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES, AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD FLY. 5 00:00:43,576 --> 00:00:49,983 >>> ENTER SOME COUNTRIES, YOU ARRIVE IN STYLE. HERE YOU ARRIVE IN WHAT'S BASICALLY A BACKYARD SWING 6 00:00:50,049 --> 00:00:55,855 HOISTED BY A CRANE 60 FEET ABOVE THE NORTH SEA. AND IF YOU'RE WONDERING ABOUT THE SAFETY REGULATIONS, YEAH, US 7 00:00:55,922 --> 00:01:01,961 TOO. THEN AGAIN, WHEN YOU ARE A SOVEREIGN NATION, YOU, BY DEFINITION, SET YOUR OWN RULES. 8 00:01:02,028 --> 00:01:07,867 >> THAT'S A HELL OF A WAY TO GET INTO A COUNTRY. >> THE ONLY WAY TO TRAVEL. >> WELCOME TO SEALAND, A 9 00:01:07,934 --> 00:01:15,508 MONARCHY THAT DECLARED ITS INDEPENDENCE IN 1967. JUST WAIT TILL YOU HEAR THIS STORY. 10 00:01:15,575 --> 00:01:23,683 >> I'M LESLEY STAHL. >> I'M BILL WHITAKER. >> I'M SHARYN ALFONSI. >> I'M JON WERTHEIM. 11 00:01:23,750 --> 00:01:30,623 >> I'M CECILIA VEGA. >> I'M NORAH O'DONNELL. >> I'M SCOTT PELLEY. THOSE STORIES AND MORE TONIGHT 12 00:01:30,690 --> 00:01:35,295 ON THIS SPECIAL 90-MINUTE EDITION OF "60 MINUTES." 13 00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:49,742 >>> A BUS FILLED WITH WIDOWS OF WAR AND THEIR CHILDREN LEFT UKRAINE RECENTLY, BOUND FOR THE AUSTRIAN ALPS. 14 00:01:49,809 --> 00:01:57,684 THEY'D BEEN INVITED TO A CHARITY SUMMER CAMP HOSTED BY NATHAN SCHMIDT, AN AMERICAN MARINE WHO KNOWS ALL TOO WELL THE 15 00:01:57,750 --> 00:02:05,525 BEREAVEMENT OF WAR. MOUNTAIN CLIMBING WAS SCHMIDT'S PATH TO RECOVERY FROM THREE COMBAT TOURS IN IRAQ. 16 00:02:05,592 --> 00:02:13,766 AND SO WHEN VLADIMIR PUTIN LAUNCHED HIS ATTACK ON AN INNOCENT PEOPLE, SCHMIDT OFFERED UKRAINE WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN 17 00:02:13,833 --> 00:02:25,044 IMPOSSIBLE HOPE, THAT IN ONLY SIX DAYS IN THE ALPS, HE COULD TEACH GRIEVING FAMILIES TO RISE. THE JOURNEY TO AN AUSTRIAN HOTEL 18 00:02:25,111 --> 00:02:34,521 ENDED AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING AFTER 45 HOURS ON THE ROAD. SO THE TRIP ALREADY FELT LIKE A MISTAKE TO WIDOWS WHO PACKED 19 00:02:34,587 --> 00:02:40,960 ENOUGH SKEPTICISM TO LAST THE WEEK. THEIR HUSBANDS DIED DEFENDING UKRAINE. 20 00:02:41,027 --> 00:02:51,804 AMONG THE ESTIMATED 70,000 UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS KILLED. TIME STOPPED FOR NATALIA ZAREMBA AND HER TWO YOUNG BOYS. 21 00:02:51,871 --> 00:02:56,476 SHE TOLD US -- [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ] >> Reporter: "I THINK THEY STILL 22 00:02:56,543 --> 00:03:06,686 DON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED. JUST LIKE ME, THEY'RE STILL WAITING FOR DADDY TO COME HOME FROM WORK." 23 00:03:06,753 --> 00:03:17,764 FOR DADDY TO FLY HOME TO 8-YEAR-OLD ILLIA AND 5-YEAR-OLD ANDRII, WHO IMAGINED MASTERING THE AIR LIKE THEIR DAD. 24 00:03:17,830 --> 00:03:29,208 MYKHAILO ZAREMBA WAS A NAVY PILOT SHOT DOWN MAY 2022 IN THE UNPROVOKED INVASION OF HIS HOME. [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL 25 00:03:29,275 --> 00:03:37,984 LANGUAGE ] >> Reporter: "HE LOVED UKRAINE, SO HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR UKRAINE." 26 00:03:38,051 --> 00:03:45,458 >> WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THIS TRIP? [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ] 27 00:03:45,525 --> 00:03:57,770 >> Reporter: "I WANT TO FIND STRENGTH FOR MYSELF TO BE ABLE TO BRING MY CHILDREN UP, TO BRING OUR CHILDREN UP. 28 00:03:57,837 --> 00:04:08,781 I WANT TO FIND THE STRENGTH TO NOT LET MY HUSBAND DOWN AND TO GIVE OUR CHILDREN A GOOD FUTURE." 29 00:04:08,848 --> 00:04:17,523 13 WIDOWS AND 20 CHILDREN HAD COME TO AUSTRIA FROM MYKOLAIV, A CITY BOMBED BY THE RUSSIANS FOR 260 DAYS. 30 00:04:17,590 --> 00:04:37,310 THE BEREAVED FAMILIES TRAVELED 1,300 MILES ON FAITH TO MEET A STRANGER, STILL STRUGGLING TO HEAL FROM HIS OWN WAR. 31 00:04:37,377 --> 00:04:46,653 NATHAN SCHMIDT, NAVAL ACADEMY GRADUATE, LIEUTENANT COLONEL U.S. MARINE CORPS RESERVE, LED SHOUTS OF "GLORY TO UKRAINE" AT 32 00:04:46,719 --> 00:04:57,430 THE THIRD SUMMER CAMP HOSTED BY HIS SMALL CHARITY, THE MOUNTAIN SEED FOUNDATION. >> IT COMES FROM THE BIBLE. 33 00:04:57,497 --> 00:05:03,836 IT WAS -- YOU KNOW, WITH FAITH THE SIZE OF A MUSTARD SEED, ONE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS. WE'RE NOT A RELIGIOUS 34 00:05:03,903 --> 00:05:11,911 ORGANIZATION, BUT THAT FAITH, THAT FAITH IN SOMETHING BIGGER, THAT FAITH IN SELF, AND IF YOU CAN REINFORCE THAT FAITH, WE AND 35 00:05:11,978 --> 00:05:20,753 YOU CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS. >> WHAT DO YOU HOPE THESE FAMILIES HAVE WHEN THEY RETURN TO UKRAINE? 36 00:05:20,820 --> 00:05:27,060 >> WE -- WE TEACH ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ROPE IN MOUNTAINEERING. THE ROPE SIGNIFIES COMMUNITY. 37 00:05:27,126 --> 00:05:33,499 IT SIGNIFIES TEAM. YOU'RE NEVER ALONE ON THE ROPE. IT ALSO SIGNIFIES COURAGE. BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE ON THE ROPE, 38 00:05:33,566 --> 00:05:39,038 THAT MEANS YOU'RE CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN. AND COURAGE DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU'RE NOT AFRAID. 39 00:05:39,105 --> 00:05:44,177 IT ACTUALLY MEANS THAT YOU ARE AFRAID, AND YOU'RE GOING TO OVERCOME THAT FEAR. >> Reporter: THERE WOULD BE 40 00:05:44,243 --> 00:05:56,222 PLENTY OF FEAR TO OVERCOME BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THIS WAS HIS GOAL -- TO LEAD CHILDREN ON THE LAST LEG OF A CLIMB TO THE PEAK 41 00:05:56,289 --> 00:06:03,596 OF MOUNT KITZSTEINHORN AT MORE THAN 10,000 FEET. THE FIRST STEPS TO THE SUMMIT BEGAN WITH TRAINING FOR THE 42 00:06:03,663 --> 00:06:15,074 KIDS, AGES 5 TO 17. FOR THEIR MOMS, THERE WERE DAILY GROUP THERAPY SESSIONS, AND EVERY DAY OF THE CAMP WOULD 43 00:06:15,141 --> 00:06:21,414 RAISE THE CHALLENGE FOR BOTH. >> WE'RE GOING TO TRUST OURSELVES. THE MAIN THING, WE'RE GOING TO 44 00:06:21,481 --> 00:06:26,486 TRUST OUR EQUIPMENT, AND WE'RE GOING TO TRUST THE TEAM THAT WE'RE WITH. >> Reporter: THE TEAM OF 45 00:06:26,552 --> 00:06:35,061 PROFESSIONAL GUIDES AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS INCLUDED DAN CNOSSEN. CNOSSEN WAS SCHMIDT'S NAVAL ACADEMY CLASSMATE. 46 00:06:35,128 --> 00:06:46,639 AS A NAVY S.E.A.L. IN 2009, HE LOST HIS LEGS IN AFGHANISTAN. HE'S A THREE-TIME PARALYMPIAN, BUT HE'D NEVER CLIMBED SINCE HIS 47 00:06:46,706 --> 00:06:58,251 INJURY. THE FIRST DAYS OF TRAINING LOOKED DANGEROUS -- >> THREE, TWO, ONE. 48 00:06:58,317 --> 00:07:04,757 >> Reporter: -- BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS AN EXPERT ON THE ROPE. >> THAT'S A LITTLE LATE. >> Reporter: ONE PROFESSIONAL 49 00:07:04,824 --> 00:07:14,901 GUIDE FOR EVERY FOUR CHILDREN WHO EASED THE TENSION SLOWLY FOR KIDS, INCLUDING 14-YEAR-OLD MYROSLAV KUPCHENKOV. 50 00:07:14,967 --> 00:07:19,505 >> JUST LEAN BACK. LEAN BACK, TOTALLY TRUST. >> NO. >> LEAN BACK. 51 00:07:19,572 --> 00:07:22,809 >> I CAN'T. >> YOU CAN'T? >> I CAN'T. >> YOU CAN. 52 00:07:22,875 --> 00:07:29,448 >> I CAN'T. >> OF COURSE YOU CAN. >> Reporter: MYROSLAV, HIS ADULT SISTER, AND THEIR MOTHER, 53 00:07:29,515 --> 00:07:40,726 NATALIA, LOST OLEKSANDR KUPCHENKOV, A 53-YEAR-OLD CAREER SOLDIER. [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL 54 00:07:40,793 --> 00:07:46,332 LANGUAGE ] >> Reporter: NATALIA TOLD US, "HE WAS THE MAN I WANTED TO SPEND MY WHOLE LIFE WITH. 55 00:07:46,399 --> 00:07:55,842 HE WAS THE BEST AT EVERYTHING. WONDERFUL HUSBAND, WONDERFUL DAD. PEOPLE LOVED HIM." 56 00:07:55,908 --> 00:08:10,556 KUPCHENKOV WAS HIT BY A RUSSIAN MISSILE MARCH 2022 AS HE WAS RUNNING AMMUNITION TO HIS PENNED DOWN SOLDIERS. 57 00:08:10,623 --> 00:08:25,171 MYROSLAV TOLD US "EVERY DAY HE SHOWED ME HOW TO BE A GOOD PERSON, AND HE WAS ALWAYS BRAVE. HE WOULD NEVER GO BACK, ONLY 58 00:08:25,238 --> 00:08:33,579 FORWARD." AND MYROSLAV DISCOVERED IN RAPPELLING, GOING BACK IS GOING FORWARD, AND TERROR WAS JUST ONE 59 00:08:33,646 --> 00:08:39,518 STEP BEFORE TRIUMPH. >> THAT'S IT. THERE YOU GO. SUPER. 60 00:08:39,585 --> 00:08:46,592 >> Reporter: AS THE CHILDREN LEARNED THE ROPES, THE MOMS SEEMED TO BE NEAR THE END OF THEIRS. 61 00:08:46,659 --> 00:08:53,933 >> IT WILL BE HARD FOR YOU TO HEAR THIS. >> Reporter: THEY WERE LED BY CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AMIT OREN 62 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:04,543 WITH TRANSLATION BY IRENA, THE CHARITY'S UKRAINIAN CO-FOUNDER. AMIT OREN IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT THE YALE SCHOOL OF 63 00:09:04,610 --> 00:09:10,850 MEDICINE. >> THE WAY APPROACH THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE IS NOT IN LOOKING AT THEIR TRAUMA. 64 00:09:10,917 --> 00:09:16,522 IT'S IN LOOKING AT THEIR STRENGTHS. >> AND WHAT STRENGTHS ARE YOU FINDING? 65 00:09:16,589 --> 00:09:28,834 >> CAPACITY FOR LOVE, HONEST. THESE ARE THE STRENGTHS THAT THEY'RE FINDING. ALL I DO IS TAKE A FLASHLIGHT, 66 00:09:28,901 --> 00:09:39,879 ILLUMINATE INSIDE THEM, AND LET THEM SEE AND REMEMBER WHO THEY ARE. >> Reporter: BUT SVITLANA 67 00:09:39,946 --> 00:09:43,950 MELNYICHUK ON THE LEFT DIDN'T SEE THE LIGHT. SHE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN BREAKTHROUGHS. 68 00:09:44,016 --> 00:09:53,159 SHE BROUGHT HER DAUGHTER, MYROSLAVA, WIHILE HER ADULT DAUGHTER STAYED HOME. SVITLANA LOST HER HUSBAND, 69 00:09:53,225 --> 00:10:00,766 YURIY, A CIVILIAN BUILDING INSPECTOR, WHO VOLUNTEERED THE DAY AFTER PUTIN INVADED. SVITLANA MIXED HOMEMADE 70 00:10:00,833 --> 00:10:11,310 EXPLOSIVES FOR THE TROOPS AS HER HUSBAND SENT TEXT MESSAGES FROM THE FRONT. SVITLANA TOLD US -- 71 00:10:11,377 --> 00:10:14,880 [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ] >> Reporter: "PICTURES STARTED COMING IN. 72 00:10:14,947 --> 00:10:21,654 GOOD MORNING, DARLING. WITH A PHOTO OF A FLOWER TAKEN RIGHT FROM THE TRENCH. IT WAS SPRING ALREADY. 73 00:10:21,721 --> 00:10:31,364 RIGHT FROM THE TRENCH." THE PHOTOS THRILLED HER BECAUSE YURIY HAD ALWAYS WORKED TOO MUCH AT THE EXPENSE OF THE FAMILY, 74 00:10:31,430 --> 00:10:39,238 SHE THOUGHT. BUT AFTER THE INVASION, FAMILY WAS ALL HE CARED ABOUT. HIS REVELATION LIFTED THEIR 75 00:10:39,305 --> 00:10:51,817 LIVES. THEN HE WAS DEAD, AND HER RAGE IS ALMOST LIKE BLINDNESS. "I BECAME VERY DISTANT AND 76 00:10:51,884 --> 00:11:03,029 ANGRY, AND I KEPT ALL THE SORROW INSIDE. I DIDN'T SHARE IT." NATHAN SCHMIDT WAS KEEPING HIS 77 00:11:03,095 --> 00:11:09,535 SORROW INSIDE WHEN IN 2019, A FRIEND INVITED HIM ON A CLIMBING TRIP. SCHMIDT WASN'T A MOUNTAINEER. 78 00:11:09,602 --> 00:11:19,412 HE'S AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. TO HIM, THE IDEA SOUNDED SO DIFFICULT AND FRIGHTENING, IT MIGHT JUST HAVE THE FORCE TO 79 00:11:19,478 --> 00:11:32,858 BREAK HIS GRIEF. >> YOU KNOW, I -- I SPENT THE NAVAL ACADEMY PREPARING MYSELF FOR WAR, AND NOTHING CAN PREPARE 80 00:11:32,925 --> 00:11:40,966 YOURSELF FOR WAR. >> IN 2004, SCHMIDT WAS A 24-YEAR-OLD FIRST LIEUTENANT WHO DREAMED OF LEADING MARINES. 81 00:11:41,033 --> 00:11:51,477 HE LANDED IN FALLUJAH ON THE EVE OF THE BLOODIEST BATTLE OF THE ENTIRE IRAQ WAR. >> TWO WEEKS AFTER ARRIVING AT 82 00:11:51,544 --> 00:11:59,819 CAMP FALLUJAH, I LOST MY TEACHER, WHO WAS A MENTOR OF MINE AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. >> KILLED? 83 00:11:59,885 --> 00:12:06,826 >> YEAH. TE ROCKETS STRUCK THE OFFICE. I WAS THE SECOND ONE IN THE ROOM, AND IT'S THE FIRST TIME I 84 00:12:06,892 --> 00:12:16,268 HAD EVER SEEN ANYONE DIE IN SUCH A WAY. AND IT WAS MY TEACHER. AND THAT ESTABLISHED A CRACK IN 85 00:12:16,335 --> 00:12:22,708 ME THAT HAD TO BE HEALED IN ANOTHER WAY THAT TOOK YEARS AND YEARS TO HEAL. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THAT WAS 86 00:12:22,775 --> 00:12:35,521 THE FIRST OF MANY CRACKS. I LOST ONE OF OUR MARINES THAT WAS IN MY UNIT A MONTH LATER. I THEN HAD MY FRIEND LOSE HIS 87 00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:47,700 LEG. I TOOK OVER HIS TEAM. A FEW DAYS AFTER THAT, I LOST MY ANALYST IN THE GUN TURRET OF OUR 88 00:12:47,766 --> 00:12:53,772 VEHICLE. BY THE END OF NOVEMBER, THE UNIT THAT I WAS WITH, WHICH IS A GREAT UNIT, THREE-ONE, WAS 89 00:12:53,839 --> 00:13:02,214 COMBAT INEFFECTIVE. WE HAD LOST OVER 20% OF OUR UNIT, EITHER INJURED OR KILLED. >> Reporter: AND THAT WAS HIS 90 00:13:02,281 --> 00:13:10,356 FIRST TOUR. HE FOUGHT IN IRAQ FOR THREE YEARS. >> WHO WERE YOU AFTER THAT THIRD 91 00:13:10,422 --> 00:13:18,764 TOUR? >> I THOUGHT IN MY MIND THAT I WAS THE STRONGEST. BUT IN REALITY, I WAS -- I WAS 92 00:13:18,831 --> 00:13:28,207 THE WEAKEST. I WAS STRONG PHYSICALLY. I COULD DO AS MANY PULL-UPS AS YOU ASKED ME TO DO. 93 00:13:28,274 --> 00:13:40,452 I COULD RUN. MAN, I WAS BROKE. YOU KNOW, THOSE CRACKS, THEY TAKE A LIFETIME TO HEAL. 94 00:13:40,519 --> 00:14:05,578 >> YOU SPEND THIS WEEK DOING WHAT YOU CAN TO HEAL THESE FAMILIES, AND I WONDER HOW MUCH OF THAT IS HEALING YOU. 95 00:14:05,644 --> 00:14:17,056 >> IT'S HUGE. THIS PROGRAM HAS HEALED ME IN WAYS I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE, AND I FEEL SOMETIMES LIKE IT'S 96 00:14:17,122 --> 00:14:28,968 SELFISH. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT. YOU'RE RIGHT. IT WORKS, AND I'M NOT SURE WHY. 97 00:14:29,034 --> 00:14:37,810 >> Reporter: MAYBE IT WORKS BECAUSE OF THE CHILDREN AND MOTHERS WHO ARRIVED ON THE BUS WILL NOT BE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO 98 00:14:37,876 --> 00:14:47,319 RETURN TO UKRAINE. NO ONE'S QUITE THE SAME AFTER SCALING A WALL LIKE THIS. WHEN WE COME BACK, TEACHING THE 99 00:14:47,386 --> 00:14:50,856 BEREAVED TO RISE. 100 00:14:58,731 --> 00:15:05,404 >>> NATHAN SCHMIDT'S WEEK LONG SUMMER CAMP FOR BEREAVED UKRAINIAN CHILDREN AND THEIR MOTHERS BEGAN WITH TRAINING IN 101 00:15:05,471 --> 00:15:17,016 THE AUSTRIAN ALPS. THEN SERIOUS WORK BEGAN, THE KIND OF CHALLENGE THAT MIGHT RISE TO A REVELATION. 102 00:15:17,082 --> 00:15:27,793 THE HOHE TAUREN NATIONAL PARK EMBRACES SOME OF THE HIGHEST PEAKS IN THE AUSTRIAN ALPS AND A FEAT OF ENGINEERING. 103 00:15:27,860 --> 00:15:35,934 THE MOOSERBODEN DAM WOULD BE THE FIRST BIG CHALLENGE FOR THE 13 WIDOWS AND THEIR 20 CHILDREN. A ZIPLINE FLEW THEM TO THE 104 00:15:36,001 --> 00:15:48,047 CONCRETE FACE. WHERE THEY FOUND A STEEL CABLE TO CLIP THEIR HARNESSES TO. FOOTHOLDS WERE SET ACROSS THE 105 00:15:48,113 --> 00:15:56,755 SPAN ABOUT 2 1/2 FOOTBALL FIELDS WIDE. THE CHILDREN AND MOMS LITERALLY COULD NOT FALL, AND YET THE 106 00:15:56,822 --> 00:16:05,931 MOOSERBODEN DAM REMAINED 32 STORIES OF DOUBT. NATALIA ZAREMBA DID NOT LIKE THE MEASURE OF IT. 107 00:16:05,998 --> 00:16:14,940 THE RUSSIANS HAD KILLED HER HUSBAND, THE FATHER OF HER TWO BOYS. WAS THIS RISK FOOLISH? 108 00:16:15,007 --> 00:16:22,548 >> WHY DO YOU PUT THEM ON THIS DAM? >> WE PUT THEM ON THIS DAM BECAUSE WE WANT THEM TO CONFRONT 109 00:16:22,614 --> 00:16:28,053 DISCOMFORT. WE WANT THEM TO CONFRONT THEIR FEARS. >> Reporter: NATHAN SCHMIDT 110 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:37,329 CO-FOUNDED THE MOUNTAIN SEED FOUNDATION CHARITY. WE MET IN THE 700 SQUARE MILE PARK WHERE THE DAM, FINISHED 111 00:16:37,396 --> 00:16:43,068 AFTER WORLD WAR II, IS A TOURIST ATTRACTION FOR ROCK CLIMBERS. >> WHAT MAKES THIS SAFE IN YOUR VIEW? 112 00:16:43,135 --> 00:16:49,408 >> FIRST OFF, WE HAVE PROFESSIONAL MOUNTAIN GUIDES. THE SECOND THING IS ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE, THEY 113 00:16:49,475 --> 00:16:55,147 TRAIN THROUGHOUT THE WEEK ON IT. THEY KNOW HOW TO USE THE EQUIPMENT. AND THEN PARTICULARLY THE LITTLE 114 00:16:55,214 --> 00:17:06,625 CHILDREN, THEY ARE ALSO SHORT-ROPED INTO A GUIDE. SO THERE'S MULTIPLE LAYERS OF SECURITY FOR THEM. 115 00:17:06,692 --> 00:17:21,774 >> Reporter: AND SO WITH ALL THAT SECURITY, THE CHALLENGE WAS NOT SO MUCH UNDER THEIR FEET AS UNDER THEIR SKIN. 116 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:30,449 >> HELP ME. >> AND HERE WE GO. >> Reporter: MYROSLAV KUPCHENKOV, WHO TOLD US HIS LATE 117 00:17:30,516 --> 00:17:40,125 FATHER NEVER WENT BACK, ALWAYS FORWARD, WAS FOLLOWING HIS FATHER'S LEAD. >> YOU KNOW, IN LIFE, SOMETIMES 118 00:17:40,192 --> 00:17:47,933 THE THING THAT GETS YOU THROUGH A DIFFICULT POINT IS KNOWING THAT YOU'VE ALREADY DONE SOMETHING MORE DIFFICULT. 119 00:17:48,000 --> 00:18:02,748 >> WHAT DIFFERENCE DO YOU SEE IN THEM WHEN THEY REACH THE TOP? >> THE SHEER LOOK OF JOY ON THEIR FACES. 120 00:18:02,815 --> 00:18:10,222 >> PERFECT. >> IT'S HARD TO EVEN COMPREHEND. WE KNOW THAT THAT WILL BE A STRONG POINT FOR THEM WHEN THEY 121 00:18:10,289 --> 00:18:20,032 GO BACK TO UKRAINE. THEY WILL KNOW THAT THEY'VE -- THEY'VE CONQUERED THIS WALL, AND THEY'VE CONQUERED THEIR OWN 122 00:18:20,098 --> 00:18:29,641 FEARS. >> Reporter: FEARS CONQUERED BY NATALIA ZAREMBA, WHO AT THE END OF THE CLIMB, WAS WALKING ON 123 00:18:29,708 --> 00:18:34,012 AIR. >> YEAH! >> Reporter: SHE TOLD US SHE CAME TO AUSTRIA TO FIND STRENGTH 124 00:18:34,079 --> 00:18:44,990 TO RAISE HER BOYS ALONE. >> NICE! >> Reporter: SHE SAID, "IT WAS SOMETHING INCREDIBLE. 125 00:18:45,057 --> 00:18:50,963 AS SOON AS I STEPPED ON THE GROUND, THE CHILDREN RAN TO ME, HUGGED ME. THERE WERE NO FLOWERS THERE, SO 126 00:18:51,029 --> 00:18:57,569 MY OLDER SON GAVE ME A BRANCH FROM A BUSH. >> YOU KNOW, I SEE YOU SMILING, AND I SUSPECT THERE HASN'T BEEN 127 00:18:57,636 --> 00:19:09,181 A LOT OF THAT. [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ] >> Reporter: "I DON'T FEEL JOY 128 00:19:09,248 --> 00:19:20,459 THE WAY I USED TO. WHEREVER I AM, NO MATTER HOW GOOD A TIME I'M HAVING, IT'S HARD KNOWING MY HUSBAND COULD 129 00:19:20,526 --> 00:19:39,044 HAVE BEEN WITH US, BUT HE'S NOT. AND EVEN WHEN I SMILE, THE PAIN IN MY HEART IS VERY STRONG." THE PAIN IS STRONG, BUT MAYBE 130 00:19:39,111 --> 00:19:47,352 NOT INVINCIBLE. NATALIA WAS LISTENING AT THE MEETINGS, AND WORDS OF INSPIRATION LIKE THOSE OF NAVY 131 00:19:47,419 --> 00:19:59,231 S.E.A.L. DAN CNOSSEN WERE GETTING THROUGH. >> THAT BOMB IN AFGHANISTAN TOOK MY LEGS, AND I CAN'T CHANGE THAT 132 00:19:59,298 --> 00:20:03,302 FACT. [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ] >> BUT ULTIMATELY, IT HAS TO BE 133 00:20:03,368 --> 00:20:16,582 UP TO ME TO DECIDE IF IT'S GOING TO TAKE THE REST OF MY LIFE TOO. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. [ APPLAUSE ] 134 00:20:16,648 --> 00:20:24,990 >> Reporter: STILL FOR OTHERS, ESPECIALLY SVITLANA MELNYICHUK, WORDS FELL SHORT. SHE HAD TOLD US HER HUSBAND SENT 135 00:20:25,057 --> 00:20:34,032 PHOTOS OF FLOWERS FROM HIS TRENCH UNTIL THE RUSSIANS KILLED HIM. SHE SAID, "LIFE IS A BOOK THAT 136 00:20:34,099 --> 00:20:45,010 YOU READ YOUR WHOLE LIFE. WHEN MY HUSBAND DIED, I STOPPED TURNING THE PAGES IN THE BOOK." BUT OPENING A NEW CHAPTER IS 137 00:20:45,077 --> 00:20:53,418 WHAT CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AMIT OREN HAD IN MIND. AND SO SHE TOOK THE WIDOWS TO A STORYBOOK CASTLE WHERE SHE HOPED 138 00:20:53,485 --> 00:21:04,529 TO SCALE THE WALLS OF SVITLANA MELNYICHUK. >> AND I STARTED TO TALK WITH HER ABOUT CASTLE WALLS, THAT WE 139 00:21:04,596 --> 00:21:18,343 ARE GOING TO SEE A CASTLE WHERE THERE ARE ALWAYS VERY DEEP, TOUGH, IMPENETRABLE WALLS, AND THAT I THOUGHT THAT HER FACE 140 00:21:18,410 --> 00:21:24,983 LOOKED LIKE THAT. THAT IT WAS HARD TO SEE WHAT'S INSIDE LIKE THIS CASTLE. AND I BROUGHT THEM TO A WALL, A 141 00:21:25,050 --> 00:21:34,693 SIDE WALL OF THE CASTLE WHERE THERE ARE TEENY-TINY WINDOWS. AND I SAID TO THEM, RIGHT NOW I THINK YOU'RE HERE AT THE BOTTOM. 142 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:45,037 AND AS YOU GO UP, YOU'RE ABLE THEN TO SEE THREE WINDOWS. I SAID, UNLESS YOU OPEN THAT WINDOW, YOU CAN'T PEER OUT AND 143 00:21:45,103 --> 00:21:52,911 SEE THE BEAUTY AROUND YOU. YOU'RE TRAPPED. AND ULTIMATELY WHAT HAPPENED IS SEVERAL OF THE WOMEN STOOD THERE 144 00:21:52,978 --> 00:22:00,986 ON THE GRASS AND OPENED UP TO EACH OTHER. SHE WAS ONE OF THEM. >> IT WAS CHOKING YOU. 145 00:22:01,053 --> 00:22:09,227 I WAS CHOKING YOU. >> Reporter: THE NEXT DAY, AFTER THE GROUP SESSION, SVITLANA HAD BEEN THINKING. 146 00:22:09,294 --> 00:22:21,006 >> SHE CAME UP TO ME AND SAID TO ME, "IT WAS A VERY PAINFUL CONVERSATION WE HAD, AND I MADE A DECISION. 147 00:22:21,073 --> 00:22:32,350 MY ANGER WAS CHOKING ME, AND I DECIDED TO LET IT GO SO I CAN BREATHE." >> CONGRATULATIONS. 148 00:22:32,417 --> 00:22:42,861 YOU'VE DONE HARD WORK. I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU. >> SHE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO, BUT SHE'S UNDERSTOOD THAT IT'S A 149 00:22:42,928 --> 00:22:52,804 CHOICE AT LEAST. THE FEW THINGS SHE CAN CONTROL IN THIS WORLD IS HOW OPEN OR CLOSED SHE CHOOSES TO BE IN HER 150 00:22:52,871 --> 00:23:01,379 OWN CASTLE. >> YOU KNOW, AS YOU TALK TO THE MOTHERS, NONE OF THEM EXPECTED WHAT HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY OF 151 00:23:01,446 --> 00:23:09,154 2022. >> THE INVASION? >> LOSING THEIR HOMES IN MANY CASES, LOSING THEIR FUTURE, OR 152 00:23:09,221 --> 00:23:16,027 AT LEAST THE FUTURE BEING UNKNOWN. AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS IN CLIMBING WHERE YOU LOOK ALL 153 00:23:16,094 --> 00:23:23,001 AROUND, AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO PUT YOUR HAND, AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO PUT YOUR FOOT. 154 00:23:23,068 --> 00:23:29,541 YOU DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN THAT POSITION OR FALL. THIS PROGRAM IS MEANT TO SHOW 155 00:23:29,608 --> 00:23:40,619 THEM THE FOOTHOLDS AND THE HANDHOLDS, TO FILL THE CRACKS THAT THEY HAVE TOO, AND THEN LEAD THEIR CHILDREN BACK UP THE 156 00:23:40,685 --> 00:23:47,392 MOUNTAIN. >> Reporter: ON DAY FIVE, ONE MOUNTAIN REMAINED. NATHAN SCHMIDT TOOK THE FIRST 157 00:23:47,459 --> 00:23:57,135 STEPS FROM A HIGH TRAM STATION ON AN ASCENT TO THE PEAK OF MOUNT KITZSTEINHORN. IT WAS A STEEP AND ICY 570 FEET 158 00:23:57,202 --> 00:24:05,710 TO THE ULTIMATE TEST OF THE CAMP. LIKE THE DAM EARLIER, THERE WAS A FIXED CABLE TO HOOK ONTO. 159 00:24:05,777 --> 00:24:15,453 BUT LIKE THE DAM, GLANCING DOWN LOOKED FATAL, AND LOOKING UP, A COLD THIN GLARE EXPOSED HOURS OF STRUGGLE. 160 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:25,831 WE FOLLOWED SCHMIDT'S LEAD AND REMEMBERED WHAT HE TOLD US ABOUT THE ROPE WE WERE ON AND ITS THREE LESSONS -- COMMUNITY, 161 00:24:25,897 --> 00:24:31,636 COURAGE -- >> AND THE LAST THING IS RESPONSIBILITY. AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST 162 00:24:31,703 --> 00:24:37,943 DIFFICULT ONE. AND THAT IS WHEN YOU'RE ON THE ROPE, YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE THAT ARE ON THE ROPE WITH 163 00:24:38,009 --> 00:24:43,949 YOU. WHEN THEY'RE WEAK, YOU PULL THEM UP. WHEN THEY ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF 164 00:24:44,015 --> 00:24:51,957 FATIGUE, YOU ENCOURAGE THEM. >> LOOK AT ME. BREATHE IN, TWO, THREE, FOUR, HOLD. 165 00:24:52,023 --> 00:24:59,764 TWO, THREE, FOUR. >> WE HOPE THAT WHEN THEY GO HOME, THAT THEY BUILD THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES, THEY ADD PEOPLE TO 166 00:24:59,831 --> 00:25:11,910 THEIR ROPE, THAT THEY ENCOURAGE THEM TO FACE THEIR FEARS AND HAVE COURAGE. >> Reporter: COURAGE LIFTED THEM 167 00:25:11,977 --> 00:25:18,917 10,508 FEET, A SUMMIT REACHED BY EVERYONE. >> LET'S GO! >> Reporter: INCLUDING NATHAN 168 00:25:18,984 --> 00:25:28,093 SCHMIDT'S NAVAL ACADEMY CLASSMATE, DAN CNOSSEN, ON HIS PROSTHETICS. >> IT WAS TOUGH, BUT I'M HAPPY 169 00:25:28,159 --> 00:25:33,031 TO MAKE IT TO THE TOP, AND IT WAS GREAT TO DO IT WITH EVERYTHING. SEEING THE KIDDING CLIMBING GAVE 170 00:25:33,098 --> 00:25:38,803 ME A LOT OF INSPIRATION TO KEEP PUSHING. >> Reporter: NATALIA ZAREMBA'S KIDS PUSHED TO THE TOP. 171 00:25:38,870 --> 00:25:47,145 SHE HAD COME TO AUSTRIA TO FIND STRENGTH WITHIN HERSELF. BUT FROM THE PEAK, SHE COULD SEE WHERE THAT KIND OF STRENGTH 172 00:25:47,212 --> 00:26:00,292 TRULY COMES FROM. "WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT BONDS US MORE NOW, SOME NEW ACHIEVEMENTS WHICH WE EXPERIENCED TOGETHER 173 00:26:00,358 --> 00:26:14,806 AND THAT TAUGHT US TO BE BRAVER AND STAY TOGETHER BECAUSE ONLY TOGETHER CAN WE OVERCOME THIS. OUR STRENGTH," SHE SAID, "WILL 174 00:26:14,873 --> 00:26:27,852 BE FROM BEING TOGETHER." ALSO AMONG THE CLIMBERS AT THE SUMMIT WAS MYROSLAV KUPCHENKOV, WHO TOLD US NOW HE COULD DO 175 00:26:27,919 --> 00:26:37,562 ANYTHING. >> WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THEM? >> MY HOPE FOR THEM IS THAT THEY CAN REMEMBER THE ACHIEVEMENT 176 00:26:37,629 --> 00:26:45,403 THAT THEY'VE HAD, AND I ALSO HOPE THEY CAN REMEMBER THE STILLNESS AND THE PEACE OF THESE MOUNTAINS. 177 00:26:45,470 --> 00:26:52,711 YOU CAN'T HEAR THE SOUNDS OF WAR HERE. YOU JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES, AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD FLY. 178 00:26:52,777 --> 00:27:05,256 >> Reporter: EVEN SVITLANA MELNYICHUK TOOK FLIGHT, RISING TO THE SUMMIT AND AT LAST TO THE HIGH, OPEN WINDOWS OF HER 179 00:27:05,323 --> 00:27:10,362 CASTLE. "I WAS SCREAMING. TO BE HONEST, I WAS SIMPLY SCREAMING. 180 00:27:10,428 --> 00:27:19,704 HAVING BREATHED IN FULL LUNGS OF AIR, I WAS SCREAMING WITH MY HEAD UP TOWARD -- I DON'T KNOW -- GOD? 181 00:27:19,771 --> 00:27:25,610 NATURE? I DON'T KNOW. I WAS JUST GETTING RID OF ALL THE NEGATIVE." 182 00:27:25,677 --> 00:27:34,419 >> HAS THIS HELPED YOU IN SOME SMALL WAY TO HEAL? [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ] 183 00:27:34,486 --> 00:27:44,796 >> Reporter: "OH, WELL, AT LEAST I MANAGED TO OPEN THE BAG OF MY SORROWS." TO OPEN THEIR SORROWS TO THE 184 00:27:44,863 --> 00:27:52,771 SKY, FIVE DAYS BEFORE THEY CLIPPED TO A ROPE, A STRING OF BROKEN SOULS. NOW THEY WOULD RETURN TO THE 185 00:27:52,837 --> 00:28:11,289 WAR, BUT THIS TIME RESURRECTED IN STRENGTH AND LOVE AND INVINCIBLE HOPE. 186 00:28:12,457 --> 00:28:17,629 >>> OKAY. NAME THAT COUNTRY. IT'S PLANTED OPPOSITE EUROPE, SITTING PROUDLY ON THE OTHER 187 00:28:17,695 --> 00:28:24,836 SIDE OF THE NORTH SEA. IT'S A MONARCHY THAT FEATURES ITS OWN CURRENCY, POSTAGE STAMPS, CONSTITUTION, NATIONAL 188 00:28:24,903 --> 00:28:33,411 ANTHEM, LOVE OF TEA, AND A PAIR OF HANDSOME PRINCES BORN TWO YEARS APART. WE SPEAK OF SEALAND, A CRUMB OF 189 00:28:33,478 --> 00:28:39,517 REAL ESTATE OFF THE ENGLISH COAST THAT DECLARED ITS INDEPENDENCE IN 1967. SEALAND HAS A FULL-TIME 190 00:28:39,584 --> 00:28:47,225 POPULATION OF ONE. IT HAS A LAND MASS THE SIZE OF ROUGHLY TWO TENNIS COURTS. ITS LEADING EXPORT MIGHT BE THE 191 00:28:47,292 --> 00:28:55,667 NATIONAL MYTHOLOGY, A HISTORY OF PIRACY, COUPS, COUNTERCOUPS, ROGUES, AND OFFSHORE INTERNET SCHEMES. 192 00:28:55,733 --> 00:29:02,307 IT MAY MIKE TINY LICK CONTINUE STEIN LOOK LIKE CHINA BY COMPARISON, BUT BY RIGHTS, SEALAND IS A SOVEREIGN NATION. 193 00:29:02,373 --> 00:29:09,714 JOIN US AS WE COMPILE SOME NOTES FROM A TRULY SMALL ISLAND. >> WE CAN CECILAND OVER THERE BY THE WAY NOW. 194 00:29:09,781 --> 00:29:13,952 YOU SEE THAT? >> THERE SHE IS. >> YEAH, YEAH. ON THE STARBOARD BOW. 195 00:29:14,018 --> 00:29:21,826 >> Reporter: BEHOLD, THE WORLD'S SMALLEST STATE. IT'S A MICRO NATION IN THE EXTREME, A PRINCIPALITY WHICH 196 00:29:21,893 --> 00:29:32,737 SITS, OR STANDS, ONLY SEVEN MILES OFF THE COAST OF ENGLAND. ITS SELF-DESCRIBED REIGNING MONARCH IS THIS GUY, PRINCE 197 00:29:32,804 --> 00:29:36,241 MICHAEL MICHAEL BATES. >> HERE WE ARE. >> A PLATFORM AND A COUPLE OF 198 00:29:36,307 --> 00:29:39,878 CONCRETE HUSKS. >> YEAH. >> AND THIS IS A STATE. >> YEP. 199 00:29:39,944 --> 00:29:45,850 >> Reporter: ENTER SOME COUNTRIES, YOU ARRIVE IN STYLE. HERE, YOU ARRIVE IN WHAT'S BASICALLY A BACKYARD SWING 200 00:29:45,917 --> 00:29:54,392 HOISTED BY A CRANK 60 FEET ABOVE THE NORTH SEA. AND IF YOU'RE WONDERING ABOUT THE SAFETY REGULATIONS, YEAH, US 201 00:29:54,459 --> 00:30:00,165 TOO. THEN AGAIN, WHEN YOU ARE A SOVEREIGN NATION, YOU, BY DEFINITION, SET YOUR OWN RULES. 202 00:30:00,231 --> 00:30:06,204 >> THAT'S A HELL OF A WAY TO GET INTO A COUNTRY. >> THE ONLY WAY TO TRAVEL. >> Reporter: ON THE PLUS SIDE, 203 00:30:06,271 --> 00:30:11,643 THERE'S NO LONG LINE AT THE ARRIVALS HALL. >> I'M FOLLOWING YOU TO PASSPORT CONTROL. 204 00:30:11,709 --> 00:30:17,148 >> Reporter: MIKE BARRINGTON FILLS VARIOUS POSITIONS ON SEALAND. RIGHT NOW IT'S IMMIGRATION AND 205 00:30:17,215 --> 00:30:22,887 CUSTOMS. HE ALSO HAPPENS TO BE THE ONLY PERMANENT RESIDENT. >> THERE YOU ARE, SIR. 206 00:30:22,954 --> 00:30:29,027 >> SO NOW I'M OFFICIAL? >> YOU ARE. WELCOME TO SEALAND. >> Reporter: IT WASN'T ALWAYS 207 00:30:29,093 --> 00:30:40,071 NAMED SEALAND, AND IT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE A COUNTRY. ORIGINALLY CALLED HIS MAJESTY'S ROUGHS TOWER, IT WAS A HASTILY 208 00:30:40,138 --> 00:30:47,045 CONSTRUCTED KNOTTICAL FORT, ONE OF SEVERAL THE BRITISH SET UP IN THE NORTH SEA DURING WORLD WAR II. 209 00:30:47,111 --> 00:30:53,051 EQUIPPED WITH ANTI-AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY, THESE FORTS WERE DESIGNED TO PREVENT GERMAN BOMBING RAIDS ON LONDON. 210 00:30:53,117 --> 00:31:01,793 DURING THE WAR, MORE THAN 100 ROYAL MARINES WERE CRAMMED INTO THESE TOWERS FOR MONTHS ON END. DESCENDING THE SEVEN-STORY 211 00:31:01,859 --> 00:31:10,168 TOWERS, IT FEELS AND SMELLS LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN A TREE HOUSE AND A DIESEL-SOAKED SUBMARINE. FIRST UP, THE FIRST CLASS 212 00:31:10,235 --> 00:31:15,540 BEDROOM SUITE. >> IT'S A NICE ONE. >> NICE TV. >> Reporter: OUR CLAUSTROPHOBIC 213 00:31:15,607 --> 00:31:19,477 TOUR CONTINUED DOWNWARD. >> NOW WE'RE UNDERWATER AT THIS POINT. >> YEAH. 214 00:31:19,544 --> 00:31:24,515 >> SO WE'VE STILL GOT A COUPLE FLOORS TO GO. >> YOU HEAR SHIPS GOING PAST. YOU HEAR THE PROPELLERS GOING 215 00:31:24,582 --> 00:31:29,721 DING, DING, DING, DING. >> Reporter: LIKE MANY COUNTRIES, THERE'S A NATIONAL CATHEDRAL. 216 00:31:29,787 --> 00:31:35,994 >> YOU HAVE FREEDOM OF WORSHIP IN SEALAND. I THINK THERE'S EVEN A KORAN HERE SOMEWHERE. 217 00:31:36,060 --> 00:31:39,998 >> Reporter: ON THE BOTTOM FLOOR, THE JAIL. >> TWO DAYS IN THE BRIG. BREAD AND WATER. 218 00:31:40,064 --> 00:31:45,403 >> I HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SEALAND CONSTITUTION AND SEE WHAT MY RIGHTS ARE. >> VERY LIMITED. 219 00:31:45,470 --> 00:31:51,476 >> Reporter: IF YOU'RE WONDERING BY NOW HOW THIS CONCRETE ISLAND CONSTITUTES A COUNTRY, STICK WITH US HERE. 220 00:31:51,542 --> 00:31:58,683 >> THIS IS RADIO CAROLINE ON 199. >> Reporter: BACK IN THE 1960s, THESE SAME WATERS PLAYED HOST TO 221 00:31:58,750 --> 00:32:06,724 THE BURGEONING UNLICENSED COMMERCIAL RADIO BUSINESS THAT OPERATED ON SHIPS AND OLD FORTS. WHAT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT 222 00:32:06,791 --> 00:32:15,433 CALLED PIRATE RADIO. IT WAS A TIME OF THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, THE KINKS. BUT THE STODGY BBC, WHICH HAD A 223 00:32:15,500 --> 00:32:24,709 MONOPOLY ON BROADCASTING IN BRITAIN, GAVE THE ROCK BANDS JUST AN HOUR OF AIR TIME A WEEK. ♪ 224 00:32:24,776 --> 00:32:32,450 THE YOUNGER SET IN BRITAIN, MILLIONS OF THEM, TUNED THEIR RADIO KNOBS TO THE PIRATE STATIONS. 225 00:32:32,517 --> 00:32:39,557 IN 1965, PRINCE MICHAEL'S FATHER, ROY BATES, AN ENTERPRISING, SWASHBUCKLING WORLD WAR II VETERAN, 226 00:32:39,624 --> 00:32:44,796 COMMANDEERED A FORT WHERE ANOTHER PIRATE STATION OPERATED. IT WAS THE WILD WEST ON THE NORTH SEA. 227 00:32:44,862 --> 00:32:51,602 >> THE DJs MAY NOT BE HIGHLY EXPERIENCED BUT THEY CERTAINLY PULL THEIR WEIGHT. >> Reporter: BATES SET UP 228 00:32:51,669 --> 00:32:57,709 BRITAIN'S FIRST 24-HOUR OUTFIT. HE CALLED IT RADIO ESSEX. >> YOU'RE IN TUNE WITH RADIO ESSEX. 229 00:32:57,775 --> 00:33:01,212 >> WE'RE DOING A JOB THAT'S NEEDED. THE PUBLIC WANTS US TO DO THE JOB. 230 00:33:01,279 --> 00:33:07,051 SO DO BUSINESSES, AND I THINK WHILE THIS DEMAND IS HERE, WE'LL REMAIN IN BUSINESS. >> Reporter: BUT NOT FOR LONG. 231 00:33:07,118 --> 00:33:14,425 THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT ENACTED A NEW LAW RENDERING ALL PIRATE RADIO STATIONS ILLEGAL. BATES WAS FORCED TO SHUT DOWN, 232 00:33:14,492 --> 00:33:23,701 BUT TRUE TO HIS NATURE, HE WAS SOMETHING OTHER THAN SCARED OFF. >> HE JUST WOULD NOT BACK DOWN. >> FORM OF SURRENDER? 233 00:33:23,768 --> 00:33:29,140 IF HE SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M OUT? >> HE WOULDN'T KNOW THAT WORD. NO. 234 00:33:29,207 --> 00:33:35,246 >> Reporter: FAR FROM SURRENDERING, BATES SEIZED ANOTHER FORT, ROUGHS TOWER, WHICH WAS OUTSIDE UK TERRITORIAL 235 00:33:35,313 --> 00:33:39,984 WATERS. INSTEAD OF RESTARTING RADIO ESSEX, HE DID SOMETHING BOLDER STILL. 236 00:33:40,051 --> 00:33:48,693 ON SEPTEMBER 2nd, 1967, HE DECLARED IT AN INDEPENDENT STATE, SEALAND, AND DECLARED HIMSELF ITS PRINCE. 237 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:54,399 IT WAS HIS WIFE, JOAN'S BIRTHDAY. >> AND IT WAS, OF COURSE, A HUGELY ROMANTIC GESTURE TO MAKE 238 00:33:54,465 --> 00:33:59,337 MY MOTHER A PRINCESS. >> IN ADDITION TO TAKING YOU OUT TO DINNER, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU A PRINCESS. 239 00:33:59,404 --> 00:34:04,709 >> HE DIDN'T TAKE HER OUT TO DINNER, BUT HE JUST MADE HER A PRINCESS, YEAH. >> Reporter: PRINCE ROY AND 240 00:34:04,776 --> 00:34:11,215 PRINCESS JOAN ALONG WITH THEIR TWO CHILDREN, MICHAEL AND PENNY, SET UP HOME ON SEALAND. THE SHEER NOVELTY OF THEIR 241 00:34:11,282 --> 00:34:17,355 LIFESTYLE WAS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF AMUSEMENT ON THE MAINLAND. THIS NEWS REEL IS FROM 1967. >> THE START OF ANOTHER DAY EVEN 242 00:34:17,422 --> 00:34:25,897 FOR THE NEW ROYALS IS NO DIFFERENT THAN FOR MILLIONS OF OTHERS. >> MRS. BATES, HOW IS IT BOBBLE 243 00:34:25,963 --> 00:34:32,170 TO KEEP LOOKING GLAMOROUS IN CONDITIONS LIKE THESE? >> IT'S NO MORE DIFFICULT THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. 244 00:34:32,236 --> 00:34:37,842 WE'RE QUITE COMFORTABLE HERE. WE HAVE ALL THE THINGS I WANT. LOOK, MAKEUP, BRUSHES AND THINGS. 245 00:34:37,909 --> 00:34:44,148 >> Reporter: AT AGE 16, PENNY WAS LESS CONVINCED. >> IT WAS FREEZING COLD, AND IT HAD NO ELECTRICITY. 246 00:34:44,215 --> 00:34:50,588 TO FLUSH THE TOILET, YOU'D HAVE TO CHUCK A BUCKET OVER THE SIDE, DROP IT DOWN ABOUT 80 FEET, PULL IT UP AND FLUSH THE TOILET. 247 00:34:50,655 --> 00:34:56,194 >> THAT WAS YOUR TOILET? >> YES. >> Reporter: THE BATES FAMILY HAD BIG AMBITIONS TO TURN 248 00:34:56,260 --> 00:35:02,500 SEALAND INTO A TAX HAVEN, A LUXURY ISLAND AND CASINO, AND THEY WENT ALL IN ON THE TRAPPINGS OF STATEHOOD, 249 00:35:02,567 --> 00:35:15,179 FASHIONING A FLAG, STAMPS, CURRENCY, AN ANTHEM, EVEN A NATIONAL MOTTO, E MARE LIBERTAS, "FROM THE SEA, FREEDOM." 250 00:35:15,246 --> 00:35:21,085 ♪ AS TEENS, MICHAEL AND PENNY WOULD SPEND MONTHS ON SEALAND, HOLDING DOWN THE FORT AS IT 251 00:35:21,152 --> 00:35:28,192 WERE, FIRING OFF WARNING SHOTS AND TOSSING MOLOTOV COCKTAILS OVERBOARD TO FEND OFF PERIODIC ATTEMPTS OF INVASION FROM RIVALS 252 00:35:28,259 --> 00:35:34,499 AND BUCCANEERS. >> WHEN THE PRESS EVENTUALLY CAME OUT AND TOOK PHOTOGRAPHS, MY FATHER CALLED ME DOWN, AND HE 253 00:35:34,565 --> 00:35:42,106 SAID, NOW, LOOK, HE SAID HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU YOU DO NOT HOLD A GUN LIKE THAT. >> YOU WEREN'T HOLDING THE GUN 254 00:35:42,173 --> 00:35:48,746 THE RIGHT WAY? >> ACTUALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURE, THE ONE WHERE I'M HOLDING THE GUNS, IT'S DREADFUL. 255 00:35:48,813 --> 00:35:54,252 >> Reporter: FIRMLY SETTLED ON SEALAND, THE BATSZ REMAINED A NUISANCE TO THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 256 00:35:54,318 --> 00:36:02,527 SO MUCH SO, AS A WARNING TO THE FAMILY, A TEAM OF ROYAL ENGINEERS BLEW UP A SIMILAR NORTH SEA FORT. 257 00:36:02,593 --> 00:36:10,535 AT SEALAND'S NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WHICH DOUBLES AS PRINCE MICHAEL'S DINING ROOM TABLE, WE WERE SHOWN DECLASSIFIED PLANS 258 00:36:10,601 --> 00:36:18,142 DRAWN UP BY THE BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE TO TAKE SEALAND BY FORCE. >> THE FOLLOWING UNITS ARE TO BE 259 00:36:18,209 --> 00:36:26,017 AVAILABLE TO THE EXECUTION OF THE OPERATION. ROYAL NAVY, TWO WESSEX FIVE CLOPTS, CRAFTS FROM HM NAVAL 260 00:36:26,083 --> 00:36:34,091 BASE CHATHAM, PORTSMOUTH, AND A CLEARANCE DIVING TEAM. IT'S CRAZY, ISN'T IT. >> Reporter: BUT IT WASN'T JUST 261 00:36:34,158 --> 00:36:42,133 THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT THAT WANTED TO DISLODGE THE FAMILY. IN AUGUST 1978, A BAND OF ROGUE GERMAN AND DISTURB LAWYERS AND 262 00:36:42,199 --> 00:36:47,238 DIAMOND MERCHANTS LAUNCHED A COUP D'ETAT WITH DESIGNS OF FOUNDING THEIR OWN OFFSHORE CASINO. 263 00:36:47,305 --> 00:36:53,744 THEY ARRIVED BY HELICOPTER WITH A FILM CREW IN TOW, TAKING PRINCE MICHAEL BY SURPRISE AND THEN ROUGHING HIM UP. 264 00:36:53,811 --> 00:37:01,385 >> THEY TIED MY ELBOWS TOGETHER, MY KNEES TOGETHER, MY FEET TOGETHER, MY HANDS DOWN TO MY KNEES, AND THEY PICKED ME UP AND 265 00:37:01,452 --> 00:37:06,691 ONE SAID TO THE OTHER IN GERMAN, LET'S CHUCK THIS BASTARD OVER THE SIDE. HE'S TOO MUCH TROUBLE. 266 00:37:06,757 --> 00:37:11,862 >> YOU'RE A FULL-ON POLITICAL PRISONER RIGHT NOW. >> YEAH. >> Reporter: SEALAND HAD FALLEN. 267 00:37:11,929 --> 00:37:16,867 AFTER THREE DAYS, MICHAEL WAS RELEASED. DID MICHAEL AND HIS FATHER THEN RETURN VIA HELICOPTER, FULLY 268 00:37:16,934 --> 00:37:22,740 ARMED AND FLANKED BY A GROUP OF BRUISERS TO STAGE A SUCCESSFUL COUNTERCOUP? YES. 269 00:37:22,807 --> 00:37:31,082 YES, THEY DID. >> I JUMP AND LANDED CRASH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GERMANS. SAW THE SHOTGUN HIT THE DECK, 270 00:37:31,148 --> 00:37:35,820 BOM, AND ALL THE GERMANS WENT LIKE THAT. >> YOU'VE RECLAIMED YOUR PRINCIPALITY. 271 00:37:35,886 --> 00:37:39,290 >> YEP. >> Reporter: DISARMED, THE PLOTTERS WERE RELEASED, ALL EXCEPT FOR ONE. 272 00:37:39,357 --> 00:37:49,200 HIS NAME WAS PUTZ, AND HE WAS MADE TO CLEAN THE BATHROOM, MAKE COFFEE, AND IMPOSED A FINE FOR TREASON, $37,000. 273 00:37:49,266 --> 00:37:55,906 HIS IMPRISONMENT BROUGHT A GERMAN DIPLOMAT TO SEALAND. >> BUT IF YOU HAVE GERMAN EMISSARIES COMING HERE TO TRY 274 00:37:55,973 --> 00:38:03,314 AND NEGOTIATE THE RELEASE OF THIS PRISONER, DOESN'T THAT IMPLY THAT SEALAND IS A STATE THAT'S HAVING RELATIONS? 275 00:38:03,381 --> 00:38:07,918 >> ABSOLUTELY. IT'S DE FACTO RECOGNITION, ISN'T IT? IT HAPPENED, YEAH. 276 00:38:07,985 --> 00:38:14,125 >> Reporter: THIS DIPLOMATIC VISIT WAS CRITICAL FOR THE BATES FAMILY. AN INTERNATIONAL TREATY SIGNED 277 00:38:14,191 --> 00:38:20,364 IN THE 1930s ESTABLISHED FOUR REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEHOOD. ONE IS RECOGNITION BY ANOTHER STATE. 278 00:38:20,431 --> 00:38:26,370 SEALAND HAD ALREADY MET THE OTHER TESTS. A GOVERNMENT, CHECK. A DEFINED TERRITORY, CHECK. 279 00:38:26,437 --> 00:38:32,510 AND A PERMANENT POPULATION, CHECK THANKS TO MICHAEL BARRINGTON. >> SO WHAT'S YOUR POSITION HERE? 280 00:38:32,576 --> 00:38:39,784 >> WELL, I DO MOSTLY ENGINEERING WORK, ELECTRICALLY OR WHATEVER. APPARENTLY I'M HEAD OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 281 00:38:39,850 --> 00:38:43,988 >> WHAT ARE YOU PROTECTING THIS PLACE FROM? >> THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT OR ANYBODY ELSE THAT DECIDES TO 282 00:38:44,055 --> 00:38:48,492 TAKE US OVER. WE'RE A COUNTRY AFTER ALL, A SMALL NATION. >> YOU'RE READY TO USE WEAPONS 283 00:38:48,559 --> 00:38:53,230 IF YOU HAVE TO. >> IF NEED BE, YES. NO HESITATION. >> Reporter: BUT IN RECENT 284 00:38:53,297 --> 00:38:58,703 YEARS, TO KEEP SEALAND AFLOAT, THE BATES FAMILY HAS UPDATED THEIR PIRATE RADIO SENSIBILITIES FOR THE TIMES. 285 00:38:58,769 --> 00:39:05,910 IN THE EARLY 2000s, THEY PARTNERED WITH FRINGE INTERNET ENTREPRENEURS WHO INVESTED MILLIONS WITH DESIGNS OF TURNING 286 00:39:05,976 --> 00:39:12,750 SEALAND INTO AN OFFSHORE DATA HAVEN. PRINCE MICHAEL'S SON, PRINCE JAMES, SHOWED US THE OLD SERVER 287 00:39:12,817 --> 00:39:20,091 ROOM. >> WE USED TO RUN THINGS LIKE GAMBLING SITES, PORN SITES. WE HAD A FEW DUBIOUS PEOPLE 288 00:39:20,157 --> 00:39:28,933 ASKING US TO DO THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T REALLY AGREE WITH. THERE WAS AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT COMPANY LIKE HUMAN ORGANS THAT 289 00:39:28,999 --> 00:39:35,539 WANTED TO HOST OUT HERE, WHICH MY FATHER WAS AGAINST. >> GAMBLING AND PORN IS OKAY, BUT WE DRAW A LINE AT HARVESTING 290 00:39:35,606 --> 00:39:40,077 HUMAN ORGANS. >> YES, EXACTLY. >> Reporter: THAT VENTURE FAILED DISMALLY. 291 00:39:40,144 --> 00:39:45,449 BUT TODAY JAMES AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, PRINCE LIAM, ARE STILL HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. 292 00:39:45,516 --> 00:39:52,056 THE BATES FAMILY WON'T DISCLOSE THE SIZE OF THE NATIONAL DEBT OR THE YEARLY BUDGET, BUT IT IS SERVICED THROUGH THE ONLINE SALE 293 00:39:52,123 --> 00:39:59,797 OF NOBLE TITLES. BECOME A LORD OR LADY FOR $30. 600 BUCKS WILL MAKE YOU A SEALAND DUKE OR DUCHESS. 294 00:39:59,864 --> 00:40:04,902 >> AND PEOPLE ARE BUYING THESE TITLES. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT? >> I THINK IT MEANS SO MANY 295 00:40:04,969 --> 00:40:10,541 THINGS TO SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. SOME PEOPLE LOVE THE ACT OF POLITICAL DEFIANCE. 296 00:40:10,608 --> 00:40:16,914 SOME PEOPLE LOVE THE LOVE STORY THAT RAN THROUGH IT WITH MY GRANDMA AND GRANDPA. SOME PEOPLE LOVE THE, YOU KNOW, 297 00:40:16,981 --> 00:40:24,021 DAVID AGAINST GOLIATH. >> Reporter: THAT NATIONAL MYTH, THE VERY IDEA OF SEALAND, HAS NOW FAR OUTGROWN THE COUNTRY 298 00:40:24,088 --> 00:40:32,329 ITSELF. AS FOR THE HOUSE OF BATES, WELL, ROY AND JOAN HAVE PASSED ON, AND THE REST OF THE LINEAGE LIVES IN 299 00:40:32,396 --> 00:40:41,572 THE SMALL ENGLISH RESORT TOWN OF SOUTH-END-ON-SEA. PRINCES JAMES AND LIAM RUN A BUSINESS HARVESTING COCKLES. 300 00:40:41,639 --> 00:40:49,446 PRINCESS PENNY RUNS A BOTOX CLINIC NEARBY. AND SEVEN YEARS AGO, PRINCE MICHAEL MARRIED AND WELCOMED A 301 00:40:49,513 --> 00:40:58,222 NEW PRINCESS, MAE SHI, A FORMER ARTILLERY MAJOR IN CHINA'S PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY. SIX DECADES AFTER FOUNDING THEIR 302 00:40:58,289 --> 00:41:04,495 PRIVATE LITTLE COUNTRY, THE ROYAL FAMILY REMAINS COMMITTED TO THE BIT. >> IS THIS A GOLDEN AGE FOR 303 00:41:04,562 --> 00:41:10,000 SEALAND? >> HOPEFULLY. >> THE BRITISH NAVY ROLLED UP TOMORROW AND SAID IT'S TIME TO 304 00:41:10,067 --> 00:41:14,038 RECLAIM SEALAND, HOW DO YOU RESPOND? >> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I'M SURE THEY WOULDN'T. 305 00:41:14,104 --> 00:41:20,544 BUT IF THEY DID, I'D JUST GET THE BEST CHINA OUT AND MAKE THEM A NICE CUP OF TEA. 306 00:41:25,416 --> 00:41:29,553 >>> GETTING TO AND STAYING ON SEALAND. >> I'D BE LYING IF I SAID IT WAS THE MOST COMFORTABLE NIGHT'S 307 00:41:29,620 --> 00:41:39,196 SLEEP. >> AT UNITED HEALTH CARE. THERE FOR WHAT MATTERS. 308 00:41:39,263 --> 00:41:45,102 >>> AS THANKSGIVING WEEKEND DRAWS TO A CLOSE, THERE'S STILL TIME FOR A TOAST ON THIS EXTENDED EDITION OF "60 309 00:41:45,169 --> 00:41:52,243 MINUTES." STICK AROUND AS SHARYN ALFONSI BRINGS US TO THE COUNTRY OF GEORGIA, WHICH LAYS CLAIM TO 310 00:41:52,309 --> 00:42:03,520 8,000 YEARS OF WINEMAKING HISTORY, A TRADITION HONORED FOR CENTURIES BY ITS ORTHODOX MONKS. >> EVERY DAY DURING THE HARVEST, 311 00:42:03,587 --> 00:42:15,966 THE MONKS MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE HALLOWED HALLS OF THE MONASTERY TO BLESS THE WINE CELLAR, THE GRAPES, AND TOAST 312 00:42:16,033 --> 00:42:21,972 THE BOUNTY THEIR VINEYARDS BRING. ♪ >> I'M BILL WHITAKER. 313 00:42:22,039 --> 00:42:27,645 WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH 314 00:42:30,547 --> 00:42:39,089 >>> IF YOU WANT TO START A SPIRITED DEBATE AT YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY MEAL, ASK YOUR GUESTS WHICH COUNTRY INVENTED WINE -- 315 00:42:39,156 --> 00:42:45,462 FRANCE, ITALY, OR GREECE MIGHT COME TO MIND. BUT MOST SCHOLARS SAY GEORGIA, THE SMALL FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC 316 00:42:45,529 --> 00:42:55,372 IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF WINE. SCIENTISTS SAY WINE RESIDUE FOUND ON PIECES OF POTTERY IN GEORGIA DATES BACK 8,000 YEARS. 317 00:42:55,439 --> 00:43:03,747 THE COUNTRY OF NEARLY 4 MILLION SHARES A BORDER WITH RUSSIA AND HAS SURVIVED THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF INVASIONS AND WARS. 318 00:43:03,814 --> 00:43:11,221 MULTIPLE DYNASTIES HAVE COME AND GONE, BUT SOMEHOW MANY GEORGIAN GRAPES SURVIVED. TONIGHT WE'LL TAKE YOU ON A 319 00:43:11,288 --> 00:43:20,397 JOURNEY THROUGH GEORGIA TO MEET THE PROMOTERS AND PROTECTORS OF GEORGIA'S ANCIENT VINES. WHEN YOU FIRST SET FOOT IN 320 00:43:20,464 --> 00:43:27,304 GEORGIA'S CAPITAL, TBILISI, SHE'S HARD TO MISS. PERCHED HIGH UP OVER THE CITY, THE TOWERING MOTHER OF GEORGIA 321 00:43:27,371 --> 00:43:37,781 WIELDS A SWORD IN HER RIGHT HAND TO FEND OFF HER ENEMIES AND A BOWL OF WINE IN HER LEFT TO WELCOME FRIENDS. 322 00:43:37,848 --> 00:43:45,356 THAT WELCOME AND THE COUNTRY'S DEEP HISTORY OF WINEMAKING WINDS THROUGH GEORGIA. THE VINES OF CITY DWELLERS CLING 323 00:43:45,422 --> 00:43:53,630 TO TINY BALCONIES. SMALL FAMILY VINEYARDS STRETCH ALONG THE COUNTRYSIDE. AND LARGER PRODUCERS EXPORT 324 00:43:53,697 --> 00:44:03,340 MILLIONS OF BOTTLES GLOBALLY. BUT TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE RICH HISTORY OF WINE IN GEORGIA, WE WENT TO THE FERTILE RIVER VALLEY 325 00:44:03,407 --> 00:44:13,417 OF KAKHETI TO SEE THE ALAVERDI MONASTERY. AT THE FOOT OF THE CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS, THE MONASTERY LOOKED 326 00:44:13,484 --> 00:44:22,092 LIKE A FORTRESS. WE WERE INVITED INSIDE ITS WALLS. OUR HOST WAS GEORGIAN ORTHODOX 327 00:44:22,159 --> 00:44:29,166 BISHOP DAVID. HE OVERSEES THREE MONKS WHO LIVE ON THE GROUNDS OF THE MEDIEVAL COMPOUND. 328 00:44:29,233 --> 00:44:36,807 IT IS A QUIET LIFE COMMITTED TO GOD AND THE GODLY PURSUIT OF CREATING A PERFECT GLASS OF WINE. 329 00:44:36,874 --> 00:44:46,316 >> HOW MANY BOTTLES OF WINE DO YOU MAKE HERE A YEAR? >> 20,000 BOTTLES WITH A MAXIMUM OF 50,000 BOTTLES. 330 00:44:46,383 --> 00:45:01,065 OUR WINE CELLAR CAPACITY IS 20,000 BOTTLE OFS WINE. >> DO THEY EVER SLEEP? >> WE SLEEP AND WORK AT THE SAME 331 00:45:01,131 --> 00:45:06,036 TIME. >> Reporter: LOCALS HELP WORK THE LAND. BUT FOR CENTURIES THE MONKS HAVE 332 00:45:06,103 --> 00:45:12,576 BEEN THE GUARDIANS OF THESE ANCIENT VINES. THE MONASTERY DATES BACK TO THE SIXTH CENTURY. 333 00:45:12,643 --> 00:45:24,088 BISHOP DAVID TOLD US VINES WERE PLANTED ON DAY ONE. >> DOES MAKING WINE MAKE YOU FEEL CLOSER TO GOD? 334 00:45:24,154 --> 00:45:30,727 >> OF COURSE. ANYWHERE WE ARE IN THE VINEYARD OR THE WINE CELLAR, WE ALWAYS FEEL THAT GOD IS CLOSE TO US. 335 00:45:30,794 --> 00:45:38,335 >> Reporter: GRAPES HAVE LONG HELD A SACRED PLACE IN GEORGIA. IN ANCIENT TIMES, WINE WAS CONSIDERED A DIVINE DRINK AND 336 00:45:38,402 --> 00:45:44,875 OFFERED TO THE GODS TO WIN FAVOR. GEORGIAN SOLDIERS TIED A PIECE OF GRAPEVINE INSIDE THE CHEST OF 337 00:45:44,942 --> 00:45:53,784 THEIR UNIFORMS TO PROTECT THEM AND TO ASSURE THAT IF THEY DIED IN BATTLE, A VINE WOULD SPROUT FROM THEIR HEART. 338 00:45:53,851 --> 00:46:01,024 MAN WAS MORTAL, BUT GEORGIAN VINES ETERNAL. FOR CENTURIES, THE GEORGIAN MONKS HAVE MADE WINE THE SAME 339 00:46:01,091 --> 00:46:08,866 WAY, PRODUCING REDS, WHITES, AND EVEN AMBERS. MORE ON THAT IN A MOMENT. THE PROCESS IS UNIQUELY 340 00:46:08,932 --> 00:46:17,741 GEORGIAN. UNDER THE MONASTERY BURIED SIX FEET DEEP IN THE GROUND, GIANT CLAY POTS CALLED QVEVRI ARE USED 341 00:46:17,808 --> 00:46:25,315 TO FERMENT, STORE, AND AGE THE WINE. IT IS THE TRADITIONAL WAY TO MAKE WINE IN GEORGIA. 342 00:46:25,382 --> 00:46:31,722 MANY HOMES HAVE QVEVRIS IN THEIR CELLAR. BUT TODAY THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF QVEVRI MAKERS WHO 343 00:46:31,788 --> 00:46:40,998 CARRY ON THE TRADITION OF HAND-BUILDING THESE CLAY BEASTS. SOME HOLD NEARLY 900 GALLONS OF WINE. 344 00:46:41,064 --> 00:46:50,174 PRESS GRAPES, SKINS, STALKS, AND THE JUICE ARE ALL MIXED INTO THE QVEVRI, WHICH IS BURIED IN THE GROUND TO MAINTAIN A CONSTANT 345 00:46:50,240 --> 00:46:59,049 TEMPERATURE. EVERY DAY DURING THE HARVEST, THE MONKS MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE HALLOWED HALLS OF THE 346 00:46:59,116 --> 00:47:08,792 MONASTERY TO BLESS THE WINE CELLAR, THE GRAPES, AND TOAST THE BOUNTY THEIR VINEYARDS BRING. 347 00:47:08,859 --> 00:47:20,437 ♪ MOST OF THE MONKS' WINE IS SOLD. SOME IS SHARED DURING SUNDAY COMMUNION INSIDE THE ALAVERDI 348 00:47:20,504 --> 00:47:33,083 CATHEDRAL. ♪ ON THIS DAY, A HAUNTING CHANT STIRRED INSIDE THE CATHEDRAL 349 00:47:33,150 --> 00:47:40,757 DOME. THE CHANT, CALLED "YOU ARE THE VINEYARD," WAS WRITTEN 900 YEARS AGO BY A FORMER KING-TURNED-MONK 350 00:47:40,824 --> 00:47:48,932 TO HONOR GEORGIA'S DEEP CONNECTION TO ITS RELIGION AND WINE. LIT BY CANDLES, IT'S HARD TO SEE 351 00:47:48,999 --> 00:47:58,275 THE SCARS OF THE CATHEDRAL. IT'S SURVIVED EARTHQUAKES AND INVASIONS. IN AN ATTEMPT TO ERASE GEORGIAN 352 00:47:58,342 --> 00:48:09,886 CULTURE, RUSSIANS WHITEWASHED THE CATHEDRAL INTERIORS IN THE CENTURY FRESCOS AND USED THE h - MONASTERY'S QVEVRI'S TO STORE 353 00:48:09,953 --> 00:48:17,394 THEIR GASOLINE. BUT MIRACULOUSLY MANY OF THE VINES WERE UNHARMED. BISHOP DAVID SAYS TODAY, 100 354 00:48:17,461 --> 00:48:26,403 GRAPE VARIETIES, SOME DATING BACK 900 YEARS, ARE STILL GROWN ON THE MONASTERY'S GROUNDS. >> AND HOW DOES THE WINE TASTE? 355 00:48:26,470 --> 00:48:35,245 >> Translator: NOT TO TALK ABOUT TASTE, IT'S BETTER TO TASTE IT OURSELVES. >> SITTING NEAR THE ANCIENT 356 00:48:35,312 --> 00:48:43,020 QVEVRIS, THE BISHOP OPENED A BOTTLE. >> Translator: WHEN TASTING THE QVEVRI WINE FOR THE FIRST TIME, 357 00:48:43,086 --> 00:48:53,630 A PERSON MIGHT THINK THEY ARE TRYING SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT. >> OH, IT DOES LOOK AMBER, HUH? LOOK AT THAT COLOR. 358 00:48:53,697 --> 00:49:03,473 >> Translator: AND THEY SAY IN GEORGIA THAT THE EYE DRINKS AND THE EYE EATS. THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO THANKSFUL 359 00:49:03,540 --> 00:49:09,980 TO GOD. >> THERE'S MUCH TO BE THANKFUL TO GOD ABOUT IN THIS GLASS. >> Translator: OF COURSE. 360 00:49:10,047 --> 00:49:21,525 IT COULD NOT BE ANY OTHER WAY. >> Reporter: HEAVENLY WITH NOTES OF CITRUS, SPICES, AND HONEY. IT IS COMPLEX LIKE THE HISTORY 361 00:49:21,591 --> 00:49:34,504 OF GEORGIA BUT IN A GLASS. GEORGIA'S FUTURE IS ALSO TIED TO ITS WINES, INSPIRING CHEFS LIKE TEKUNA GACHECHILADZE. 362 00:49:34,571 --> 00:49:41,978 >> HOW MUCH IS WINE A PART OF THE STORY OF THIS COUNTRY? >> THIS IS -- YOU KNOW THE QUESTION WINE OR FOOD OR FOOD OR 363 00:49:42,045 --> 00:49:46,683 WINE? IT'S TOGETHER BECAUSE WE DON'T IMAGINE OUR EVERYDAY LIFE WITHOUT THE WINE. 364 00:49:46,750 --> 00:49:55,292 AND THE WINE, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS IN OUR HISTORY AND OUR CULTURE AND IN FOOD ALSO. 365 00:49:55,359 --> 00:50:02,866 >> Reporter: 49-YEAR-OLD TEKUNA WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE A CHEF. WHILE PURSUING A PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE IN NEW YORK, SHE WAS 366 00:50:02,933 --> 00:50:08,638 WORKING AT A RESTAURANT AND FELL IN LOVE WITH BOTH THE CHEF AND COOKING. SHE DROPPED THE PSYCH DEGREE AND 367 00:50:08,705 --> 00:50:17,080 THE CHEF AND ENROLLED IN CULINARY SCHOOL IN MANHATTAN. A MASTER CHEF, TEKUNA IS NOW KNOWN AS THE GODMOTHER OF 368 00:50:17,147 --> 00:50:26,156 GEORGIA'S CULINARY EVOLUTION. SHE RUNS THE POPULAR CAFE LITERA IN THE CAPITAL OF TBILISI, A RESTAURANT KNOWN FOR ITS 369 00:50:26,223 --> 00:50:31,395 ADVENTURESOME MENU AND WINE PAIRINGS. >> YOU'RE CREDITED WITH REVOLUTIONIZING GEORGIAN 370 00:50:31,461 --> 00:50:36,767 CUISINE. HOW HAVE GEORGIANS RESPONDED TO THAT? >> I JUST STARTED TO EXPERIMENT, 371 00:50:36,833 --> 00:50:46,176 AND THEN I STARTED TO DO NEW RECIPES BASED ON THE TRADITIONAL ONES AND THEN GIVE THIS CHOICE, YOU KNOW, TO PEOPLE. 372 00:50:46,243 --> 00:50:53,150 AND IN THE BEGINNING, IT WAS BIG RESISTANCE. THE PEOPLE THINK YOU HAVE TO KEEP TRADITION UNTOUCHED. 373 00:50:53,216 --> 00:51:02,292 BUT FOR ME, TRADITION IS ALWAYS INNOVATION BECAUSE EVERY DISH WAS SOMEHOW INNOVATIVE WHEN IT STARTED. 374 00:51:02,359 --> 00:51:09,199 >> Reporter: GEORGIA SITS AT THE CROSS ROADS OF EUROPE AND ASIA. I GEORGIAN DINNER CAN LOOK AND TASTE LIKE A TRIP AROUND THE 375 00:51:09,266 --> 00:51:19,342 WORLD. >> ALL THIS INFLUENCES STARTING FROM CHINA, EVEN FROM AMERICA TO THE EUROPE, YOU KNOW. 376 00:51:19,409 --> 00:51:26,116 THAT'S WHY OUR TRADITIONAL CUISINE, IT WAS ALWAYS FUSION. >> GEORGIA WAS FUSION BEFORE FUSION WAS FUSION. 377 00:51:26,183 --> 00:51:32,923 >> EXACTLY. AND ALSO BECAUSE SO MANY INVASIONS, AND WE WERE ALWAYS UNDER THE RULE OF DIFFERENT 378 00:51:32,989 --> 00:51:40,263 COUNTRIES. AND THIS BROUGHT THESE DIFFERENT TASTES AND SPICES AND ALSO COOKING METHODS. 379 00:51:40,330 --> 00:51:44,701 THIS IS ALL YOURS. >> OH, GOSH. PERFECT. >> Reporter: CULINARY CLASHES 380 00:51:44,768 --> 00:51:50,006 ARE MY FAVORITE KIND OF CONFLICTS TO COVER. I REPORTED FOR DUTY AT THE DINNER TABLE. 381 00:51:50,073 --> 00:51:58,348 >> LOOKS AMAZING, YES. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. >> THIS IS OUR FIRST DISH, LIKE APPETIZER. 382 00:51:58,415 --> 00:52:06,823 IT'S VEGETABLES WITH WALNUTS. WE COOK IN GEORGIA LOTS WITH THE WALNUTS WALNUTS. 383 00:52:06,890 --> 00:52:13,663 >> Reporter: WALNUTS ARE ONE OF THE WORKHORSES OF GEORGIAN CUISINE, PULVERIZED AND USED THE SAME WAY THE FRENCH USE BUTTER, 384 00:52:13,730 --> 00:52:22,539 TO MAKE EVERYTHING CREAMIER. NOT SURPRISINGLY, GRAPE LEAVES ARE ALSO A FAVORITE INGREDIENT. >> THIS IS TULMA. 385 00:52:22,606 --> 00:52:27,377 AND YOU CAN'T IMAGINE ANY TABLE WITHOUT THIS DISH. >> Reporter: OUR DINNER INCLUDED FIVE COURSES WITH SIX DISHES 386 00:52:27,444 --> 00:52:32,449 EACH WITH A DIFFERENT GLASS OF WINE. >> WE HAVE THIS LIKE FILET MIGNON. 387 00:52:32,516 --> 00:52:37,020 >> DO YOU HAVE A COUCH THAT I CAN RECLINE ON? >> YES. >> Reporter: CHEF TEKUNA 388 00:52:37,087 --> 00:52:42,592 INSISTED WE TASTE EVERYTHING BECAUSE THE WINES CAME FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS AND EACH HAD ITS OWN UNIQUE FLAVOR. 389 00:52:42,659 --> 00:52:51,034 >> WE HAVE SO MANY GREAT WINEMAKERS, YOU KNOW. IT IS LIKE A NEW REVOLUTION, YOU KNOW, AND NOT LOSING THE OLD 390 00:52:51,101 --> 00:52:57,674 TRADITIONS, THEY IMPROVE IT AND THEN CONTINING DOING THE GREAT WINES. >> Reporter: BUT THERE IS NO 391 00:52:57,741 --> 00:53:02,445 WINE MORE DISTINCTLY GEORGIAN THAN THIS. >> YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE. >> LOOK AT THE COLOR. 392 00:53:02,512 --> 00:53:07,183 THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED AMBER. >> NOT ORANGE. >> NO. >> NEVER ORANGE. 393 00:53:07,250 --> 00:53:11,555 >> NO. >> Reporter: AMERICANS KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH RED WINE. WE KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH WHITE 394 00:53:11,621 --> 00:53:16,760 WINE. BUT IF YOU PUT AN AMBER WINE OUT, I WOULD NOT KNOW WHAT I SHOULD BE SERVING THAT WITH. 395 00:53:16,826 --> 00:53:24,534 >> ACTUALLY, THIS IS WHAT'S VERY INTERESTING. AMBER WINE, IT'S LIKE A UNIVERSAL WINE. 396 00:53:24,601 --> 00:53:30,707 YOU CAN DRINK IT WITH VEGETABLES. YOU CAN DRINK IT WITH MEAT. BUT THIS IS WHAT MAKES IT 397 00:53:30,774 --> 00:53:37,414 UNIQUE, YOU KNOW. YOU CAN PAIR ALMOST WITH EVERYTHING. >> IT'S VERSATILE. 398 00:53:37,480 --> 00:53:46,523 SO I NOTICE YOU SAID YOU DON'T LIKE TO EAT WHEN YOU'RE COOKING, BUT YOU WILL HAVE A SIP, RIGHT? >> BUT I DRINK. 399 00:53:46,590 --> 00:53:54,064 >> FINE. THEN YOU CAN STAY. >> Reporter: TWO HOURS LATER, THE WARMTH OF GEORGIAN 400 00:53:54,130 --> 00:54:00,837 HOSPITALITY OR PERHAPS ALL THAT WINE WASHED OVER US. >> IT'S LIKE A GEORGIAN SAYING THAT THE GUESTS ARE FROM THE 401 00:54:00,904 --> 00:54:09,179 GODS. SO YOU HAVE TO TREAT THE GUEST LIKE YOU TREAT THE GODS. >> WE USUALLY HEAR ABOUT GUESTS 402 00:54:09,245 --> 00:54:15,619 FROM HELL. FROM THE GODS SOUNDS A LOT BETTER. >> IN GEORGIA, GUESTS ARE REALLY 403 00:54:15,685 --> 00:54:22,192 FROM THE GODS. CHEERS. >> Reporter: WHEN WE COME BACK, YOU'LL MEET A GUEST WHO CAME TO 404 00:54:22,258 --> 00:54:29,032 GEORGIA FOR THE CULTURE, FOOD, AND WINE 25 YEARS AGO AND NEVER LEFT. TODAY HE'S CREDITED WITH HELPING 405 00:54:29,099 --> 00:54:33,903 TO PUT GEORGIAN WINES ON THE MAP AND MENUS AROUND THE WORLD. 406 00:54:44,080 --> 00:54:51,988 >>> WHEN MOST OF US ORDER WINE, WE LOOK FOR A FAVORITE VARIETY, CONSIDER THE REGION, THE AGE, OR PERHAPS THE COST. 407 00:54:52,055 --> 00:54:58,862 BUT ORDERING A GLASS OF WINE FROM GEORGIA CAN BE A BIT MORE COMPLICATED. THE FORMER SOVIET BLOC NATION IS 408 00:54:58,928 --> 00:55:07,037 THE SIZE OF WEST VIRGINIA BUT OFFERS MORE THAN 40 VARIETIES OF WINE, EACH WITH A TONGUE-TWISTING NAME FROM VINES 409 00:55:07,103 --> 00:55:13,476 CENTURIES OLD. STILL, GEORGIAN WINE IS GAINING POPULARITY BEYOND THE COUNTRY'S BORDERS. 410 00:55:13,543 --> 00:55:20,784 LAST YEAR, NEARLY A MILLION AND A HALF BOTTLES OF IT WERE SHIPPED TO THE UNITED STATES, AN INCREASE OF NEARLY 30% FROM THE 411 00:55:20,850 --> 00:55:27,357 PREVIOUS YEAR. WE HEADED TO GEORGIA'S WINE COUNTRY TO GET A TASTE FOR OURSELVES. 412 00:55:27,424 --> 00:55:35,598 STRETCHED ALONG EASTERN GEORGIA, MORE THAN 4,000 SQUARE MILES OF VINEYARDS SIT AT THE BASE OF ITS MOUNTAINS LIKE A WELCOME MAT. 413 00:55:35,665 --> 00:55:43,273 THIS IS THE KAKHETI REGION. THREE-QUARTERS OF THE GRAPES USED TO MAKE WINE IN GEORGIA ARE GROWN HERE. 414 00:55:43,339 --> 00:55:52,382 IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF KAKHETI'S HUNDREDS OF VINEYARDS, WE MET AN UNLIKELY AMBASSADOR OF GEORGIAN WINE, AN AMERICAN, 415 00:55:52,449 --> 00:56:01,124 47-YEAR-OLD JOHN WURDEMAN. >> HOW DOES AN AMERICAN END UP WITH ALL OF THIS? >> WELL, IT STARTED WITH A 416 00:56:01,191 --> 00:56:07,163 CURIOSITY FOR A COUNTRY THAT THE MORE I LEARNED ABOUT IT, THE MORE FASCINATING IT WAS, AND NOBODY SEEMED TO KNOW ANYTHING 417 00:56:07,230 --> 00:56:12,936 ABOUT IT, AT LEAST IN MY WORLD. >> Reporter: WURDEMAN GREW UP A WORLD AWAY IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO. 418 00:56:13,002 --> 00:56:19,275 HE WAS STUDYING ART IN RUSSIA WHEN HE VISITED NEIGHBORING GEORGIA. HE LIKED IT SO MUCH, HE MOVED 419 00:56:19,342 --> 00:56:28,518 HERE. AND IN 2006, BOUGHT A 62-ACRE RUNDOWN VINEYARD, HIRED LOCALS, AND STARTED PHEASANT'S TEARS 420 00:56:28,585 --> 00:56:32,589 WINERY. GEORGIA IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF WINE. THE MILD CLIMATE AND RICH SOIL 421 00:56:32,655 --> 00:56:40,230 HAVE MADE IT AN IDEAL PLACE TO GROW HUNDREDS OF VARIETIES OF GRAPES FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. AT ONE TIME, THE COUNTRY 422 00:56:40,296 --> 00:56:49,339 REPORTEDLY HAD MORE THAN 1,400 INDIGENOUS GRAPE VARIETIES. MOST WERE WIPED OUT DURING THE SOVIET ERA WHEN QUANTITY 423 00:56:49,405 --> 00:56:56,346 REPLACED DIVERSITY. JOHN WURDEMAN IS PART OF A NATIONAL EFFORT TO RECULTIVATE GEORGIA'S ANCIENT VINES AND 424 00:56:56,412 --> 00:57:03,787 BRING THEM BACK TO LIFE. >> SO IN SOVIET TIMES, OUT OF 525 VARIETIES, YOU HAD ROUGHLY 4 OR 5 THAT WERE THE MAIN ONES 425 00:57:03,853 --> 00:57:08,858 THAT WERE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. >> SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REST? >> LUCKILY GEORGIANS WERE STILL 426 00:57:08,925 --> 00:57:15,198 GROWING THEM IN THEIR BACKYARD. THEY WERE ALLOWED TO HAVE SMALL, PRIVATE PLOTS FOR THEIR OWN PERSONAL USE, AND THEY KEPT THE 427 00:57:15,265 --> 00:57:22,071 ANCESTRAL VARIETIES GOING. SO WHEN WE WANTED TO START TO BRING BACK THESE ANCIENT VARIETIES TOGETHER WITH OUR 428 00:57:22,138 --> 00:57:30,280 FRIENDS, THAT WAS WHERE WE WERE GOING. WE WERE GOING TO THE BACKYARDS OF FARMERS THAT KEPT GROWING THE 429 00:57:30,346 --> 00:57:34,551 VARIETIES THAT THEIR GRANDFATHERS AND GREAT-GRANDFATHERS HAD KEPT ALIVE. 430 00:57:34,617 --> 00:57:40,056 >> Reporter: CLAWING BACK ALL THE GRAPE VARIETIES IS SOMETHING GEORGIANS TAKE SERIOUSLY, A KIND OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 431 00:57:40,123 --> 00:57:50,266 FROM THEIR FORMER SOVIET RULERS. IN 2014, THE GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT OPENED TWO RESEARCH CENTERS TO LOCATE, STUDY, AND GROW THOSE 432 00:57:50,333 --> 00:57:55,872 RARE GRAPEVINES. SCIENTISTS HEAD INTO THE VINEYARDS ONCE A WEEK TO GATHER CRITICAL DATA. 433 00:57:55,939 --> 00:58:04,047 DNA OF GRAPE LEAVES IS ANALYZED. JUICE IS EXTRACTED IN THE FIELD AND THEN TESTED IN LABS FOR DISEASE. 434 00:58:04,113 --> 00:58:12,255 HEALTHY VINES ARE REPLANTED. TODAY THERE ARE MORE THAN 500 NATIVE GRAPE VARIETIES GROWING IN GEORGIA. 435 00:58:12,322 --> 00:58:20,697 AT PHEASANT'S TEARS, ANCIENT GEORGIAN METHODS ARE USED TO MAKE THE WINE. STEMS, SKINS, AND JUICE ARE ALL 436 00:58:20,763 --> 00:58:28,872 MIXED TOGETHER, THEN POURED IN GIANT QVEVRIS BURIED DEEP UNDERGROUND AND SEALED WITH CLAY, WHERE THE MIXTURE FERMENTS 437 00:58:28,938 --> 00:58:37,113 AND AGES. >> THIS IS OUR LOWER QVEVRI LEVEL. >> IS ALL THE WINE HERE MADE IN 438 00:58:37,180 --> 00:58:42,652 QVEVRIS? >> MOST ALL OF IT. THERE'S A COUPLE OF WINES WE'LL BE TASTING LATER THAT ARE ON THE 439 00:58:42,719 --> 00:58:48,658 FRESHER, LIGHTER SIDE THAT USE STAINLESS STEEL. >> SO BASED ON WHERE THEY ARE, THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT TASTE? 440 00:58:48,725 --> 00:58:53,963 >> YEAH. IF THEY'RE IN A SPACE THAT BREATHES VERSUS A REDUCTIVE SPACE. 441 00:58:54,030 --> 00:59:00,136 >> Reporter: THE WINE TYPICALLY REMAINS INSIDE THE QVEVRIS FOR NINE MONTHS. >> THIS IS WHERE WE AGE THE 442 00:59:00,203 --> 00:59:05,742 WINES. >> Reporter: THEN IT'S BOTTLED AND STORED IN A CELLAR. >> SO WHEN ARE THESE BOTTLES 443 00:59:05,808 --> 00:59:09,846 FROM? >> THESE ARE FROM THE LAST 15 YEARS. IT ALLOWS US TO UNDERSTAND HOW 444 00:59:09,913 --> 00:59:16,986 THE WINES DEVELOP AND WHAT IS THE MOST IDEAL TIME FOR RELEASING. >> Reporter: NOTHING IS RUSHED 445 00:59:17,053 --> 00:59:23,359 IN GEORGIA, SOMETHING WE WITNESSED DURING LUNCHTIME AT THE VINEYARD. >> FOR THE HARVEST OF 2023. 446 00:59:23,426 --> 00:59:29,332 MAY IT BE HEALTHY AND LONG-LIVING. >> Reporter: WORKERS WERE CELEBRATING THE HARVEST WITH A 447 00:59:29,399 --> 00:59:39,008 TRADITIONAL GEORGIAN FEAST CALLED A SUPRA, A LAVISH MEAL TYPICALLY HELD AFTER WEDDINGS, FUNERALS, BAPTISMS, AND BIRTHS. 448 00:59:39,075 --> 00:59:47,550 ♪ DURING OUR LUNCH, GUESTS BROKE INTO SONG. THIS IS A TRADITIONAL GEORGIAN 449 00:59:47,617 --> 01:00:12,742 FOLK SONG CENTURIES OLD. ♪ A FEW GUESTS STARTED DANCING. LUNCH HOUR STRETCHED INTO DINNER 450 01:00:12,809 --> 01:00:19,515 DINNER, AND THEN CAME THE TOASTS. >> TO OUR CHILDREN AND FOR THE CHILDREN THAT ARE CONTINUING THE 451 01:00:19,582 --> 01:00:27,724 TRADITION. >> Reporter: A HALF DOZEN OF THEM BEFORE DESSERT. >> WITH SO MANY TOASTS, SO MANY 452 01:00:27,790 --> 01:00:34,764 SONGS AND DANCING, IT'S AMAZING ANYBODY EATS. >> YEAH, BUT THE SUPRAS LAST FOR QUITE A LONG TIME. 453 01:00:34,831 --> 01:00:41,070 IF WORKERS GO OUT TO WORK FOR A FEW HOURS IN THE FIELD AND THEY COME BACK TOGETHER, THEY'LL HAVE A SUPRA, AND THEY'LL HAVE TOASTS 454 01:00:41,137 --> 01:00:49,779 ABOUT THE THINGS THAT MEAN THE MOST TO THEM IN LIFE. >> FOR GEORGIAN WINEMAKING, FOR THE GRAPES, THE HISTORY, THE 455 01:00:49,846 --> 01:00:55,351 VESSEL, THE VARIETIES, AND THE SONGS THAT WERE BUILT AROUND THE FEAST. >> SOME PEOPLE HAVE CALLED THE 456 01:00:55,418 --> 01:01:03,259 GEORGIAN SUPRA AN ACADEMY WHERE BASICALLY PEOPLE COME TOGETHER IN ORDER TO SHARE WHAT THEY KNOW AND TO LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER. 457 01:01:03,326 --> 01:01:10,233 >> Reporter: BUT JOHN WURDEMAN SAYS SCHOOLING THE REST OF THE WORLD ON GEORGIAN WINES HASN'T BEEN SO EASY. 458 01:01:10,299 --> 01:01:18,808 FIRST, THERE ARE AT LEAST 40 VARIETIES OF GEORGIAN WINES BEING SERVED AROUND THE WORLD. AND EVEN THE MOST SOPHISTICATED 459 01:01:18,875 --> 01:01:26,716 SOMMELIER MIGHT STRUGGLE TO JUST PRONOUNCE THEM. SAPERAVI, RKHATSITELI, AND MTSVANE DON'T EXACTLY ROLL OFF 460 01:01:26,783 --> 01:01:42,832 THE TONGUE. THEN THERE'S THE ISSUE OF THAT UNUSUAL COLOR, THE GIANT JGINGE ELEPHANT IN THE GLASS. 461 01:01:42,899 --> 01:01:49,639 I I NOTICE THEY SHUDDER A LITTLE BIT AND SAY IT'S AMBER. >> I WAS ALSO A LITTLE BIT PART 462 01:01:49,705 --> 01:01:57,313 OF THE EARLY CONVERSATIONS WHERE WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ORANGE WINE FROM GEORGIA, PEOPLE WORRIED IS THIS SOME SORT OF 463 01:01:57,380 --> 01:02:03,286 CITRUS CONCOCTION BEING SOLD OUTSIDE OF ATLANTA? >> WHAT IS IT THAT CREATES THAT BEAUTIFUL COLOR? 464 01:02:03,352 --> 01:02:14,530 >> SO YOU'RE BASICALLY LEAVING THE MUST OR THE JUICE OF THE GRAPES WITH SKINS, THE PIPS, AND SOMETIMES THE STEMS, BASICALLY 465 01:02:14,597 --> 01:02:20,403 EXTRACTSING BOTH PIGMENT AS WELL AS PHENOLIC STRUCTURE FROM THE SKINS. SO THAT'S CHANGING THE FLAVOR AS 466 01:02:20,470 --> 01:02:28,811 WELL AS THE COLOR. BUT IT'S ALSO A LOT OF OUR PRECONCEPTIONS CAN AFFECT HOW WE PE 467 01:02:28,878 --> 01:02:35,218 PERCEIVE THE WINE BECAUSE IF YOU WERE TO SHOW THEM THAT SAME WINE IN A BLACK GLASS, THEY MIGHT SAY WHAT A DELIGHTFULLY REFRESHING 468 01:02:35,284 --> 01:02:42,525 LIGHT RED. BUT WHEN THEY SEE IT FROM A WHITE GRAPE, THEY THINK IS THIS SOMEHOW CLUMSY OR RUSTIC OR WHY? 469 01:02:42,592 --> 01:02:47,430 THIS DOESN'T TAKE LIKE MY SAUVIGNON BLANC THAT I'M USED TO DRINKING. >> A LITTLE FRUSTRATING? 470 01:02:47,497 --> 01:02:53,870 >> A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A MASTER OF WINE IN LONDON HAS A BEAUTIFUL SAYING SHE GAVE AT A CONFERENCE ONCE. 471 01:02:53,936 --> 01:03:02,678 SHE SAID THE ORANGE OR AMBER WINES OF GEORGIA ARE NOT THE MEAN SISTERS OF WHITES BUT THE INTROSPECTIVE COUSINS OF REDS. 472 01:03:02,745 --> 01:03:09,719 >> Reporter: BUT OVER THE LAST DECADE, THE GEORGIAN FAMILY OF WINES, REDS, WHITES, AND EVEN AMBERS, HAVE BEEN EMBRACED 473 01:03:09,785 --> 01:03:19,529 AROUND THE GLOBE. LAST YEAR, GEORGIA EXPORTED OVER 140 MILLION BOTTLES OF WINE TO MORE THAN 65 COUNTRIES. 474 01:03:19,595 --> 01:03:25,535 >> WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE TO THAT KIND OF GROWTH? >> I THINK IN THE VERY BEGINNING, WE WERE WALKING 475 01:03:25,601 --> 01:03:34,777 AROUND WITH MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS AND SAYING THAT, NO, WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, SWARTHY VERSIONS OF RUSSIANS, BUT GEORGIANS HAVE 476 01:03:34,844 --> 01:03:42,785 THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, THEIR OWN WINE CULTURE, THEIR OWN CULINARY CULTURE, HISTORY THAT IS VERY ANCIENT AND, YOU KNOW, TRY THE 477 01:03:42,852 --> 01:03:47,056 WINES. BUT IT TOOK A FAIR AMOUNT OF EFFORT TO GET PEOPLE TO GIVE US THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT AND 478 01:03:47,123 --> 01:03:53,162 EVEN TO TRY. >> Reporter: OVER THE PAST DECADE, MORE THAN 2,000 NEW VINEYARDS HAVE TAKEN ROOT IN THE 479 01:03:53,229 --> 01:03:58,034 COUNTRY. AND LAST YEAR, GEORGIAN WINEMAKERS MADE MORE THAN $100 MILLION. 480 01:03:58,100 --> 01:04:05,007 >> ALL OF A SUDDEN IT'S LIKE WATCHING A BLACK AND WHITE PICTURE OF A RAINBOW COME TO COLOR AGAIN. 481 01:04:05,074 --> 01:04:15,184 THIS DIVERSITY AND EXPANSE OF COLOR IS COMING BACK TO THE GEORGIAN TABLE AFTER SLEEPING FOR ALMOST A FEW CENTURIES. 482 01:04:15,251 --> 01:04:25,661 >> Reporter: FOR GEORGIANS, IT'S ANOTHER REASON TO CELEBRATE. FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD, IT'S A CHANCE TO TASTE HISTORY. 483 01:04:25,728 --> 01:04:26,128 [ APPLAUSE ] 484 01:04:34,437 --> 01:04:45,514 >>> I'M BILL WHITAKER. WE'LL BE BACK NEXT WEEK WITH ANOTHER EDITION OF "60 MINUTES." >> Announcer: REALTIME UPDATES 485 01:04:45,581 --> 01:04:46,582 ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR ON CBS