Wine Tours To Attend In Georgia

Georgia is the oldest winemaking country in the world, with the tradition dating back at least 8,000 years. Here’s our guide to some of the best wine tours in Georgia.

The Georgian traditional winemaking process is different from the rest of the world and involves clay jars called qvevri. A couple of year’s ago, the Tourism Agency developed a project to popularise wine tourism in the country and constructed signs along the nation’s highways to indicate the Wine Route. You can sample an array of delicious Georgian wines and attend a wine workshop on Culture Trip’s specially curated, small-group Georgia adventure.

1. Château Mukhrani

Winery

Autumn in Chateau Mukhrani. Image shot 11/2019. Exact date unknown.

Located not far from Tbilisi, Château Mukhrani is a fascinating place to visit if you are a wine enthusiast. A gorgeous white castle, wine cellars, beautiful gardens and sprawling vineyards await you here. Moreover, you can learn more about the history of the Georgian royal family and its estate, discover the secrets of the Georgian winemaking process and taste a range of wines during the tour. And, if you get hungry, the Samepo Marani 1878 restaurant offers a wide range of local meals.

2. Chateau Mere

Hotel

Chateau Mere is located in Kakheti, one of the most popular winemaking regions in the country, in the village Vardisubani. It produces Winiveria wines, which are widely accessible in Tbilisi and the rest of the country. You can come here for a wine tasting tour to learn more about how the wines are made using European and traditional techniques, or even stay for a night or two at the hotel to make your time here even more special. Besides regular tours, Chateau Mere offers some additional services such as churchkhela (candle-shaped candy) making, culinary masterclasses, tone (special ovens) bread baking, khinkali (Georgian dumplings) making, chacha (alcoholic drink) distillation and horse-riding tours.

3. Pheasant's Tears Winery

Winery

This Georgian-American joint venture makes one of the best natural wines using a traditional qvevri method at its vineyards just outside of Sighnaghi. The company offers wine tastings and tasty Georgian meals prepared from organic and fresh local produce for you to enjoy in the beautiful garden.

4. Chateau Schuchmann

Hotel

Schuchmann Chateau is located in Kisiskhevi in the Kakheti region and, besides its wine cellar, has a large complex that consists of a hotel, restaurants, vineyards and a wine spa with a view over the snow-covered Caucasus Mountains. If you are not looking to stay at the Chateau, you can still come here to try the company’s wines alongside traditional local meals at the restaurants, walk around the vineyards and just enjoy your day. There are five packages of wine tastings offered at the venue, at different prices. The smallest package includes three types of wine at 15 Lari (£3.50) per person.

5. Alexander Chavchavadze Palace

Museum

Alexander Chavchavadze was one of the most influential figures in Georgian history. His palace and gardens are a must-see. Visit the place during your trip to the Kakheti region – the wine cellar at the palace is one of the oldest in the county. You can tour the palace, admire the garden and try some of the excellent wines from the Chavchavadze estate.

6. Telavi Wine Cellar Tour

Winery

Telavi Wine Cellar offers a wine tasting tour each day from 10am to 4pm. The tour lasts around 1.30-2 hours and shows you the route of the grape from the vineyard to the cellar and, then, to the finished product. You will have the possibility to see the actual process of winemaking, fermentation and barrel-ageing rooms. After the tour, you will be able to try seven different wines from the company that will be accompanied by traditional cheese, mineral water and bread. The company also offers a shorter tour that lasts for 60-80 minutes but shows you everything that the longer tour does. The only difference is that you’ll be given four different wines to sample during the tasting session after the visit.

7. Winery Khareba Wine Tour

Winery

In Kvareli, located in the Kakheti region, you’ll find the unique tunnel-shaped wine cellar of the Winery Khareba carved into the Caucasus Mountains. The tunnel was initially opened in 1962 for the World Congress of Vine and Wine, but, today, it is the company’s cellar. The shaft consists of two main entrances that are connected to 500m (1,640ft) of 13 additional tunnels. The total length of the construction is 7.7km (4.8mi), and each entry has its purpose: one is for tourism and the other for industrial use. Here, you can see a unit of 25,000 wines produced by the company.

8. Vita Vinea Wine Tour

Winery

Vita Vinea wines come from a small family winery located in the village Shalauri, near Telavi in the Kakheti region. The family of Dakishvili has been producing wine and growing grapes for almost ten decades. The variety of their grapes include rkatsiteli, saperavi and kisi. You can’t find their wines in ordinary supermarkets or shops, as they distribute their products directly to some of the best Georgian restaurants and wine shops. You can visit their winery by appointment. The family will be happy to tour you around and offer a tasting session of old and new wines from their cellar.

9. Twins Old Cellar Wine Tour

Winery

wine cellar in Kvevri Wine Museum of Twins Wine Cellar Wine Company, Napareuli village in Georgia

Twins Old Cellar, located in the Napareuli village in Kakheti, offers a wide variety of activities to its visitors. Brothers Gia and Gela Gamtkisulashvili are in charge of the winery and have created a unique museum of qvevri wine in 2014 at their complex. Here, you can see and learn more about the winemaking process in those clay jars, look at archival photos, see the 15-year collection of Twins Winery and get information about the types of Georgian grapes. Besides the venue’s wine tasting and tour, you can participate in the harvest process if you happen to visit Georgia in autumn.

10. Wine Tour at Chelti

Winery

Chelti offers different wine tours all year round. Located in the Shilda village in the Kakheti region, the venue overlooks Alazani Valley and the Caucasus Mountains range. During the tour, you’ll be able to see the winery and taste some of the best wines from different harvests, walk in the cellar and attend the bottling process. Additionally, you can have dinner at the restaurant, participate in churchkhela making and tone bread baking. And if you happen to be in Georgia during the harvest season, you can come here to take part in the process.

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