Located not far from Tbilisi, Chateau Mukhrani is a fascinating place to visit if you are a wine enthusiast. Gorgeous white castle, wine cellars, beautiful gardens and sprawling vineyards are what awaits you here. Moreover, you can learn more about the history of the Georgian Royal Family and its estate, discover the secrets of Georgian wine-making process, and taste a range of their wines during the tour. And if you get hungry, the Samepo Marani 1878 restaurant offers a wide range of local meals.
Natakhtari-Tsilkani-Mukhrani, Mukhrani 3309
Chateau Mere is located in Kakheti, one of the most popular wine-making regions of the country, in the village Vardisubani. It produces the Winiveria wines that 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 they make wines with European and traditional techniques, or even stay for a night or two at their hotel to make your time here even more special. Besides, regular tours, Chateau Mere offers some additional services such as churchkhela making, culinary master classes, tone bread baking, khinkali making, chacha distillation and horse riding tours.
Vardisubani Street 15, Telavi 0145
Schuchmann Chateau is located in Kisiskhevi, Kakheti region and besides its wine cellar has a large complex that consists of a hotel, restaurants, vineyards, and wine spa with a view over the snow-covered Caucasus Mountains. If you are not looking to stay in the Chateau, you can still come here to try the company’s wines accompanied with local traditional meals at the restaurants, walk around the vineyards and just enjoy your day. There are five packages of wine tastings offered at the venue, with different prices. The smallest package includes three types of wine at 15 Lari ($7) per person.
Chateau Schuchmann, Kisiskhevi, Kakheti
Alexander Chavchavadze was one of the most influential figures in Georgian history. His palace and gardens are a must. Visit the place during your trip to Kakheti region – its wine cellar 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.
Alexander Chavchavadze Palace, M-42, Tsinandali
Chavchavadze Family Estate | © Donovan Driver / WikiCommons
Telavi Wine Cellar, or Marani in Georgian, offers a wine tasting tour each day from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. 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 aging 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 smaller tour that lasts for 60-80 minutes but shows you everything that the longer tour does. The only difference here is that you’ll be given four different wines to sample during the tasting session after the visit.
In Kvareli, located in Kakheti region, there’s a unique tunnel wine cellar of Winery Khareba curved in the Caucasus Mountains. The tunnel was initially opened in 1962 for the World Congress of Vine and Wine, but today is the company’s cellar.
The shaft consists of two main entrances that are connected to 500 metres of additional 13 tunnels. The total length of the construction is 7.7 kilometres, and each entry has its purpose: one is for tourism and another for industrial use. Here, you can see a storage unit of 25,000 wines produced by the company.
Winery Khareba Wine Tour, Kvareli, Kakheti
The tunnel of Winery Khareba | © Andrzej Wójtowicz / WikiCommons | © Andrzej Wójtowicz / WikiCommons
Vita Vinea wines come from a small family winery located in the village Shalauri, near Telavi in Kakheti region. The family of Dakishvili has been producing wine and growing grapes for almost ten decades. The variety of their products include Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, and Kisi from the grapes that grow in their vineyards. 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.
Vita Vinea Wine Tour, Village Shalauri, Telavi District
Twins Cellar, located in 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.
Twins Old Cellar Wine Tour, Village Napareuli, Kakheti
Chelti offers different wine tours all year round. Located in Shilda village in 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 a dinner at the restaurant, take the participation of tone bread and churchkhela making. 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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