Local Insider – Gabi's Guide to Georgia and the Caucasus

Gabi lives and works in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, but can trace her roots back to the northwest of the country. “Georgia has such a big history with countless enemies and invasions. We’ve still maintained our own culture throughout that time and we love sharing that with people when they visit,” Gabi explains to Adam from Culture Trip.

“There’s obviously the wine, too, with over 8,000 years of expertise we are considered the cradle of winemaking. We have a special way of making the wine here and we show that off too. The toastmaster will make the toast and everyone joins in.” Gabi tells us. “You feel included, and that’s because we have a saying that ‘the guest is from gift'”.

Gabi is a toastmaster herself, and it’s more than just raising a glass. It’s a more intricate tradition here than you might expect, and just hearing the passion our Local Insider has for the formalities transports you to a spot around a table with her. “Georgian cuisine is one of the best. Georgian dumplings are a speciality and I remind our guests that you use your hands for this. Knives and forks are a crime!” Gabi jokes.

Vegetarians will have plenty of options. There are some dishes that people always want the recipe for, and Gabi has made sure there is time to sample them all.

The 9-day trip explores a number of regions in the country. As you can imagine there are cooking classes and wine tasting, but Gabi also recommends the experience of going to the market and shopping for ingredients too.

There are some great hikes across the Georgia and Caucasus trip that had into the mountains. “You feel so close to the sky that even though there are other people there, you feel like you are alone.” This amazing green space is only a two hour drive from Tbilisi and Gabi can’t wait to show you around.