Georgian Winemaking

You might be surprised to learn that Georgia has more species of indigenous grape (525 to be precise) and a longer history of winemaking than any other country in the world. Wine holds a central place in Georgian culture: Tbilisi’s towering statue of Mother Georgia holds a bowl of wine in one hand and a sword in the other; signifying that Georgians entertain their friends and slay their enemies.

Archaeological evidence has shown that wine has been produced in Georgia for at least 8,000 years. Before the Christianisation of the country in the 4th century AD, wine was used in pagan rituals in much the same way as in the Hellenic world, with evidence of Dionysian celebrations and depictions of Bacchus in Georgia going back centuries. With the rise of the Orthodox Church, this reverence of wine and grapes was incorporated into Christian worship: St Nino, the Cappadocian saint who brought Christianity to Georgia, is even said to have carried a cross bound with grapevines.

What makes Georgia so special for wines, you ask? Well, the French call it terroir - that meeting of soil, aspect, climate, geology and variety.

Much of the wine here is still made the natural, traditional way, in large earthenware vessels called qvevri, which look rather like Greek amphora and can hold between 20 to 10,000 litres of wine.

We know and work with a range of passionate, talented winemakers across Georgia, including one in Meskheti who has spent the past decade exploring mountain forests in search of ancient vines growing the way nature intended - up trees. His wines are made from these wild grapes, some of  which are over four-hundred years old.

If you are interested in visiting Georgia and enjoying a glass or two while you travel, why not eschew the Napa, Rhone or Douro valley tours and let us organise a tastebud-tickling, belt-busting trip through Georgia instead?