In Georgia, 8,000 Years of Winemaking Influence a New Era of Upscale Wineries and Luxury Tourism

Wine lovers looking to explore something new need to visit Kakheti, the most famous wine region in the country of Georgia. Georgia is recognized as the birthplace of wine, with more than 8,000 years of winemaking history. Winemakers there have traditionally fermented and aged wine in qvevri, clay jars buried in the ground. The method of aging white grape juice with the skins, seeds and stems produces an amber wine with a fuller body and tea-like tannins. There are hundreds of native grape varieties, and Mtsvane, Kisi, Rkatsiteli, Khikhvi and Saperavi are among the most popular.

From quick escapes to dream adventures, we’ll share top destinations, tips, and experiences to inspire your next trip.

Kakheti is just a two-hour drive from Tbilisi, and hundreds of larger commercial and smaller family-owned wineries are open for public visits and tastings. Harvest typically takes place throughout September, a beautiful and temperate time to visit, although wineries welcome visitors year-round.

The most exciting and ambitious new winery in the country is undoubtedly Gilauri, a project dedicated to making collector-worthy Saperavi that elegantly expresses Kakheti’s biodiverse terroir. Winery founder Irakli Gilauri is a passionate collector of Bordeaux, Napa and Burgundy and collaborates with Michel Rolland’s international wine consulting team and local winemakers to make his wines, with the first vintage debuting in early 2027.

A two-day Tbilisi itinerary: Sulfur bathhouses, qvevri wine cellars, khinkali dumplings and the Old Town’s cobbled streets, cable cars and rooftop Caucasus views.

“I’m a soil freak,” Gilauri says. His five vineyards each have distinct soil types. For example, the Gombori Mountain vineyard has a thick blanket of nutrient-dense topsoil followed by layers of degraded limestone, chalk, brown clay and river stones. “This chalk powder is like cocaine for the vineyards,” he guffaws. “That’s why I make the best wine in the world.” Gilauri currently grows eight grape varieties here (and his Chardonnay is also world-class), but the focus is always on Saperavi.

(Courtesy of Johan Berglund) “To make wine out of Saperavi is a very difficult exercise,” Gilauri says. “We don’t do pigeage because we don’t want to break the skin. A lot of tannins overpower and kill the aroma. We do a long cold maceration to bring the aromas out.” Gilauri describes himself as a reductive winemaker and makes both a single-varietal Saperavi and a blend of Saperavi, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. “Saperavi is a powerful grape, so I think it is beautiful as a Bordeaux blend,” he says. “The Cabernet Franc is so happy here.”

In a year or two, visitors will be able to tour Gilauri’s dramatic new winery and tasting room, but for now the jovial Georgian winemaker welcomes curious wine lovers to his home for tastings by advance reservation. Gilauri has tapped French architect Edouard Touton of Touton Architectes, whose past projects include wineries for Bordeaux estates Château Valandraud and Château Léoville Barton, to design his new winery and tasting room on Gombori Mountain. The building’s design is inspired by the medieval stone towers of Tusheti, a remote mountainous region on Georgia’s northeastern border with Russia that was home to Gilauri’s ancestors.

(Courtesy of TOUTON Architectes) In the meantime, there are several other nearby wineries worth visiting. Dakishvili is a family-owned winery producing white, amber, rosé, red, sparkling and dessert wines. The family also makes its own chocolate. Shumi Estate has a quaint Disney-like charm and allows visitors to harvest and crush grapes in September and October. At Winery Khareba, guests can tour vast underground wine caves and enjoy Georgian polyphonic singing while sipping wine served directly from the qvevri in keepsake clay cups.

Gilauri’s Georgian wines will also be available to taste in Napa Valley at Wheeler Farms, where he’s working on a Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, and at Kerrin Laz’s new Vintners Social Club, a private members club for wine lovers in Yountville. Visitors can enjoy a glass of Georgia’s highest-end wine before deciding whether to make the trek across the globe.

(Courtesy of SOMM TV) Telavi is Kakheti’s main town, with plenty of options for regional specialties. Doli offers a convivial atmosphere and dishes such as colorful vegetable dips, perfectly charred bread, tender slow-grilled pork neck and churchkhela ice cream. If you’ve had too much to drink, stop by Alkhanaidze Beer Restaurant for the ultimate hangover cure — fist-sized khinkali soup dumplings stuffed with ground meat or stretchy mozzarella-like sulguni cheese.

For a better understanding of the region’s winemaking history, visit the Nekresi Monastery Complex to learn how Georgian Orthodox monks made wine in the ninth century with impressive sanitation standards. Short guided tours are available in English, and the steep bus ride to the top can be a little harrowing, but the panoramic views of the Alazani Valley are worth it.

(Courtesy of Vazisubani Estate) The top hotels in the region are also working wineries. Vazisubani Estate was originally built as a nobleman’s winemaking retreat in the 19th century, and the family home is now a 19-room boutique hotel where every room is individually decorated with antique furniture. There’s a serene infinity pool overlooking the gardens, and guests can book garden picnics, wine tastings in the historic cellars and cooking classes on making traditional Georgian treats such as khachapuri cheese bread and churchkhela confections.

Vazisubani makes 10 wines from the surrounding 86 acres of vineyards in both the conventional winemaking style and the ancient Georgian qvevri method. Tasting wines made two ways from the exact same grapes really illustrates how vastly different the results are.

(Courtesy of Tsinandali Estate) Tsinandali Estate is a larger, vine-covered estate with 124 rooms overlooking vineyards and the Caucasus Mountains. The best views are from the outdoor rooftop pool, conveniently adjacent to the spa, which offers excellent massages. You can taste Tsinandali wines at the hotel’s subterranean wine bar, and guided tours of the Tsinandali museum and old winery are also available.

From quick escapes to dream adventures, we’ll share top destinations, tips, and experiences to inspire your next trip.

Amber Gibson is a luxury travel advisor with FORA Travel and journalist specializing in hotels and restaurants. Her bylines include The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. Amber graduated as valedictorian from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.