Georgia:
The Country and its Wine

Contents

Georgia is where it all began–the birthplace of wine, 8,000 years ago.

It’s easy to see why. Georgia’s soil and climate are a winemaker’s dream. The country’s diverse terrain ranges from the lush valleys of Kakheti, to the humid subtropics of Adjara, offering microclimates that are perfect for a huge variety of grapes. The Black Sea helps to moderate temperatures, creating warm summers and mild, frost-free winters.

The soils are rich and well-draining, and include limestone, alluvial, and volcanic types. These provide excellent nutrients, structure, and flavor to the wines. The Caucasus Mountains help block harsh northern winds and ensure a mineral-rich runoff for vineyards.

While Georgia isn’t the center of attention in the wine world as much as France, Italy, Spain, the US, or others, those locations owe all of their winemaking to the OG – the Original Georgia.

🌐 Georgian Wine Regions

🗺️ Major Regions

Kakheti is the powerhouse of Georgian winemaking, producing around 70% of the country’s grapes. It’s home to the Alazani Valley, where warm summers and cool mountain breezes create ideal growing conditions.
Kartli is known for its diverse wines, from traditional qvevri styles to sparkling wines. The region’s moderate climate and proximity to Tbilisi make it an important center for both modern and historic winemaking.

🗺️ Additional Regions

Imereti is in western Georgia and offers a mix of lighter, fresher wines. It’s known for white wines made from Tsolikauri and Krakhuna grapes.
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti are famous for high-end semi-sweet reds, especially Khvanchkara. These mountainous areas produce rare, exclusive wines.
Adjara is a coastal region with a subtropical climate, perfect for smaller-scale, unique wines. It’s less commercial, but rich in tradition.

🗺️ Minor Regions

Guria is a tiny region with quirky, rare grape varieties like Chkhaveri. Its wines are light and fun, perfect for easy drinking.
Samegrelo is better known for its food than its wine, but it still produces small batches of local varieties.
Meskheti is a historic wine area being revived with terraces carved into steep mountain slopes. Their focus is on preserving ancient traditions.
Abkhazia is in the far west and produces wines with a mix of local and international grapes. It’s known for semi-sweet reds like Lykhny.
Ajara has a humid, subtropical climate and produces small-scale wines that are increasingly gaining attention.

🍾 Common Grapes in Georgia

Georgia invented wine, and the country has over 500 native grape varieties. This is nowhere near a complete list.

🍇 Major Georgian Grapes

Rkatsiteli: The backbone of Georgian white wine production. It’s adaptable and versatile, producing everything from fresh citrusy whites to amber wines with rich honey and stone fruit notes.
Saperavi: A tenturier (red-fleshed) grape, this is Georgia’s most widely planted red variety, known for deep color, robust structure, and excellent aging potential.
Mtsvane Kakhuri: Often blended with Rkatsiteli, this white grape adds floral and fruity aromatics, making it a favorite for fresh, aromatic wines.
Kisi: A rising star among amber wines, this white grape offers complex flavors of dried apricot, honey, and spices when fermented with skin contact.

🍇 Historic Georgian Grapes

Khikhvi: Known since ancient times, Khikhvi produces distinctive amber wines with herbal and tropical fruit notes.
Tsolikouri: A white grape common in western Georgia, often used for fresh, lightly-aromatic wines with a crisp profile.
Chinuri: Traditionally used for sparkling wines in Kartli, this white grape produces wines with green apple and citrus notes.
Aleksandrouli: Used in the semi-sweet reds of Racha, like Khvanchkara, this grape offers a balance of light body and vibrant berry flavors.

🍇 Unique Georgian Grapes

Ojaleshi: A western Georgian red variety grown on steep slopes, known for producing medium-bodied, fragrant wines with red fruit and spice notes.
Tavkveri: A red grape used for both dry and semi-sweet wines, offering strawberry and pomegranate flavors with soft tannins.
Tsitska: A white grape from Imereti, valued for its high acidity and used in both fresh table wines and sparkling styles.
Shavkapito: A rare red grape from Kartli, often made into light, fruity, and approachable red wines.

🍇 Lesser-Known Georgian Grapes

Krakhuna: Found in Imereti, this white grape produces wines with full body and notes of ripe pear and honey.
Mujuretuli: Partnered with Aleksandrouli for Khvanchkara, it brings soft tannins and red fruit to the blend.
Budeshuri Saperavi: A lighter variant of Saperavi, often used for blending or producing less intense wines.

🍇 Rare & Unusual Georgian Grapes

Usakhelauri: A highly prized red grape whose name means “nameless” (lol), it creates delicate, aromatic, and semi-sweet wines with wild strawberry notes.
Tsulukidze Tetra: A rare white grape from Racha, used in both still and sparkling wines.
Otskhanuri Sapere: A tannic red variety from Imereti, often used in robust, age-worthy reds.
Grubela: A rediscovered red grape known for its earthy, ethereal qualities.

🍇 Revival Grapes

Kakhuri Mtsvivani: Grown in Kakheti, this white grape is being revived for its potential in amber wine production.
Jghia: A lesser-seen red grape with light body and bright red fruit flavors.
Dzelshavi: An ancient red variety producing fresh, medium-bodied wines with soft tannins and berry flavors.

📅 Georgian Wine Vintage Reports

I’m compiling these shortly–thanks for your patience!

📖 History of Wine in Georgia

Georgia is generally considered the birthplace of wine. It was around 8,000 years ago, sometime around 6,000 BCE. The good ol’ days.

At this point in history, the Fertile Crescent was being farmed, agriculture was just starting to catch on, Japan’s Jomon people were making some of the first pottery, and Egyptians were first starting to arrange rocks in patterns suggested by the stars. The pyramids were still thousands of years in the future, as were writing, metallurgy, and urban civilization.

This global stage was the setting when the people of the South Caucasus area discovered that grape juice turned into something like wine when it was left buried through the winter.

Over time, these people tried different techniques and learned better ways to refine their wine production. Big, round, egg-shaped pottery vessels called kvevris (or qvevris) were used to more effectively store the juice underground, topped with wood, lined with beeswax, and sealed.

Over centuries, these people cultivated and selected their best grape varieties, resulting in an astonishing 525 indigenous grapes. There are something like 10,000 grape varieties in total around the world, so Georgia alone accounts for 5% of global diversity. Of all the grapes listed above, the most famous are probably Saperavi and Rkatsiteli.

We know that by 3,000 BCE, and likely much earlier, Georgia was trading its wine with neighbors like Babylon and Ur. Greek authors like Homer and Apollonius of Rhodes wrote about Georgian winemaking. The word wine itself comes from the words vin and vino in other languages, and those are thought to come from the original Georgian word for it, ghvino.

Wine became a part of cultural and religious life in Mesopotamia, Sumer, Anatolia, and other early-civilization areas, eventually making its way to the Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Levant (modern-day Lebanon, Israel, and Syria). This is where the Phoenicians lived, and as masters of shipbuilding and seafaring, they helped spread grapevines and winemaking knowledge to Italy, France, and Europe as a whole. What originated in Georgia was soon spread across the continent.

By the 4th century CE, Georgia was being converted to Christianity, which helped wine gain spiritual significance in the religion. According to myth, Saint Nino, a prominent proselytizer, carried a cross made of grapevines.

Georgia was frequently invaded over the years by Persians, Mongols, Ottomans, and more. Despite the destruction of vineyards that some of these invasions brought, Georgians preserved winemaking traditions by saving grape cuttings and replanting. Invaders may have found themselves taking Georgian wine back home and spreading it further, too.

Under Soviet rule in the 20th century, Georgian wine production shifted to meet mass market demands. The focus was on quantity over quality, with sweet and semi-sweet wines dominating exports to the USSR. By 1985, vineyard area peaked at 316,000 acres. However, Mikhail Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaigns led to vineyard destruction.

When Georgia gained its independence in 1991, the wine industry began to recover. The 2006 Russian embargo on Georgian wine–a political move–forced winemakers to find new markets. This pivot sparked a renaissance in wine, with producers shifting back to a quality focus and reviving ancient techniques.

In 2013, UNESCO recognized the kvevri/qvevri method (that ancient underground clay vessel fermentation process) as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Some wineries still even use it today, to some extent. Amber wine is a particular hallmark of this tradition.

Today, there are around 2,000 wineries operating in Georgia, over about 135,000 acres. Exports to the Western world have soared. Winemaking is a fundamental part of Georgian history and culture, and it’s worth thinking about with every sip you take.

🍷 Georgian Wines I’ve Tried

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Georgia: The Country and its Wine