Qvevri – Ancient Wine, Modern Twist
Our Georgia wine tours focus on many of the great wineries near the Kakheti wine region towns of Telavi, Kvareli, and Signagi and we highly recommend staying one, two or three nights away from Tbilisi giving you quality time to relax and taste.
- Visit wineries that employ traditional Qvevri and modern methods.
- Experience unique Qvevri wine and learn all about it
- Tour with owners and winemakers
- Taste many wines that will be new to you
- Stay at lovely vineyard and winery hotels
- Georgian cuisine is superb – Plenty of chances to enjoy it
- Visits to historic, beautiful churches and monuments
Remember: Everything we do is private and customizable – just let us know if there is something you wish to add or remove from our Kakheti wine tours.
You spend a lot of time looking down holes on a wine tour in Georgia
So Many Wineries – Qvevri & Steel, Old & New.
There are so many options they are impossible to talk about at length here, but below we cover an outline example program for one or two nights away from Tbilisi just to show you what is possible:
Our Kakheti wine tours start by heading out of Tbilisi for around two hours or so until we reach the heart of Kakheti. Our first visit will be Shumi winery which is a well oiled, visitor-friendly setup and the perfect introduction to quality Qvevri wine. A tour of the factory will be made, followed by a tasting.
After our time at Shumi we will head further into the countryside for 30 minutes or so to visit the boutique Qvevri winery, Chubini. We will be having lunch here with the owners Tornike and Lika. This newly married couple is a delight to spend time with and they will proudly show you what they do, and we will try their wines during lunch relaxing in the garden.
A local baker lets Malka handle the bread making 
Dusty old bottles in the huge cellars at Khareba
You probably will not want to leave Chubini, but we have to as there is more to see and taste. We will drive 15 minutes more to the historic Chateau Eniseli winery which will also be our home for the night. This place is fascinating and exudes historical importance and Soviet influence. The story behind this winery is too long to recount here, suffice to say you will find it very interesting during a tour of this very unusual facility.
You will enjoy a tasting of Eniseli wines, brandy, and chacha and be free to relax for the evening in this very tranquil place.
Facebook album of several trips to Kakheti
Telavi & Signagi on our Georgia wine tours
For our two night Georgia wine tours we would have you stay in the Telavi area first night, then in Signagi for the second. Several wineries around Signagi will be added into the schedule according to your tastes, white, red, semi-sweet, Qvevri, oaked…the area has them all.
Before we get to Signagi for the night there is much to do, see and taste.
After breakfast, we will visit the spectacular Gremi Fortress and enjoy a quick look at the museum inside the structure. The video below should give you the idea, lovely place indeed.
After visiting Gremi we will head 15 minutes to the Shilda winery. This is a total contrast to what you have at Eniseli, this winery was built in 2015.
We will have a look at the production area where modern stainless steel is being used to produce great quality wine from Kakheti grapes. The company does also use Qvevri for some of its wines and we will taste both styles.
While we are here at Shilda we will learn about, and try, making traditional Georgian Shoti bread in the ubiquitous circular ovens, plus Georgian Khinkali dumplings and also Churchkhela sweets. This is a great hands-on experience and a lot of fun.
Leaving Shilda, we have a number of variations on Georgia wine tours en-route to Signagi if you are enjoying a two-night package. A one night package will mean we visit one more winery in Telavi before heading back to Tbilisi, this will one of many but a great option is Schuchmann Winery.
Schuchmann is also a great option for an overnight stay, this will all depend on the route you choose and your budget. In any case, we will visit the winery, enjoy a tasting and the superb views that the place affords.
If you have a three-day trip then we will head through some classic terroir such as Tsinandale and Mukuzani on our way to the winery which will also be our lunch spot today, Numisi Cellar and museum.
This is a very quirky place, and while the wine may be the standard of Shumi or Shilda, the experience is an interesting one. If the owner is around then we can meet him and hear, through the guide, a little about the place. We will enjoy a tour of the Qvevri cellar and the many museum pieces that are on show, then have a tasting during a lunch of traditional Georgian BBQ.
The beautiful hill-top town of Signagi in Georgia, center of wine country
After this visit, you will be ready to head to your hotel, so we drive up the hill to the lovely town of Signagi, check you in and leave you free till after breakfast in the morning.
Keep going – Keep tasting!
The Pheasant´s Tears winery has a lovely tasting room in this quaint hill-top town, and we will have a tour and tasting here after giving you time to wander a little in the town after breakfast.
Click here for a great article on Georgian wine
We will then leave Signagi and drive 45 minutes or so to reach the small village of Badiauri. Here we will visit one of the traditional bakeries producing bread the way you have seen so far.
After the bakeries, we will head to the tiny rural village of Kakabeti to visit the fantastic Vellino boutique winery. The Qvevri wines here are superb quality and delicious. We will enjoy being educated on the local terroir by the young owner and then have a premium tasting.
Tasting from Qvevri on Georgia wine tours 
With Marta with wine under her kitchen
After Vellino there may be one more winery visit in the Khashmi area before heading back to Tbilisi, but this will depend on how we are going for time.
Being a private tour it gives us the chance to adapt to local opportunities and for your guide to suggest a place en route. We will go with the flow (of wine)!
Why not extend your time and try our amazing Birthplace of Wine tour triangle, taking in some of the best wine regions of the Caucasus.
