Wine was not invented in France, or Italy, or even the Fertile Crescent. It was invented in Georgia — a small country tucked between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea — around 6,000 BCE. Archaeologists have found the world's oldest evidence of winemaking here: grape seeds, fermentation vessels, and wine residue in clay jars dating back eight millennia.
Georgians have not forgotten this. Wine is not merely a drink here; it is a pillar of identity, spirituality, and hospitality.
The Kvevri Method
The most distinctive thing about Georgian wine is how it is made. Traditional winemakers ferment their grapes in kvevri — large clay amphorae sealed with beeswax and buried underground. The constant cool temperature of the earth provides natural temperature control. Grapes go in whole, skins and stems included, and are left to ferment for months.
The result is what the world now calls "orange wine" — whites made with extended skin contact, producing wines that are amber in colour, tannic, oxidative, and deeply complex. It is an acquired taste for some; for others, an immediate revelation.
Kakheti: Georgia's Wine Country
The Kakheti region, in eastern Georgia, produces around 70% of the country's wine. The Alazani River valley, backed by the Greater Caucasus, is extraordinarily beautiful: low vineyards stretching to forested slopes, medieval towers on the hillsides, and the smell of fermenting grapes in autumn.
Telavi is the main town and a good base. From here, you can visit estates large and small. Château Mukhrani, Schuchmann, and Pheasant's Tears are all worth seeking out — but the most memorable experiences often happen at family operations where the winemaker is also the person pouring your glass.
The Supra
No visit to Georgia is complete without attending a supra — the traditional Georgian feast. A supra can last for hours, with dozens of dishes arriving continuously, presided over by a tamada (toastmaster) who leads increasingly elaborate toasts.
Georgians do not clink glasses and say "cheers." They make speeches — about friendship, about life, about the people who are no longer with us, about the beauty of the wine in the glass. It sounds formal; it is anything but. By the third toast, you will feel you have known these people your whole life.
When to Visit
Autumn is the obvious time — the harvest, called rtveli, takes place in September and October, and vineyards welcome visitors to help pick grapes. But spring is equally beautiful, when the vines are budding and the countryside is emerald green.
Go for the wine. Stay for everything else.