– Nr. Name/Type/Contact Description Location/Address Telephone Email/Skype Website/Facebook Black Sea Coast- and enology have been well developed in Adjara since ancient times. The region played a significant role in the creation of . In the area of only 29,000 km2 more than 80 varieties of local have been registered and over 40 cultural vine species have been created and approved. At present, about 50 indigenous and introduced species are cultivated (http://gobatumi.com/en/feelit/tourism-resorts/wine-tourism/vine-in-ajara). Adjara produces famous such as “Kedis Tsolikauri” and “Chkhaveri”, which are very popular among Georgian and foreign consumers. The total area of vineyards in Adjara is 180 ha, including 70% of Tsolikauri, 8% of Chkhaveri, and 22% of other varieties. Keda district, situated in Acharistskali Gorge is considered to be the historical center of in Adjara. The district is distinguished by beautiful nature and many historical places.

01. “Adjarian House” “Adjarian Wine House” is located in the village of Adjaristskali, Adjaristskali, 6042 “Acharian Wine [email protected] Khelvachauri Municipality, on the main road linking Khelvachauri to Khelvachauri house 1” Ltd. www.awh.ge Keda, 15 minutes’ drive from Batumi. It’s a small chateau type Municipality, Adjara (+995) 577 21 40 02 established in 2010. The winery was built on the ruins of a Province, Georgia (+995) 790 11 55 00 http://winetrailtravel historical winery from 18th century. Among other types of wine, the (+995) 593 47 65 69 er.com/georgia/adjari winery produces “Chkhaveri” – Joseph Stalin’s favorite wine. (+995) 577 21 40 21 anwinehouse.php Production of wine is limited to 8,000 bottles per year. Guests are

welcomed by a guide, who first takes them on a tour of the http://ecomap.gobat vineyards before inviting them to witness the process of making of umi.com/ wine and to taste various wines. The multifunctional building accommodates a marani (), degustation rooms, a http://welcomebatu restaurant and a wine shop. The degustation room located at the mi.com/index.php?rf ground floor is designed in oriental style and decorated with =text2&m1=9&m2=4 traditional Georgian elements. The same floor accommodates wine 1&type=4&tid=139&l collection and storage, where wine is stored in barrels. Here the ang=en&PHPSESSID= visitors can see approximately 200-year old satsnakheli ( 9a9f1a31b3ab950e23 squeezer). The modern style degustation room located on the upper 0c8d0a7f158d9e#.VLL floor can host about 50 visitors. Between these two floors is a iQXum3h4 restaurant, where one can taste ancient traditional Adjarian dishes together with general Georgian menu in interesting, cozy interior. http://georgianwine.t An open wine cellar with ethnographic details, trout pool and ravel/facilities/adjara demonstration are built in the yard. In Acharian Wine /khelvachauri/adjaria House the wine is fermented the European way. Recently, the n-wine-house.html company started producing the qvevri (clay jar) wine, but it has not been bottled yet. “Adjarian Wine House” makes pink Chkhaveri and as well as wine made in qvevri. Here you can also enjoy Chacha (alcohol drink) distilled on the spot and buy ceramics and other souvenirs. Available wines: Porto Franco-Chkhaveri, pink, dry; Tsolikauri

02. Shervashidze Family Shervashidze Family Wine House is located in the village of Pirveli Pirveli Maisi village, Nodar Shervashidze http://georgianwine.t Wine House-Marani Maisi (also known as Saghoreti), in Keda Municipality, 35 km away Keda Municipality, (+995) 593 07 00 88 ravel/facilities/adjara from Batumi and 1.8 km from the central road. A family winery with 6105, Adjara (+995) 599 15 51 25 /keda/nodar- 1 ha of vineyard with different species of grapes produces Province, Georgia shervashidze%E2%80 traditional Adjarian wines- Chkhaveri, Ojaleshi and Tsolikouri. The %99s-wine- cellar is housed on the ground floor of the house built in 1914 in cellar.html traditional Georgian style and is decorated with ethnographic elements – old fireplace and tasting area. Wine is kept in oak http://ecomap.gobat barrels, although the cellar has qvevris. The vineyards cover slopes umi.com/ over a marvelous area in front of the house.

Tourists can visit the vineyards and a typical marani (wine cellar) of Adjarian village; participate in grape harvesting; see the special ware used for storing wine: qvevris (clay jars), wooden barrels, botsas (special wine-storing glass ware); as well the traditional grape- processing device – satsnakheli (grape squeezer). At the same time, the visitors can degustate the wine, listen to Georgian folk music, taste Georgian traditional dishes. The cellar can host up to 20 persons.

In addition, trekking tours around the nearby area to Saghoreti fortress, Queen Tamar Spring, Tsivasula fortress and Mitsis bridge are offered to tourists year-round. At present the family is not providing overnight stay to guests, but plans to do it in future.

03. Lado Shavishvili’s Lado Shavishvili’s Family Wine House (Marani) and Guesthouse, is Vaio village, Keda Lado Shavishvili [email protected] Winary and located in one of the most beautiful villages of Adjaristskali valley – Municipality, 6102, (+995) 599 78 36 59 Guesthouse Vaio village, 45 km from Batumi and 2 km from the main road. There Adjara Province, http://winetrailtravel is a family winery, known for producing local wines, with Georgia er.com/georgia/lados degustation room which can host 10 visitors simultaneously. The havishvili.php cellar is housed on the ground floor of the house with a large garden and well-groomed vineyards and orchards. The tasting room is in http://ecomap.gobat two sections. To the left is a small bar for tasting and purchasing umi.com/ wines. To the right of the tasting area there is a room decorated with Georgian crafts, particularly wine bottles and clay wine drinking http://georgianwine.t vessels. This second room also serves as an area for a traditional ravel/facilities/adjara Georgian supra. Currently Lado produces 3,000 liters of wine (4,000 /keda/lado- bottles). Here you can taste 4 wine varieties: , Chkhaveri, shavishili%E2%80%99 Tsolikauri and Aladasturi. The guesthouse has capacity of 15 beds. s-wine-cellar.html The guests can participate in harvesting and wine making, as well as have master classes in making ‘Ajarian khachapuri’ provided by the hostess. The family also has a hazelnut and vegetable gardens, beehives and fruit orchard with various types of fruits, such as cherries, strawberries, apples, pears, persimmons, etc. which make a part of healthy nutrition offered to the guests. The host can organize fishing, hunting and travelling tours.

04. Makho Wine House Makho Wine House is located in the village of Vaio, on the elevated Vaio village, Keda Malkhaz Gorgiladze http://georgianwine.t (Marani) hill, overlooking the picturesque villages of the valley. The visitors Municipality, 610 , (+995) 591 98 06 58 ravel/facilities/adjara can taste wine made in the Gorgiladze family accompanied with Adjara Province, (+995) 593 35 62 32 /keda/malkhaz- delicious, ecological fruits and vegetables and various Adjarian Georgia gorgiladze%E2%80%9 dishes in the cellar decorated with traditional ornaments. The tour 9s-wine-cellar.html includes , visiting of the cellar and vineyard, observing the process of wine making, etc. Makho Wine House produces wine http://ecomap.gobat from the Tsolikouri, Chkhaveri and Aladasturi varieties of grape. umi.com/

Services: • Wine tasting, • , • Wine sale, • Accommodation, • , • Georgian Folklore. Languages: Georgian, Russian 05. Nuri Sirabidze’s Winery Nuri Sirabidze’s wine cellar is located in the village of Gegelidzeebi, Gegelidzeebi Nuri Sirabidze http://ecomap.gobat and Guesthouse 700 meters from the main highway and 49 km away from Batumi. village, Keda (+995) 593 51 91 28 umi.com/ The family has 130-year-old wine cellar, a marvelous vineyard on the Municipality, 6106, (+995) 790 51 31 91 slope, produces Tsolikouri wine and offers accommodation. The Adjara Province, Fridon Sirabidze principal advantage of the cellar is marvelous vineyard on the slope, Georgia (son) and the way to the cellar, which passes vine gallery, among the lines (+995) 591 98 82 55 of Tsolikouri running on Olikhnari (vines trained to grow up trees). The family offers accommodation for guests in three double bedrooms with three shared bathrooms. The family owns a greenhouse and a small trout farm and offers tourists meals prepared from fresh local products. The guests are offered a tour comprising of wine tasting, visiting cellar and vineyard, witnessing process of making of wine and tasting Adjarian dishes, local dairy products, fruits, vegetables and herbs. This is a perfect place for arranging lunches and dinners for guests at the beautiful place of vine gallery, among the lines of Tsolikouri. The family also organizes trekking and tours by car, as well as provides services for meeting guests at , Kutaisi or Batumi airports. Wine variety: Tsolikauri Languages: Georgian, Russian Black Sea Coast-

Wine production in Guria is being developed in the following places: Likhauri, Shemokmedi, Bakhvi, Askana, Chokhtauri, Erketi, Bukistsikhe, Sakvavitske, Sachamiaseri, Partskhma, Aketi, Mamati, Atsana (qvevri making), Chochkhati and Shroma (first map). LSP are located in the villages of Bukistsikhe and Sakvavitske (second map).

Qvevri production in Guria: Contemporary qvevri are made in the region of Guria, namely in the village of Atsana. Many craftsmen throughout Georgia specialize in the creation of qvevris, each of whom has their own distinct style and technique.

06. “Iberieli” (Zurab “Iberieli” (or Zurab Topuridze’s Wine Cellar) is located in Guria Sakvavistke village, (+995) 599 58 46 24 [email protected] Topuridze) Wine Cellar Province, in the village of Sakvavistke near Dablatsikhe. Zurab, the Chokhatauri, 4907, owner and winemaker, has 12 ha of vineyards and produces 3,000 Guria Province, http://winetrailtravel liters of wine (5,000 bottles) which he exports to Japan, France and Georgia er.com/georgia/zurab Italy. The primary focus of Zurab is on the grape variety Chkhaveri. topuridze.php The name “Iberieli” has been selected by Zurab’s family children. It denotes origin of ancient people/ethnic group in , who had https://www.faceboo an experience of winemaking during several thousands of years. The k.com/iberieliwineryp cellar is housed in the redbrick building with a tiled roof that is age composed of several parts: the main part contains thirteen qvevris, cellar, stainless steel tanks and a wine shop, whereas the smaller http://georgianwine.t half contains seven small qvevris. Here is a tasting corner as well. ravel/facilities/guria/z Outside of the winery, the area is filled with seating areas and urab- numerous qvevris of all sizes. Chkhaveri vines cover the terraces topuridze%E2%80%9 planted in the yard. There are also 11 other grape varieties in the 9s-wine- vineyard. Zurab Topuridze’s wine cellar makes amber-colored and cellar.html#program pink Chkhaveri wine, as well as the wine through blending of me Chkhaveri and the rare Skhilatubani varieties of grape. Zurab makes the wine from Tsolikouri variety of grape as well. He also produces an intense Chacha with a very high alcohol of over 60 %. Languages: Georgian, Russian, English 07. Village House Teimuraz Sharashidze’s family-run wine cellar and guesthouse is Bukistsikhe Village, Temur Sharashidze chabuka.sharashidze9 “Chabela” and Marani located in the village of Bukistsikhe, 6 km away from the town of Chokhatauri (+995) 491 53 86 96 [email protected] Chokhatauri. The house has four bedrooms, a large dining-room, Municipality, 4901, (+995) 599 53 86 96 beaka_sharashidze@ balconies, and two shared bathrooms. There is a yard with flowers, Guria Region, mail.ru fruits, grapes and a vegetable garden. The owner has set up an Georgia Chabuka [email protected] ethnographic corner depicting the local life with the tone (bread- Sharashidze [email protected] baking oven), and Marani (wine cellar) in the yard. The wine cellar is (+995) 593 33 81 00 built in a traditional-style and decorated with ethnographic http://georgianwine.t elements and various tools. Here is the tasting corner as well. The Keti Sikharulidze- ravel/facilities/guria/t qvevris are located in an open-air wine cellar. Teimuraz Sharashidze Sharashenidze eimuraz- has also grown a splendid Olikhnari vineyard (a vineyard in which (+995) 593 33 13 74 sharashidze%E2%80% the vines are trained to grow up long vertical poles) of Chkhaveri, 99s-wine-cellar.html Jani, Tsolikouri, Skhilatubani and Ojaleshi grapes. Teimuraz Sharashidze makes two types of Chkhaveri wine – white and rose. http://www.new.rura He also makes honey vodka. ltourism.ge/rural- tourism/index.php?ac Village House “Chabela” is conveniently located near the high tion=accomodation&I mountain resort of Bakhmaro (2050 meters above sea level) and the D=14&lang=eng Black Sea shore resorts. The hostess also owns a cottage at Bakhmaro resort, which is 58 km from their village. Tours with horses in Bakhmaro are available as well. Black Sea Coast-Samegrelo- Zemo

Winegrowing centers of Samegrelo include the following villages: Chkhoria, Chkaduashi, Rukhi, Kortskheli, Odishi, Kulishkari, Medani, Mukhuri,Letsurtsume, Kirtskhi, Kurzu, Chogha, Taleri, Tsachkhuri, Salkhino, Didi Tchkoni, Akhuti, Gurdzemi, Tamakoni, Potskho, Targameuli, Nakhunavo, Inchkhuri, Martvili, Sergieti, Abedati, Ushapati, Betlemi, Jikha, Bandza, Gejeti, Tskemi and Dzveli Senaki. Major grapes of Samegrelo are Tsolikouri and Ojaleshi.

08. Dadiani Old Cellar Dadiani Old Cellar is located within Dadiani summer residence in the Salkhino village, Gio Sikharulidze http://winetrailtravel village of Salkhino in the Samegrelo Province. The House of Dadiani Samegrelo Father Illia er.com/georgia/dadia was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling Province, Georgia ni.php dynasty of the western Georgian province of Samegrelo. A visit to Dadianis’ Wine Cellar provides visitors with an opportunity to see a https://bujiashvilitina 17th century renovated chateau and the St. Mary church which were tin.wordpress.com/20

destroyed during Soviet times. Salkhino Palace, also known as the 13/07/24/dadiani- Kvevri Palace, was constructed, on a site originally occupied by a summer-residence-in- modest royal residence during the reign of Levan V Dadiani (r. 1804- salkhino-salkhino- 1840). Currently the Salkhino Monastery operates the Dadiani Old church/ Cellar. The vineyards are on the property and consist of 30 hectares of Ojaleshi grapevines. The Ojaleshi grape is very dependent on this http://dadiani.si.edu/ area and will not grow elsewhere. The winery has five wood presses, otherpalaces.html each made from a single tree trunk. The winemaker at Dadiani Wine Cellar is Father Illia. Currently the wine is not sold but as the vineyards mature, Dadiani Old Cellar wines will become available commercially.

09. Zaza Gagua Wine Cellar The Nika Parcuanias Marani at Zaza Gagua is located in the town of Tamakoni village, Nika Parcuanias http://winetrailtravel Tamakoni in the Samegrelo region of Georgia. Nika is specializing in Samegrelo er.com/georgia/nikap the Ojaleshi grape variety, one of the oldest grape varieties in the Province, Georgia arcuanias.php region. The Ojaleshi grapes are typically harvested in December when the grapes are at 25 to 26 degrees Brix. Although Ojaleshi ripens late, the wine produced is dry. Currently Nika has small plantings of grapes and plans to add more grapevines of different varieties. The winery/marani building was constructed in 2012. Nika is producing 600 liters (1,500-2,000 bottles) of Ojaleshi wine for his family. He produces wine in carboys but plans to begin using qvevris. - Racha-Lechkhumi is one of Georgia’s smallest wine regions, wedged between Imreti to the south and the Greater Caucasus mountains to the north. But despite its diminutive size, it remains one of the most important wine regions in the country. The regional capital in both administrative and viticultural terms is Ambroulari, which, from the prespective of viticulture, is followed closely by Tsageri. The white wines are based on the Tetra, Tsitska and Tsolikouri (Bazaleturi), and the reds are based on Alexandrouli, (Keduretuli), , Orbeluri Odzhaleshi and Saperavi. One of several microregions in Racha-Lechkhumi, Khvanchakara is particularly famous for its semi- sweet Khvanchakara wines, which are based on Alexandrouli and Mujuretuli grapes. These raspberry-scented reds have been produced since the beginning of the 20th c.

10. Aleksandreuli Ltd. Aleksandreuli Ltd winery is located in Western Georgia in Bugeuli Bugeuli village, (+995) 32 220 7324 www.aleksandreuli.ge village, Racha. Built in 2009 the winery uses the latest technology Racha Province, and equipment, and processes 50 tons of grapes a year. The winery 0400, Georgia http://winetrailtravel focuses on the Aleksandreuli grape variety, but also has several er.com/georgia/aleks other varieties. Aleksandreuli has its own vineyards (60 ha) which andreuli.php are home to Aleksandreuli, and Mujuretuli. These grapes are the http://www.gotocauc basis for the famous Kvanchkara wine. The wine of Khvanchkara for asus.com/Khvanchkh the first time was produced by the Georgian Prince Kipiani in the 70s ara/Khvanckhara.htm of the 19th c. and it was called “Kipiani s wine”. Currently the winery l uses 150,000 tons of grapes and produces 150,000 bottles of wine. Wine is exported to Ukraine and Poland. 11. Wine Cellar Ambrolauri wine cellar “Khvanchkara Premium” is located in 17, M. Kostava Str., (+ 995) 551 26 7722 khvanchkara.premiu Khvanchkara Premium Ambrolauri city center. It is equipped with modern facilities for 0400 Ambrolauri, [email protected] winemaking, filtration and storage. This wine cellar exists since Racha Province, 1934. It has its own vineyards (30 ha) in various rural areas, where Georgia http://georgianwine.t , Mujuretuli and Tsulukidze White are mainly grown. ravel/facilities/racha- The guests can visit the wine cellar and take part in wine-tasting. lechkhumi-zemo- The tasting package consists of 3 types of wine. svaneti/ambrolauri/w ine-cellar- khvanchkara- premium.html#progr amme 12. Wine Cellar This wine cellar is located in Racha, in the administrative zone of Khvanchkara (+ 995) 577 41 1210 khvanchkaraold@gm Khvanchkara Ambrolauri, on the right bank of the Rioni River, in the basin village, 0420 (+995) 32 214 24 74 ail.com protected with high ridges. This is the oldest factory in Racha and Ambrolauri, Racha (+995) 32 225 35 75 operates from 1927. The wine is stored in huge barrels in the Province, Georgia http://www.khvanchk basement. The wine cellar is very interesting to visit, despite the fact ara.net/ that its tourist infrastructure is not completed yet. The tourists are very fond of the vineyards planted on the slopes and grape seedling http://georgianwine.t nursery produced here. The winery accepts a limited amount of ravel/facilities/racha- guests – composition of the group should not exceed 20 people. lechkhumi-zemo- During the grape seasons, the guests can participate in the svaneti/ambrolauri/w grape . While visiting the winery, the guests can listen to the ine-cellar- brief history of each wine and taste 2 types of wine – Khvanchkara khvanchkara.html and Aleksandrouli. 13. Tvaradze’s Wine Cellar Tvaradze’s family-run traditional wine cellar is located in the village Chkhuteli village, (+ 995) 551 42 1472 [email protected] of Chkhuteli, in the mountainous area, at the beginning of Tsageri 5112 Tsageri, Racha om Pass. It was built in the 1930s by the current owner’s grandfather. Province, Georgia Today his descendants – grandfather, son and grandson – are http://georgianwine.t running the family business together. They produce approximately 2 ravel/facilities/racha- tons of wine: red Ojaleshi and white Tsolikouri. Wine in the wine lechkhumi-zemo- cellar is mainly stored in oak barrels. Old wooden winepress stands svaneti/cageri/tvarad in the wine cellar able to store up to 1 ton of wine. Despite the fact, ze%E2%80%99s-wine- that the infrastructure of the cellar is still to be completed, it is cellar.html#program completely ready for hosting the guests – wine tasting and having me dinner. They cook traditional dishes: Khachapuri of Tone, Lobiani, barbeque and others, make their own Sulguni (pickled cheese), Churchkhela (walnut roll) and boil jams. Guests can take part in the above processes. Number of visitors: up to 20. 14. Gogi Margvelidze’s Gogi Margvelidze’s family-run wine cellar is located in the center of Sadmeli village, (+995) 551 22 16 45 http://georgianwine.t Wine Cellar the village of Sadmeli. The wine cellar and the house, built by the Ambrolauri, Racha ravel/facilities/racha- great-grandfather of the owner, have very interesting ethnographic Province, Georgia lechkhumi-zemo- value. The wine cellar is surrounded by its own vineyards – mostly svaneti/ambrolauri/g Aleksandrouli, Mujuretuli Tsulukidze Tetra, varieties of ogi- grape – over the area of 1 ha. Wines are stored only in Churi in the margvelidze%E2%80 wine cellar and they are not bottled. Notwithstanding the fact, that %99s-wine- the tourist infrastructure is still to be completed, ethnographic cellar.html#program elements of the wine cellar and old provide the sense me of a village of previous centuries. Traditional Rachian Tone oven and cuisine is active – bread, Lobiani, Rachuli Khachapuri are baked, traditional Rachuli ham is made. The family has experience of tourist hosting since 1960s. The owner renovated the wine cellar and was added to the wine route in 2011.

15. Giorbelidze’s Wine Wooden wine cellar of the brothers Giorbelidze is located in the Okureshi village, (+995) 595 49 78 79 http://georgianwine.t Cellar village of Okureshi, the homeland of Usakhelauri variety of grape. 5108 Tsageri, Racha (+995) 595 46 65 00 ravel/facilities/racha- Their grandfather built this wine cellar in 1899. Later, their father Province, Georgia lechkhumi-zemo- renovated and added the stone part to it. Since that time, their svaneti/cageri/giorbel grandfather and father used to produce Usakhelauri and other idze%E2%80%99s- wines in qvevri for their family. The brothers took up this business in wine-cellar.html 2001 and started to sale Usakhelauri variety of grape, as well as production of wine. They have their own vineyards and nurseries. The main grape varieties here are Usakhelauri – 12,800 vines, Ojaleshi – 500 vines, and the rest – Tsolikauri, Dzelshavi, Mtsvane – 800 vines. The wine cellar is included in the tourist wine route. They serve the tourists since 2010. Mostly they host the small groups of 2-15 people. Organization of dinners is available for small groups. Together with wine and Chacha (vodka) guests are offered the local dishes: Khachapuri, chicken and meat dishes, pkhali, vegetable dishes. 16. Elguja’s Wine Cellar Elguja Bendeliani’s family-run wine cellar was built in the 1950s. The 28, Kostava Str., (+995) 595 38 92 11 http://georgianwine.t host produces two types of wine, and Ojaleshi in glass 5100 Tsageri, Racha ravel/facilities/racha- vessels. Elguja’s wine cellar is a vivid place in Tsageri and is well- Province, Georgia lechkhumi-zemo- known for its unique exhibition “Famous Lechkhumi Inhabitants”. svaneti/cageri/elgujas The host runs the wine cellar and makes wine as a hobby. The wine -wine-cellar.html cellar can be considered as a museum-type institution, as a visitor will be able to get familiar with the historical details of Lechkhumi.

The roots of Imereti viniculture tradition can be traced back to the times of the legendary Kolkhida. The region has its own unique technology of wine-producing. Imereti is known for wines such as Gelati (white), Argveti (port), Tsitska (white) and other less known wines. Krakhuna is considered to be the most “Imeretian” wine. Generally, Imereti wines are not as strong as wines in and tend to be less sweet. It is difficult to find Imereti wines since they are rarely sold. Qvevri production in Imereti: Today, most qvevri craftsmen work in Imereti. These qvevri are known for their high quality and as such are exported to other regions of Georgia such as Racha, Ksani Gorge and .

17. Archil Guniava’s Archil Guniava Wine Cellar is a small Georgian family winery in Kvaliti Village, Archil Guniava http://winetrailtravel Winery Kvaliti village, Imereti. The family has its own winery and grows very Zestafoni (+995) 599 53 42 95 er.com/georgia/archil rare Imeretian vine varieties. Archil has half a hectare of vineyards. Municipality, guniava.php There are plantings of the white grapes Krakhuna, Tsitska, Tsolikouri Imereti Province, and the black grape Otskhanuri Sapere that uses high trellising. The Georgia marani (wine cellar) is located in the yard outside of Archil’s family home where he produces qvevri wines. There are several qvevri of different sizes buried under the dirt floor in the room. Archil Guniava produces two wines: a is a blend of varieties including Tsolikouri, Krakhuna and Tsitska; a black wine using Otskhanuri Sapere grapes is blended with a white wine made from Tsolikouri grapes. Archil Guniava produces about 1,100 bottles of wine and exports to Poland, Japan, and Italy. The visitors are offered to enjoy traditional Imeretian cuisine, taste wine, as well as participate in harvesting and wine production process. Accommodation consists of 3 guest rooms for 4-5 persons. 18. Gaioz Sopromadze’s Gaioz Sopromadze Wine Cellar is a small family winery located in the 8 Rustaveli St. III (+995) 595 78 61 31 http://winetrailtravel Wine Cellar town of Baghdati in the Imereti viticulture region. Gaioz is the fourth Baghdati, Imereti er.com/georgia/gaioz generation of winemakers in Sopromadze family. There is an onsite Province, Georgia sopromadze.php vineyard with 1,000 grapevines. The grape varieties include Tsolikouri and Chkhaveri. The tasting area is in a cellar. While small, it offers a quaint and rustic style. Qvevri are buried in the ground outside a building used to make and age wine. Gaioz started bottling wine in 2009. Despite the small production, Gaioz exports wines to Japan, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Wines: Tsolikouri, Chkhaveri and Dzelshavi. When 13planning to visit Gaioz Sopromadze’s Wine Cellar be sure to contact Gaioz in advance.

19. Ramaz Nikoladze’s Ramaz Nikoladze’s Wine Cellar is a small family winery located near Nakhshirghele (+995) 593 94 48 41 georgianslowfood@y Wine Cellar the city of Kutaisi. Ramaz Nikoladze follows the tradition of organic village (near ahoo.com wine-making and only uses external preparations to treat his vines. Terjola), Imereti http://winetrailtravel Currently Ramaz has 0.3 hectares of grapes that include Tsitska and Province, Georgia er.com/georgia/rama Tsolikouri. These vines are between 27 and over 100 years old. znikoladze.php During the winemaking process Ramaz puts the juice into one qvevri http://en.vinoge.com for five to six months to ferment and age, then racks into a second /tasting- qvevri for up to a year for further aging. Currently Ramaz notes/tsitska- Nikoladze’s Wine Cellar exports wines to Japan, France, Italy and the nikoladze- United Kingdom. When planning to visit Ramaz Nikoladze’s Wine family%E2%80%99s- Cellar be sure to call for an appointment and directions. wine-cellar-2011 https://www.youtube .com/watch?v=ctgsm UJXlSM 20. Simon Chkhedze's Simon Chkhedze has a small family vineyard and winery in the Meore village, (+995) 599 79 13 03 http://winetrailtravel Wine Cellar village of Meore, Imereti. The 3.5 hectares of vineyards close to Imereti Province, er.com/georgia/simo Simon’s marani are 30 years old. Grape varieties include Tsitska, Georgia nchkhedze.php Tsolikouri, Krakhuna and Otskhanuri Sapere. Simon discovered the Otskhanuri Sapere vine, native to Imereti, a few years ago and decided to plant it. He believes that the Otskhanuri Sapere variety is unique and relatively unknown but produces a wonderful wine. The marani has ten qvevris. The red wines are aged in qvevri for one year. Simon is primarily interested in producing straight wines. He expects to bottle his first wines from the 2014 vintage. 21. Zaliko Bodjadze - Near the village of Makatubani village in Imereti is the shop of qvevri Makatubani village, http://winetrailtravel Qvevri Maker maker Zaliko Bodjadze. His shop is right next to the road and several imereti Province, er.com/georgia/zaliko qvevris, as well as a number of terra cotta tones rest on their sides. Georgia bodjadze.php The visitors can observe the whole process of making a qvevri: adding a coil to the qvevri, air drying, firing, cleaning, adding melted beeswax to seal the interior of the qvevri and finally, adding a layer of lime cement to the outside of the qvevri. His son also makes qvevris and will continue with the family business.

22. Vartsikhe Farm House The guesthouse offers bio products and family wine to tourists. The Vartsikhe Village, Dato Pakhuridze and Winery owner of the guesthouse is a professional guide offering various Baghdati (+995) 591 23 11 18 tours around Imereti region and entire Georgia. The house consists Municipality, of 4 bedrooms with shared bathroom. The owner of the house is Imereti Province, doing farming and has his own winery. Georgia

23. Gogi Dvalishvili’s Wine Gogi Dvalishvili’s wine cellar is located in the village of Khidistavi, on Khidistavi village, (+995) 599 73 75 63 [email protected] Cellar Gori-Uplistsikhe road. Gogi Dvalishvili grows approximately 3 tons of 1432 Gori, Shida various varieties of grapes in his vineyard: , Tavkveri, Goruli Kartli, Georgia http://georgianwine.t Mtsvane, Mtsvane Kakhuri, Rkatsiteli and Ghrubela. Besides, he ravel/facilities/shida- produces small amount of wine both in qvevri and according to qartli/gogi-dvalishvili- classical method – in total 1000-1500 bottles. The guests can enjoy wine- the charming family atmosphere. They can visit the vineyards and cellar.html#program participate in the grape harvest, , grappa distillation and me making of Churchkhela (walnut roll). Grappa and honey vodka are distilled in the wine cellar. The family also have bees, make honey and bee milk. The wine cellar can welcome small number of guests - 6 people group is the most optimum. Besides wine-tasting, the visitors are offered some snacks as well. Price for tasting of five varieties of wine is 15 GEL.

24. Mitra’s Wine Cellar Grandfather of current owner of the wine cellar - Mitra built the Ateni village, 1402 (+995) 595 65 20 02 soso.lotishvili@gmail. house and family-run wine cellar. In 1952, he bought the old stone Gori, Shida Kartli, com winepress, with capacity of 6 tons. The wine cellar owns its own Georgia vineyard and 3 varieties of wine are produced from grapes grown https://www.faceboo here: Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, Tavkveri and . 600-700 k.com/MitrasMaranig bottles are being produced per year. Upon entering, the guests are vinoAtenuri?fref=pho welcomed with traditional rural, quiet, pleasant atmosphere and to feeling of antiquity. The wine cellar is included in the tourist wine route. Its infrastructure is not completed yet, but is suitable for http://georgianwine.t hosting of the tourists. The groups of max. 15-20 tourists are ravel/facilities/shida- welcomed for wine tasting. The tourists may witness the processes qartli/mitras-wine- of grape pressing, bread baking, Churchkhela making; 3 varieties of cellar.html#program wine are offered in the wine-tasting process, together with snack, me that costs 12-15 GEL.

Mtskheta-Mtianeti

23. Château “Château Mukhrani” is located 25 minutes’ drive from Tbilisi and Mukhrani village, Jacques Fleury, [email protected] occupies a palace that once was a wine estate built in 1875 by 3309 , Director winetours@mukhrani Prince Ivane Mukhran-Batoni. Through the 20th century, the Georgia .com property deteriorated and was abandoned. In 2002 a small group (+995) 595 99 13 14 www.chateaumukhra made the decision to invest in and restore the castle and plant the / 16 ni.com vineyards. Of the original vineyards planted by Prince Ivane, none http://georgianwine.t

were left. In 2002 and 2003, 92 hectares of vineyards were planted. ravel/facilities/mtskh Now they have 87 hectares in production with five hectares being eta- replanted. Grape varieties include Goruli Mtsvane, Chinuri, mtianeti/mtskheta/ch , , Rkatsiteli, , Tavkveri, ateau-mukhrani.html

Shavkapito, Saperavi and . “Château Mukhrani” http://winetrailtravel offers the diverse wine tours to the guests – from walking in the er.com/georgia/chate vineyards to visiting the historical palace of Mukhran-Batoni and aumukhrani.php modern winery. Nowadays the cellars of Mukhrani Palace are

completely renovated with a large qvevri aging room below the http://www.georgian ground. Basic sightseeing of the palace is its cellars, with main holidays.com/sights/ tunnel connecting the palace to the winery. “Château Mukhrani” wineries-in- produces classic white, , red and fortified wines as well as georgia/chateau- Chacha (Georgian vodka). mukhrani 24. Lago’s Wine Iago Bitarishvili’s wine cellar is located in the village of Chardakhi, Chardakhi village, (+995) 593 35 24 26 [email protected] Mtskheta. It is a small boutique winery producing qvevri wines using 3318 Mtskheta, m grapes from Iago’s organic vineyards. Iago follows in the tradition of Georgia generations of family winemakers. Some of his qvevris are 300 years http://georgianwine.t old. He has two hectares of certified organic vineyards planted with ravel/facilities/mtskh Chinuri variety of grape. Lago’s Wine became a commercial winery eta- in 2003 and the first winery in Georgia to receive a bio-certificate for mtianeti/mtskheta/.- the vineyard and winemaking. Iago produces traditional qvevri wine iago%E2%80%99s- from the Chinuri left to ferment for over six months. Currently he wine-cellar.html produces 2,500 bottles and exports his wines to Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. He also produces Chacha. http://winetrailtravel The wine cellar consists of two parts - an upper and a lower wine er.com/georgia/iagos. cellar. It is built in the traditional style containing qvevri, a stone php winepress, a place for storing of wine, tasting room, a pergola for reception of the guests decorated with ethnographic details, a traditional bread oven (Tone), a Chacha distillery, etc. Besides wine tasting, the cellar’s guests can take part in the grape harvest and in preparing and tasting traditional Georgian dishes. 25. George Barisashvili A small boutique winery in the town of Mtskheta, located only a Mtskheta, Kartli, http://winetrailtravel Wine Cellar five-minute walk from the Cathedral, offers an intimate wine tasting Georgia er.com/georgia/georg experience of a qvevri-made wine. George Barisashvili, the owner, ebarisashvili.php became interested in wine because his family, including his grandparents, made wine. Eventually he studied and now is a consultant for other wineries. George began making wine with a Book “Making Wine friend and now makes wine on his own. Currently he produces 1,000 in Qvevri”: bottles of wine, but does not sell it. George has different sizes of https://www.scribd.c qvevri and in has a plan to purchase a large qvevri. The tasting area om/doc/116461898/ is in a small room filled with museum-like artifacts. Experience Making-Wine-in- tasting wine in a ceramic bowl called “tasi” rather than a . Qvevri George Barisashvili Wine Cellar produces Aladasturi, an organic made in qvevri with natural yeasts. George also produces Chacha, a grappa-like drink made from the grape skins, stems and seeds left after making wine. George is very knowledgeable about qvevri, including making qvevri and wine production in them. He wrote “Making Wine in Qvevri”. The book is translated in English, German and French.

26. Wine Cellar of High atop Mount Shavnabada, not far from the city of Tbilisi, monks Teleti village, 1313 (+995) 599 45 57 65 g.abramashvili@yaho Shavnabada Monastery make traditional in qvevri following centuries old Gardabani, Kvemo (+995) 597 45 57 65 o.com ways. The Shavnabada monastery was built in the 12th century and Kartli Province, rebuilt in the 17th century. Wine cellar of Shavnabada Monastery has Georgia http://georgianwine.t been functioning since 1998. Here the monks restored the ravel/facilities/qvemo centuries-old wine cellar, made traditional wine and aged Rkatsiteli, -qartli/wine-cellar-of- Kakhuri Mtsvane and Saperavi in qvevri. The wine cellar at shavnabada- Shavnabada Monastery of produces about 150,000 monastery.html bottles of wine. Presently it exports to the Ukraine and Italy. Some of Europe’s royal families as well as the Patriarch of Georgia receive http://winetrailtravel a bottle of the monastery’s wine as a gift. The monastery also makes er.com/georgia/shavn two types of Chacha, one is stored in oak barrels for several years abadamonastery.php while the other is stored in qvevri for several years. The wine cellar is full of religious and ethnographic items: jugs, Chinchila (Georgian pots), bowls and other traditional wine vessels. They keep the samples of wines from each vintage for wine collection. Marvelous view is spread from the monastery. Cuisine composes only monastic meal. During tasting, the visitors can taste wine and grappa vodka of two kinds.

27. Dasabami “Dasabami” is the family-run wine cellar. The owner lives in Tbilisi, Tamarisi village, (+995) 598 16 41 28 [email protected] however spends most of his time in the wine cellar. He grows the 3007 Marneuli, vineyard on one hectare. His family members are also involved in Georgia the production. There are 12 qvevris in the wine cellar. Wines of http://georgianwine.t various harvests are kept in the wine cellar. Many kinds of jams are ravel/facilities/qvemo produced and preserved in the cellar as well. “Dasabami” offers - wine tasting to tour participants. Dinners are also available in case qartli/dasabami.html of advance order. #programme

Kakheti

The easternmost province of Kakheti is the biggest (65% of the total area of cultivated vines) and most important (80% of the production) Georgian wine region. Consisting of a wide and fertile valley, Kakheti is pressed up against the white-topped Caucasus to the north and the Azerbaijan wetlands to the south. The region is well known for its Kakhetian traditional wines (qvevri wines) as for its more ‘modern’ white and red wines. It counts not less than 14 (out of 17) controlled origin appellations, but produces also lots of monovarietal regional wines of good quality. The average altitude of the vineyards is between 250 and 800 m above sea level, but mostly between 400 and 600 m. History of Kakheti winegrowing takes a start from 4th millennium BC. Grape leftovers, discovered by the archeologists, date back to the mentioned period and they are the oldest around the globe, which proves that Georgia is a homeland of wine. Kakheti wine region consist of four micro zones: Tsinandali, Mukuzani, Akhasheni and Kindzmarauli. Main grape varieties include: Rkatsiteli – aboriginal vine breed of white ; Kakhuri Mtsvane (Kakhetian Green) – aboriginal vine breed of white wine grapes that can be mainly found in Sagarejo District; Khikhvi – Georgian ancient aboriginal vine breed of white wine grapes that can be mainly found in Gurjaani District; Qisi – Georgian aboriginal vine breed of white wine grapes which is an intermediate breed between Rkatsiteli and Kakhuri Mtsvane; Saperavi – Kakhetian aboriginal vine breed of red wine grapes and Cabernet-Sauvignon. Touring this region for wine tasting is becoming more popular, and there are many different wineries you can visit and taste variety of wines. More Information about Kakheti’s wineries can be fin on the following links: http://georgianwine.travel/facilities/faceted/regions/ge-ka/specialization/wine_cellar?query=&pageNumber=1 http://www.kakheti.travel/?m=3&double=14 http://www.kakheti.travel/?m=3&double=15 Qvevri type Kakhetian traditional wine making: The use of qvevri to produce wine is maybe one of the most archaic vinification techniques. The main distinctive feature of Kakhetian winemaking type is that the fermentation of grape must occur together with the stems and skins and to give the wine the extract quality, specific fruit aroma, harmonious taste and attractive tea-coloring. During the preparation of Kakhetian wine, and stems together are placed into a qvevri for a slow fermentation. During this time, the pomace is stirred several times a day. At the end of fermentation, qvevris are filled and the product is sealed in hermetically closed qvevris for several months. After self-clarification wine is taken from pomace. A new technology of Kakhetian winemaking now crushes skins and stems into small pieces beforehand and undergoes fermentation at 18-22 degrees for four to five hours. Later the fermentation takes place. Preliminarily fermented wine is softer, more aromatic, colored and ripe. Qvevri production in Kakheti: Qvevris are now made in the village of Vardisubani where the craft has an ancient history. Kakheti is known for making huge qvevri, and some families own qvevri with a capacity of between 4-5 and 7-8 tons.

28. Alaverdy Monastery Since the 11th c. the Royal Monastery of Alaverdi represents a sacred Alaveri, , The Wine Tour keti.khizanishvili@gm Wine Cellar place for the Kings of Kakheti - Hereti area of Georgia, as well the Kakheti Province, “Alaverdi” al.com dwelling place of many Georgian saints and monks. Situated in the Georgia Wine Tours heart of the world's oldest wine region, the monastery and its wine Manager - Ketevan [email protected] cellar has become one of the core places of qvevri type Kakhetian Wine Cellar working Khizanishvili traditional wine making. Alaverdi Royal Monastery is historically hours: http://www.since101 known by its qvevris and outstanding cellar built by the King Kvirike Tuesday, Thursday, (+995) 599 155 002 1.com/en/ in the 11th century. Since 2006 archeological studies of this ancient Friday – (11:00 - (+995) 599 551 133 cellar has taken place, which revealed up to 50 qvevris with 60 tons 18:00); 444 http://winetrailtravel of wine capacity. Today, monastery Wine “since 1011” is a Saturday – (11:00 - er.com/georgia/alave millennium brand of Alaverdi Monastery Cellar made by the Alaverdi 16:00); rdi.php Monastery congregate. The wine is produced by endemic variety of Sunday – (14:00 - Kakhetian vine in unique clay vessel – qvevri. The monastery 19:00). produces 6 wine brands: Rose Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane Kakhuri, Rkatsiteli, Video: Saperavi, Kisi and Khikhvi. Alaverdi Monastery Wine Cellar offers its https://www.youtube guests medium and premium wine tours which start from the end of .com/watch?v=w- March and mid-April (when the wine storing process from qvevri Xqpudl4Fk into qvevri is completed) respectively. Guests can visit various cellar divisions: historical part of the cellar dated back to the 8th-10th centuries which was revealed by archeological excavations, ethnographical part, section of alcohols, souvenir shop, open air tasting hall. The monastery is also the focus of the annual religious and folk celebration Alaverdoba, with its roots in a harvest festival. 29. Badagoni Wine Factory Badagoni Wine Company, previously known as the Knight of Village Zemo (+995) 32 293 62 43 [email protected] Winemaking, is one of Georgia’s largest wineries. It was named after Khodasheni, (+995) 599 55 24 03 Badagoni, a pagan Georgian god of wine and winemaking. The 0910, Akhmeta www.badagoni.ge company was founded in the Kakhetian village of Zemo Khodasheni District, Kakheti (Akhmeta district) in 2002 and by 2006 opened one of the most Province, http://winetrailtravel technologically advanced wineries in the country. Currently Georgia er.com/georgia/bada Badagoni owns approx. 400 hectares of vineyards of selected local goni.php grape varieties in the districts of Khvareli, Mukuzani, Akhasheni, Head-office: Akura and Ojaleshi. The vineyards include white varieties such as 4, Freedom Square, Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli and red varieties including Aleksandrouli, 0105, Mujurentuli and Saperavi. Badagoni Wine Company produces both Tbilisi, Georgia qvevri and European-style wines. Its products include such brands as Tsinandali, Mukuzani, Kindzmarauli, Gurjaani, Saperavi, Akhasheni and more. In addition, the company makes Kakhetian Noble — a special wine made in cooperation with Donato Lanati, a world- renowned Italian enologist. Today, Badagoni produces 4,000,000 bottles of wine per year and exports to Poland, Ukraine, Italy, China and Russia. 30. Twins Wine Cellar Twins Wine Cellar with Qvevri Museum is located in Napareuli Napareuli village, Maia [email protected] with Qvevri Museum village, municipality. The winery is named after the twin Telavi municipality, brothers Gia and Gela Gamtkitsulashvili who own the winery. Twins Kakheti region, (+995) 595 22 64 04 [email protected] Georgia Wine Cellar was founded in 1994 and was the first modern Georgian winery to bottle a qvevri wine. The cellar has 20 hectares of (+995) 322 42 40 42 http://cellar.ge

vineyard with a concentration of Rkatsiteli. Current production is (+995) 551 74 74 74 300,000 bottles plus some bulk wines. Twins Wine Cellar has 107 (+995) 599 17 09 29 https://www.faceboo

qvevris, most of which have 3.5 – 4.5 tones capacity. Twins Wines k.com/TwinsWineCell are not processed chemically after natural filtration that makes ar

Twins Wine an ecologically pure product. At "Twins old Callar" you can find Museum of Wines and Qvevri, the largest statue of Qvevri http://winetrailtravel er.com/georgia/twins in whole Georgia, observe process of wine fermentation through .php open qvevris and get real impression how grape transforms into wine. Qvevri Museum opened in 2014, is the first museum in the http://winetrailtravel world dedicated to the ancient craft of qvevri making that is now a er.com/georgia/qvevr part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. The museum shows all imuseum.php phases of qvevri making including clay preparation, qvevri creating and washing of different size qvevris. There are several Illustrated http://www.georgian boards which show how the process of fermentation is going in holidays.com/sights/ qvevri and other vessels. wineries-in- Twins Wine Cellar welcomes large groups and provides many georgia/twins-wine- cellar activities for visitors. Depending on the time of year, visitors can choose to participate in working in the vineyard including grape

harvesting, working in winery or pressing the grapes in 18th century Satsnakheli (ancient facility for pressing gapes). Other activities

include: touring the winery, making Chacha, attending a Supra, baking Shoti bread in a traditional Georgian clay tone, making

khinkali, tatara and churchkhela (candy made of grape must, nuts and flour), wine degustation and enjoying the Kakhetian lunch and

dinner. On a top of the cellar there is a hotel with 12 family rooms (8 standard rooms with 2 and 3 beds and 4 double bed lux rooms). Hotel interior combines old traditional Georgian and modern styles, which makes cozy atmosphere. Rooms have beautiful views on vineyards and Caucasus mountains. In addition to the winery, vineyards, museum and lodging, Twins Wine Cellar has a restaurant

that serves authentic Georgian foods. 31. Achiko Chotashvili’s This is a wonderful agro tourism facility. The farm produces Village, Levan Aleksidze levan.aleqsidze@tesa Farm ecologically fresh diverse agricultural products. In addition, the farm Kvareli (+995) 551 36 36 97 u.edu.ge has its own woodworking workshop and the wine cellar. The farm is Municipality, Achiko Chotashvili producing and selling . The wine is made in Kakheti Region (+995) 591 633 633 http://temi- traditional qvevri. The owner of the farm is involved in various social community.weebly.co projects and assists the orphanage for the disabled children located m/ nearby the farm. Achiko Chotashvili can organize lodging and accommodation of tourists in the nearby guesthouses.

32. Village House ‘Eniseli’ The house is located in Eniseli village of Kvareli municipality on the Eniseli Village, Irina Turashvili irinaturashvili@yahoo northeast edge of the Alazani Valley. The family is doing poultry and Kvareli (+995) 577 95 50 56 .com hog farming as well as produces Kindzmareauli, Pinot noir red wines Municipality, (+995) 591 70 08 94 and Rkatsiteli white wine. There is a training room in the house and Kakheti Region, (+995) 599 45 22 41 http://www.kakheti.t a feast place in the yard where guests can try delicious local food Georgia ravel/?m=3&double= and wine. The family also offers horseback riding and hiking tours 15&triple=160 around Kvareli. The house is conveniently located in the vicinity of several historical monuments, such as Gremi, a 16th century architectural monument, the royal citadel and the Church of the Archangels and Nekresi, historic town established by king Pharnajom (around 2nd-1st centuries BC). In 4th century AD, king Thrdat built a church in this place. This church became a refuge to one of the Assyrian fathers, Abibus, in the late 6th century. Around this time Nekresi Episcopality th was established, which existed until 19 century. Three lakes ‘Kvareli’, ‘Ilia’ and ‘Lopota’ are nearby the house where the various attractions are available for tourists. 33. Farmhouse and Wine The farmhouse with wine cellar is located in the village of Tsinandali, Tsinandali Village, Vazha Nikolaishvili http://tsinandlisedem Cellar "Tsinandlis Kakheti province, 10 km from the town of Telavi. There are four Telavi municipality, (+995) 555 99 31 32 i.ucoz.com/ Edemi" hectares of vineyards, strawberry and peach plantations, a well-kept Kakheti Region, Niko and Shorena yard, a pergola with different varieties of grapes, a tone (bread- Georgia Nikolaishvili http://www.nytimes. baking oven) and a “Marani” (wine cellar), as well as a well- (+995) 599 26 02 15 com/slideshow/2011/ equipped wine-tasting room with a fireplace. The family also distills 05/29/travel/201105 chacha, a brew made from grape skins and other remains of the 29journeys- fermentation process. The farm house offers two double rooms with georgia.html?ref=trav a shared bathroom, a kitchen, and an Internet-room. Visitors can el&_r=0 visit the vineyards, learn about traditional wine making and taste domestic wines. 34. “Chateau Mere” - George Piradashivili established Winiveria in 2005. Both European- 15 Vardisubani, (+995) 595 99 03 99 [email protected] Winiveria style wines and traditional Kakheti wines are made in the winery Telavi Region, (+995) 599 25 08 10 (hotel and wine cellar) and marani (wine cellar). Grapes for the wines are sourced from Kakheti Province, winiveria.mere@gmai local growers' vineyards with vines between 20 and 25 years old. Georgia l.com Winiveria produces 200,000 bottles of wine. The winery sells half of the wine in Georgia and exports the other half to the United States, http://mere.ge/ United Kingdom, Japan, Ukraine and the Baltic countries.

“Chateau Mere” hotel and wine cellar opened in September 2011 in http://georgianwine.t Vardisubani village, near Telavi. Chateau Mere is a 1,500 m2 stone ravel/facilities/kakhet castle with four pointed towers and wood paneled balconies, which i/telavi/chateau- occupies 15,000 m2 of land. The complex comprises a winery, a mere.html hotel, a restaurant, a big conference hall, a gift shop, an outside swimming pool and a horse stable. Chateau Mere’s 15 spacious http://winetrailtravel rooms – two suites on rooftop, twelve standard rooms and a family er.com/georgia/winiv suite - with panoramic view of gorgeous Caucasus Mountains and eria.php Alazani Valley feature antique furniture and offer modern comforts including flat screen TV and free Wi-Fi. The Mere Restaurant serves Georgian traditional cuisine made from organic food from local produce. A wide range of activities include: picking and crushing grapes, learning about wine and cheese making, baking bread in a tone, making churchkhelas (a string of walnuts dipped into a boiled down grape juice), riding horses, hiking, shopping for local produce, products and hand-crafted gifts. Chateau Mere has the best location for hiking to Shuamta Old and New Monasteries and Mountain Tsivi and for horseback riding tours to the 8th century monastery Shios th Marani and the 6 century monastery Ikalto Academy. Also, Chateau Mere is located close to many wineries, and makes the perfect base for wine travelers who want to explore the region.

Chateau Mere arranges tastings of the Winiveria fine dry red and white wines from Georgian endemic grape varieties such as Kisi rd (awarded with the Gold Medal at the 3 Georgian National Wine Contest in 2010), Khikhvi, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli and Saperavi. Winiveria wines made according to ancient Kakhetian wine-making technology are unfiltered to keep and bring the best properties of Georgian wines. Winiveria wines are made in clay jars (qvevri) and preserved in them for fermentation and maturation. The aging process continues in oak barrels or in bottles. 35. Schuchmann Wines Schuchmann winery, located in Kisiskhevi Village of Kakheti region, Kisiskhevi Village, Ilia Datunashvili, hotel@schuchmann- Chateau is owned by Burkhard Schuchmann who resides in Germany. The 2200 Telavi Hotel and wines.com winery produces qvevri and European–style wines. The cellar has Municipality, Restaurant two rooms with several qvevris buried under a stone floor. Kakheti Region, Manager http://www.schuchm Schuchmann winery has 120 hectares of vineyards and bottles Georgia (+995) 790 55 70 45 ann- 400,000 bottles of wine. Of these 150,000 bottles are qvevri-made (+995) 577 50 80 05 wines.com/en/georgi wines. At Schuchmann, qvevri wines spend six months in qvevri and an-wine- then six to twelve months in French oak barrels. The bulk of the Fax: tour/localities.html wines made at Schuchmann winery are European-style. These wines (+995) 790 55 70 45 are made in stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. http://www.tripadvis or.com/Hotel_Review The complex includes an elegant design hotel which has its own -g1596952-d2281372- vineyard and stunning views of the Caucasus Mountain Range. Reviews- Guests can enjoy free wine tours and wine tasting in the hotel's Schuchmann_Wines_ winery, and free Wi-Fi. Rooms at the Schuchmann Wines Hotel are Chateau- furnished in a simple contemporary style offering wooden floors and Telavi_Kakheti_Regio

flat-screen TV. Some rooms include a fireplace or balcony. The hotel n.html restaurant features Georgian cuisine and a tasting room where guests can sample local wines. A buffet breakfast is provided and http://winetrailtravel room service is also available. er.com/georgia/schuc

hmann.php A variety of outdoor activities are possible, including cycling, fishing and horseback riding. The hotel offers bike rental facilities and a terrace where guests can relax after exploring the Georgian countryside. Schuchmann Wines Georgia is 5 km away from Telavi city center. 36. Shumi Just a minute drive from historic Tsinandali is the wine company, 2217, Tsinandali (+995) 32 238 11 37 [email protected] Shumi (WCS). It stands next to the house-museum of Aleksandre village, Telavi (+995) 599 55 01 48 [email protected] Chavchavadze, about 30 meters from the main road. The Shumi municipality, (+995) 598 98 51 30 winery was founded in 2001. It was one of the first Georgian Kakheti Province, www.shumi.ge wineries to invite tourists and travelers to visit. The word Shumi in Georgia the company’s name, meaning genuine, pure, undiluted wine, http://www.georgian comes from ancient Georgian. The gryphon, which became WCS’s holidays.com/sights/ symbol, is believed to have brought the very first bunch of grape to wineries-in- the earth. The territory of the factory is a former part of the georgia/shumi National Park and the Museum belonging to the famous Georgian poet and public leader of the 19th century, founder of the first http://winetrailtravel winery in Georgia, Prince Alexandre Chavchavadze. The company er.com/georgia/shum owns Vazioni museum which houses a fine collection of wine related i.php exhibits, an ethnography department and a wine-tasting area. The museum collection already contains 294 varieties of vine collected http://www.geofit- by Shumi employees in different areas of Georgia, as well as 92 travel.com/en/index. varieties of foreign vines. Among all these different Georgian vines, php?newsid=631 only 15 are used for commercial purposes today. The Museum also aims to find rare species of vine with unique qualities which could http://georgianwine.t enrich Georgian wine-making. The exhibition hall exhibits ancient ravel/facilities/kakhet wine-making accessories found in Georgia, such as grape presses, i/telavi/shumi.html clay “Qvevri” (pots of great capacity) and various drinking vessels used in ancient Georgia. The Shumi wine museum has the oldest qvevri discovered in Georgia dating back to 1,000 BC and the wine vessels from the 3rd millennium BC. The Museum Vazioni is visited by Georgians from all over the country and by tourists from abroad. The wine-tasting area is very popular among foreign visitors who can taste and purchase Shumi products in a unique environment. Shumi Winery offers tourists several possible activities to take part in when visiting, including participation in grape harvest.

1. Wine degustation: Tour to vine and wine museum, collection grade vineyard and degustation of 4 wine varieties: “Tsinandali” white dry, “Saperavi” red dry, “Mukuzani” red dry and “Kindzmarauli” red semi-sweet. Price per person: 7 EUR 2. Wine degustation with light snacks: Tour to vine and wine museum, collection grade vineyard, degustation of 4 wine varieties (“Tsinandali” white dry, “Saperavi” red dry, “Mukuzani” red dry and “Kindzmarauli” red semi-sweet) and snacks (Georgian bread, Georgian cheese mix, seasonal fruit mix). Price per person: 17 EUR

37. Kvareli Tunnel Winery Khareba is a large and unique winery offering tours and Kvareli, Kakheti (+995) 593 20 26 26 [email protected] “Gvirabi” -Winery tastings inside the 7.7 km long, manmade tunnel (“Gvirabi”) lined Province, Georgia (+995) 790 12 00 01 [email protected] Khareba with wine. The tunnel is located in the village Kvareli, near the bank (+995) 595 00 83 89 of Alazani Valley, and is carved in the rock of the Caucasus mountain info@winerykhareba. range. The construction consists of 2 large parallel tunnels linked com with 13 small galleries. The tunnel was built in 1950s for defensive reasons. Later the tunnel was converted into storage of Kakheti's www.winerykhareba. finest wines. The storage was officially opened in 1962 for the com occasion of the World Wine Congress. The dampness of 70% and the ideal temperature (12-14˚C) for storing and ageing wine stays in the http://www.gvirabi.g

tunnel throughout the year. Such conditions are ideal for wine aging e/en/pages.php?id=2 in French oak barrels and for keeping bottled wines for extended periods. The collection holds 25,000 bottles of high quality wine. http://www.georgian Winery Khareba has 1,000 hectares of vineyards throughout Georgia holidays.com/sights/ and produces three million bottles of wine. The visitors can taste 30 wineries-in-

varieties of the company’s best wines. 60 meters above the level of georgia/kvareli- tunnels there is a premium class restaurant “Saperavi”, nicely tunnel blended with the nature. Here you can see a waterfall, a garden with century-old trees, restaurant’s terrace and a tower which offers http://winetrailtravel splendid views over the Alazani Valley and Kvareli vineyards. From er.com/georgia/khare 2011 the winery arrayed the surrounded area with special facilities: ba.php a big recreational park with river and old Qvevris, an old water mill, traditional Georgian bakery “Tone”, Chacha destilery, traditional Marani with Satsnakheli (wooden winepress) and Qvevris. Kvareli Tunnel packages 1. Visit tunnels – 1.5 EUR 2. Standard packages: a) Visit tunnels and taste 2 types of European wines (Rkatsiteli white dry and Saperavi red dry) – 7 EUR b) Visit tunnels and taste 2 types of Qvevri wines (Rkatsiteli white dry and Saperavi red dry) – 9 EUR 3. Classic package – 20 EUR: Visit tunnels. Taste 4 types of wines: Rkatsiteli white dry, Krakhuna white dry, Kindzmarauli red semi-sweet, Saperavi red dry. Activities: Making Churchkhela (Georgian sweets made of grape juice and nuts), Chacha (Georgian vodka), baking Georgian bread in Tone. 4. Premium Package – 35 EUR Visit tunnels. Taste 7 types of wines: Saperavi red dry, Rkatsiteli white dry, Krakhuna white dry, Kindzmarauli red semi-sweet, Saperavi Premium red dry, Kvevri Mtsvane white dry, . Activities: same as above + Mtsvadi (Georgian barbeque). 38. Remi Kbilashvili, a Remi Kbilashvili’s qvevri shop is located in Vardisubani village, Vardisubani village, http://winetrailtravel Qvevri Maker Kakheti. Remi is a fourth generation qvevri maker and his son will Kakheti region, er.com/georgia/remik continue the tradition. The visitors can observe the whole process of Georgia bilashvili.php making a qvevri: adding a coil to the qvevri, air drying, firing in a Video: special oven, cleaning, adding melted beeswax to seal the interior of https://www.youtube the qvevri and finally, adding a layer of lime cement to the outside .com/watch?x-yt- of the qvevri which protects the qvevri from earthquakes and tree ts=1422411861&x-yt- roots. It takes three months to make a large capacity qvevri, while cl=84924572&v=NN5z smaller capacity qvevris need less time to create. iogyxP0

39. Wine cellar and Wine cellar and museum “Numisi” is located in the village of Velistsikhe village, Nunu https://www.faceboo museum “Numisi” Velistsikhe, approximately 1 km from the main road. “Numisi’’ Gurjaani Kardenakhishvili k.com/numisi/info?re represents the 16th century wine cellar which was recently restored municipality, f=page_internal by the owners. The building itself is a monument of traditional Kakheti region, (+995) 599 56 10 31 Georgian architecture, built with white river stones and rectangular Georgia (+995) 574 11 22 33 http://www.georgian bricks. From the outside it appears rather small and modest, but has holidays.com/sights/ the vast interior space. The arched wine cellar contains an old wineries-in- limestone wine presser (Satsnakheli), 33 different-sized clay pitchers georgia/numisi- sunk underneath the ground, and a large penthouse. There are a lot winery of items with ethnographic meaning around the cellar, including a large collection of copper, glass, pottery, and timber vessels (mostly http://winetrailtravel used for wine drinking), as well as the other items like female th er.com/georgia/nunu jewelry, necklaces, rings, 18 century wine copper kitchen utensils, kardenakhishvili.php old carpets and furniture. A very unique old French “Marmonies” firm grape presser machine, the old allocator pump and lots of other old artefacts. In the yard of the wine cellar the old wooden grain storage “Begeli”, Kakhetian “Shoti” bread baking clay- made “Tone” and a large pergola with a dining table are placed. Today Nunu Kardenakhishvili is producing 100 tons of Rkatsiteli and 30 tons of Saperavi wines. The vineyard consists of nine hectares of Rkatsiteli and three hectares of Saperavi. Guests can try white and red varieties of dry wines, made in qvevri - Rkatsiteli, Tavkveri Saperavi and others. Besides enjoying wine, guests can have master classes in making traditional Georgian dishes, listen to wonderful songs and look around unique museum. Wine degustation packages include Economy package, Standard package and Premium package.

The cellar offers meals and activities without B&B services. 40. “Simonay Zaoty” Wine Cellar “Simonay Zaoty” is run by the Ruadze family residing in Chumlaki village, Simon Ruadze [email protected] the village of Chumlaki. At Simonay’s Zaoty you will find yourself in a Gurjaani (+995) 599 23 53 55 traditional Georgian family. Four generations live here and everyone municipality, http://simonruadze.w is contributing to the functioning of the cellar or welcoming of the Kakheti region, ebs.com guests. The host Simon Ruadze, dressed in traditional Georgian Georgia clothing–Chockha-Akhalukhi, speaks four foreign languages (English, https://www.faceboo French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish) fluently. Here, the k.com/Zaoty/timeline guests will be introduced to the technology of making ancient ?ref=page_internal Georgian national instrument “panduri”, as well as other souvenirs, which will be presented by the eldest of the family. The guests visiting the wine cellar may enjoy genuine rustic ambience and http://winetrailtravel atmosphere characteristic to Kakheti, and learn family’s old er.com/georgia/simo traditional wine making technology. Other activities include nzoaty.php harvesting grapes, tasting local dishes and fruits (apples, figs, peach, pear, damson, marled, cherry, etc.) directly from the garden, as well http://georgianwine.t as tasting the wines and "Chacha" (Vodka) produced by Simon. Wine ravel/facilities/kakhet is produced from the Rkatsiteli and Saperavi varieties of grape. i/gurjaani/simonai- Depending on the season the visitors can take part in cooking zaoti.html different Georgian sweets- tatara, churchkhela, and nazukhi. Guests will be able to attend Georgian supra and hear the great toasts from http://www.christian "Tamada" (Toast-master) head of the family. All the family members callec.com/blog/2011 are good singers. They perform ancient Georgian polyphonic songs /06/13/kakheti-core- and dance national Georgian dances accompanied by a guitar or a of-the-georgian-wine- panduri. “Simonay Zaoty” provides only meals and activities without industry-1/ B&B services. Accommodation of tourists can be organized in the nearby guesthouses.

41. Wine House Gurjaani Wine House “Gurjaani” has been functioning since 2008 and the 28, Rustaveli Ave., (+995) 598 51 22 44 info@winehousegurja number of its visitors is increasing every year. A family-run wine 1500 Gurjaani, (+995) 98 51 22 44 ani.ge cellar with a tasting room stands behind the house. An ethnographic Georgia (+995) 90 51 22 44 corner has been set up in the yard, complete with Tone (traditional www.winehousegurja bread oven) and pergolas. There is 2 centuries old press (equipment ani.ge used for wine squeezing), which is until now used for the purpose of making wine. The wine cellar contains 18 different sizes of qvevri https://www.faceboo and a small choice of souvenirs. The house also works as a k.com/pages/Wine- guesthouse and has 4 comfortable rooms with max capacity of 10 to cellar-Wine-House- 15 persons. The wine cellar produces white and red wines in qvevri Gurjaani/1406081560 according to traditional methods as well as Chacha. Wine is 04892 produced from the Rkatsiteli and Saperavi varieties of grape. http://georgianwine.t Besides tasting the homemade wine kept in a qvevri, the visitors of ravel/facilities/kakhet the Wine House “Gurjaani” can get an impression of how wine is i/gurjaani/gurjaani.ht made in a private house, as well as to participate in grape harvest, ml#programme pressing and in the process of winemaking. Guests can bottle wine which they take out of "kvevri" with their own hands and purchase it in a sealed condition. Also, the guests can attend the brewing of Georgian Vodka ("Zavodoba"), observe the process of bread baking and Churchkhela (traditional Georgian dessert) making, listen to the songs of the folk group, take part in cooking of Georgian dishes and finally taste the dishes made by their own hands. Brief lecture will be provided about masterpieces of Georgian cuisine, such as Khachapuri, Khinkali, Mtsvadi and many other Georgian dishes.

42. Nika's Wine Nika’s Wine is a small family winery where Nika, an artist and Kardenakhi village, Nika Bakhia [email protected] sculptor, produces qvevri wines. The cellar is located in the village of 1509, Gurjaani (+995) 595 42 24 76 m Kardenakhi on the border between Kardenakhi and the municipality, (+995) 599 26 30 17 [email protected] neighbouring village of Anaga, several hundred meters to the left of Kekheti the main road. Nika Bakhia’s background includes teaching in Province, Georgia www.nika-wine.com Germany, sculpture, design and architecture. In 2006 Nika purchased a small vineyard of Saperavi and old abandoned wine http://winetrailtravel cellar in Anaga. He has 6 hectares of land; 4 hectares are cultivated er.com/georgia/nikas with red Saperavi wine and the rest with white wine, mainly wine.php Rkatsiteli. Nika sees the artistry in winemaking -he creates his own bottle labels and makes wine differently each year, in part because http://www.rawfair.c the grapes differ each year. Nika produces wines using qvevri and om/2012/artisans/wi natural winemaking techniques. The wine stays in qvevri about two nery-nika years. After that it is bottled unfiltered with a small dose of sulfur. The wine cellar is traditional with somewhat smaller wine cellar next to it, equipped with wine tasting room. Nika owns another wine cellar in the village of Anaga, where most of his vineyards grow. Nika Bakhia’s wine cellar became famous for its Saperavi from Anaga made in qvevri. Since 2012, however, he produces amber-coloured qvevri wines as well. Nika’s Wines are exported to Japan, Poland and Australia. Besides wines, Nika makes chacha as well. Participating with other qvevri winemakers, Nika created the Association Qvevri Wine, a group that adheres to a code of conduct regarding the growing of grapes and making wine in a qvevri. The group believes in making a in a qvevri. A natural wine does not have added to it any commercial yeasts, acids, enzymes, tannins, extracts, fining agents, sugar, reverse osmosis, thermal processing or use of sulfur during the fermentation or of the wine.

43. Pheasant Tears Pheasant Tears winery is located in Sighnaghi town and produces 18, Baratashvili (+995) 355 23 15 56 jwurdeman@pheasan artisanal wines fermented in Qvevri, according to ancient Georgian Street, 4200 (+995) 598 72 28 48 tstears.com traditions. The winery was founded in 2007 by John Wurdeman and Sighnaghi, Kakheti tamriko@pheasantst Gela Patalishvili. The name ‘pheasant’s tears’ is connected to a Province, Georgia ears.com Georgian tale in which only the very best wines are good enough to make a pheasant cry of joy. Gela’s family has been farming and www.pheasantstears. making wine in Kakheti for over 8 generations, and it is Gela’s com sincere desire to preserve the traditional wine making techniques. Pheasant Tears has two wine cellars, a larger cellar in Tibaani and a http://winetrailtravel smaller, 300 year old cellar in Sighnaghi. All of the wines at er.com/georgia/phea Pheasant’s Tears are fermented and aged in qvevri. Pheasant’s Tears santstears.php qvevri vary in age but, some date back to the mid-19th c. Slightly different techniques are used to make each of the wines. Some have http://www.georgian moderate skin contact; others have minimal (from 3 weeks to 6 holidays.com/sights/ months). The company owns 28 hectares of vineyards in Tibaani and wineries-in- in the Mukhrani Valley in Kartli, and produces 45,000 bottles of wine georgia/pheasants- from the Saperavi, Kisi, Rkatsiteli, Tavkveri, Shavkapito, Mtsvane, tears# Chinuri, and Tsolikauri varieties of grape. The wine bar and restaurant founded by John Wurdemann in the town of Sighnaghi is http://georgianwine.t one of the best hearths of Georgian wine. Accommodation is ravel/facilities/kakhet provided in the village of Tibaani. i/sighnaghi/pheasant Pheasant’s Tears degustation packages: %E2%80%99s- 1. Introductory Wine Tasting “Pheasant’s Flight” – 15 GEL per tears.html person - An introduction to the history and methods of Georgian traditional winemaking featuring 4 qvevri wines https://www.youtube 2. Full Wine Tasting “Pheasant’s Journey” – 25 GEL per person - 7 .com/watch?v=PED0F qvevri wines from multiple micro growing regions, chacha, bread, r7zGaE cheese. 3. 35 GEL - 4 varieties of wine and light lunch 4. 50 GEL - traditional Georgian feast with tapping wines. Supra with Zedashe Ensemble, a local group of immense talent and experience performing rare Georgian polyphonic songs and fiery dances. Art Gallery: Pheasant Tears has its own Art Gallery at the Restaurant below John’s painting studio. One room is dedicated to unique Carpets and Kilims from the Caucasus and Central Asia and in the other room is exposition of John’s and his colleague’s paintings. Horses: Pheasant Tears has a small ranch, with horses, to explore nature and neighboring villages. The ranch is 2 km from Sighnaghi, and presents a wonderful way to blend nature and the outdoors into a wine tourism experience.