Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022

This post is part of a series called Georgia Sept 2022

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022
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Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia, Sept 2022

After the Sunday service at Anchiskhati Basilica of St Mary in old town, we drove east from Tbilisi on the Kakheti Hwy. On the way, at the edge of Tbilisi, we noticed enormous line up of cars on the roadside. We did not have time to stop and explore and later found out that this was the Farmer’s Marketplace of Navtlughi, a local farmer’s market. Something to perhaps visit on the way back.

First stop in Kakheti was in Telavi, the main city and administrative center of the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti, located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombori Range. We stopped here for lunch at the Restaurant Batontan in the town center; a traditional Georgian cuisine restaurant. No English 😊; and WIFI was weak so no Google Translator. We managed by pointing at what neighbouring tables were having, and were rewarded with 2 different vegetable soups, wine poured from an unlabelled carafe, and a sandwich made with home-baked bread — all very good.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, King Erekle II standing guard outside his Palace/Fort (left) in Telavi — **King Erekle II standing guard outside his Palace/Fort (left) in Telavi**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Views from the restaurant of the fertile grapevine growing valley and traditional buildings — **Views from the restaurant of the fertile grapevine growing valley and traditional buildings**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Lunch of veggie soups, wine, and home-made-bread sandwich at Restaurant Batontan, Telavi — **Lunch of veggie soups, wine, and home-made-bread sandwich at Restaurant Batontan, Telavi**

After lunch, we walked in and around the fort area. Telavi’s historic fort is dominated by the equestrian statue of King Erekle II standing guard at the entrance to his Palace/Fort. Erekle II was the last king of the independent Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, who ruled until the Russians absorbed the Georgian kingdoms in 1801.
After the walkaround to digest lunch, we started driving towards Artana village.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Along the way from Telavi to Artana, we knew we were well and truly in the wine region of Georgia 😊.— vineyards lining the road, and trucks loaded with harvest grapes — **Along the way from Telavi to Artana, we knew we were well and truly in the wine region of Georgia 😊.— vineyards lining the road, and tractors loaded with harvest grapes**

We had booked to stay at ArtWine, a boutique hotel near Artana village, which was located at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, about 20 km from the Russian border (Republic of Dagestan). Dinner was a simple but pleasant meal at ArtWine (as there were few choices around in the small village of Artana), accompanied by their own wines.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Fertile valley at the Caucasus foothills with lots of vineyards — the view from ArtWine, Artana — **Fertile valley at the Caucasus foothills with lots of vineyards — the view from ArtWine, Artana**

180 degree views outside our ArtWine hotel — the setting among vineyards and the Caucasus foothills

Views outside our ArtWine hotel — the setting among vineyards and the Caucasus foothills

Next day, after breakfast at ArtWine, we checked out an ancient church in Artana village and its graveyard. No one could give us a firm date for its construction — ‘very old’ was the consensus. Note the distinctive gravestone styles in the cemetery next to the church; unlike anything we had seen elsewhere.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Ancient church in Artana — stone, simple, and seemingly unchanged for centuries — **Ancient church in Artana — stone, simple, and seemingly unchanged for centuries**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Note the gravestone/headstone styles in the cemetery next to the church in Artana — very interesting — **Note the gravestone/headstone styles in the cemetery next to the church in Artana — very unique**

We then drove back to Telavi to visit the tourist info office (which had been closed the previous day being Sunday); and got useful information and maps of the Kakheti region. We then drove to Shumi Winery nearby for a wine tour and tasting, recommended by Diani from ArtWine reception.

Georgian winemaking is an 8,000-year-old tradition and Georgia is widely considered the birthplace of wine. The iconic winemaking method involves pressing the grapes and then pouring the juice, grape skins & sometimes stalks into large, egg-shaped clay vessels called Qvevri (or Kvevri) that are buried entirely underground to maintain consistent temperatures, and sealed with wood lids and beeswax. The juice is then left to ferment into wine for at least five to six months before being decanted and bottled. The pomace (mash of seeds, skins and stalks) which remains behind after decanting is called chacha in Georgian. It is distilled into brandy which is also called chacha. The empty qvevri is then washed, sterilized with lime and re-coated with beeswax, ready to be filled again. This way, nothing gets wasted; including the chacha and quevri. Is that not brilliant?

In 2013, UNESCO added the ancient traditional Georgian winemaking method using the Qvevri clay jars to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

At Shumi winery, our guide Alexander took us on a wine tour; they grow several different varieties of grapes and make their own wine the traditional way using Qvevris. They were making only dry white wines at this time, with grape skin and seeds; so the white wine is actually an amber wine. Very nice — especially once you get to the second glass 😊.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Traditional Qvevris of Shumi Winery — large clay pots buried into the ground up to their necks, sealed with wood lids & beeswax — **Traditional Qvevris of Shumi Winery — large clay pots buried into the ground up to their necks, sealed with wood lids & beeswax**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Inspecting the grapes at the vineyards of Shumi Winery like a professional 😊 — harvest season in full swing — **Inspecting the grapes at the vineyards of Shumi Winery like a professional 😊 — harvest season in full swing**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Grapes getting loaded, ready to be crushed in the traditional way (by tourists!) — **Grapes getting loaded, ready to be crushed in the traditional way (by tourists!)**

Tourists having a good time crushing the grapes the traditional way — more athletic than it looks!

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, After all the stomping of the grapes, this is what the result looks like; gets drained right into a Quervi — **After all the stomping of the grapes, this is what the result looks like; gets drained right into a Quervi**

These ladies were having too much fun 😊

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Qvevris of Shumi Winery fermenting wine under the watchful eye of the scary guy at the back 😄 — **Qvevris of Shumi Winery fermenting wine under the watchful eye of the scary guy at the back 😄**

The winery visit ended with some wine tastings (degustation) which was quite nice. We then drove to Gremi village, another small village at the foothills of the Caucasus where we were going to stay the night at Gremi Hall, a small B&B & winery (of course). Here, Nini (our host) and a Russian guest staying there (who spoke some english) took care of us very kindly, as English was very limited.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Gremi Archangels Monastery. We were staying nearby in Gremi Hall — set in its own vineyard in the rural Caucasus foothills — **Gremi Archangels Monastery. We were staying nearby in Gremi Hall — set in its own vineyard in the rural Caucasus foothills**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Wonder if they consume a lot of lamb meat here 😄 — busy shepherds near Gremi — **Wonder if they consume a lot of lamb meat here 😄 — busy shepherds near Gremi**

After settling in at Gremi Hall, we went for a late lunch to the next-door village of Eniseli; where we walked into where we thought was supposed to be a small café, but instead, it turned out to be a home. We communicated on Google Translator as no English. The very nice hosts, once they understood what we were after, took us inside their house where they had several Qvevris and a small dining room. They sat us down and served us a great cold lunch of wine, cheese, bread, eggplant with nuts (Badrijani Nigvzit; a popular Georgian dish of fried eggplant slices rolled with a spiced walnut and garlic paste, often garnished with pomegranate seeds), and vegetables. At the end of the lunch, they topped it off with chacha; the local grape cognac brandy; everything homemade/home-grown. How very nice of them to treat us total strangers to lunch in their home.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Our host’s at Eniseli served us a great lunch with (Back right clockwise) cucumber-tomato salad, cheese, bread (middle), vegetables and eggplant with nuts (Badrijani Nigvzit) — **Our host’s at Eniseli served us a great lunch with (Back right clockwise) cucumber-tomato salad, cheese, bread (middle), vegetables and eggplant with nuts (Badrijani Nigvzit)**

Inside the Eniseli family home — shelves packed with their own wine, preserves, and pickles. And Quervi’s of course

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Fresh tomatoes and peppers getting ready to be pickled — **Fresh tomatoes and peppers getting ready to be pickled**

They had a lot of pickled vegetables in their house and lots more getting readied for pickling; I suspect they do this so they have home grown vegetables all winter long. Very similar to what we witnessed in Hunza.

After lunch, they then showed us their orchard (pears, apples, strawberries, grapes, peaches, almonds, figs, walnuts, kiwi etc. all growing nicely) and gave us lots of fruit to take with us. What a wonderful family! Georgian hospitality at its finest! What a special, unplanned Georgian experience!

I suspect that these kinds of experiences happen more in the countryside than in the big cities.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, With the lovely Esetreli family in their garden — they took us in, fed us and sent us off with fruit from their own orchard! — **With the lovely Esetreli family in their garden — they took us in, fed us and sent us off with fruit from their own orchard!**

Went back to Gremi Hall and relaxed before dinner. Nice simple dinner. Gremi Hall is located in a rural area surrounded by their own vineyards; they make lots of their own wines.

Next day we visited Gremi Archangel complex in the morning which sits above the village on a rocky outcrop and has been watching over this valley since the 16th century, It has a church (Church of Archangels) and castle/citadel with a small monastery; with a commanding view of the valley below.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, The inside of the church was filled with frescos and was impressive — **The inside of the church was filled with frescos and was impressive**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Views across to the vineyards and the Caucasus range from the Citadel walls. — **Views across to the vineyards and the Caucasus range from the Citadel walls.**

After the monastery, we checked out of Gremi Hall, and then we went for a walk in Gremi town, and were admiring the vines growing around all the houses, when a gentleman opened his courtyard door and invited us inside to check out the vines and fruits growing in his yard, and then offered us grapes and other fruit to take with us; all with no English. Such amazing Georgian kindness again.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Vines growing all over the courtyard with grapes ready for harvest. — **Vines growing all over the courtyard with grapes ready for harvest.**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, With the kind gentleman who gave us a bagful of grapes and fruit from his courtyard garden. Wonderful hospitality — **With the kind gentleman who gave us a bagful of grapes and fruit from his courtyard garden. Wonderful hospitality**

We then drove to Kvareli, the next large town along the valley. Stopped for coffee, and then made what turned out to be a memorable unplanned stop: a local barbershop! 10 Lari each (about $3.50 US) — Dilshad got a blow-dry she maintained with considerable pride for the rest of the day 😊. Many times, the best travel moments are unplanned. Some scenes along the way and in Kvareli.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, The Greater Caucasus range rising above the serene valley and vineyards — the northern backdrop on the way to Kraveli — **The Greater Caucasus range rising above the serene valley and vineyards — the northern backdrop on the way to Kraveli**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Trucks loaded full of grapes lined up to get into the factory to make wine in Kvareli — **Trucks loaded full of grapes lined up to get into the factory to make wine in Kvareli**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Haircut for US$3.50; can’t let that one go — **Haircut for US$3.50; can’t let that one go**

We had lunch at Winery Khareba; consisting of salad, Ojakhuri (the Georgian ‘family dish’ — chicken (or other meats) and potatoes fried together with onions and herbs until everything is crisp and fragrant), and wine.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Lunch of salad (tomatoes and cucumber), bread and Ojakhuri at Winery Khareba — **Lunch of salad (tomatoes and cucumber), bread and Ojakhuri at Winery Khareba**

Dessert was being made fresh and took so long that we ended up taking it away in a paper box to eat on the road — a very nice problem to have! Winery Khareba is built on a hilltop overlooking the entire Alazani Valley, with the restaurant along a ridge and the vineyard falling away below you and the Caucasus range as the horizon.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, The entire Alazani Valley spread below from the Khareba Winery hilltop — Kakheti's wine country in all its autumn glory — **The entire Alazani Valley spread below from the Khareba Winery hilltop — Kakheti’s wine country in all its autumn glory**

In the late afternoon we drove south to Sighnaghi — the town they call the ‘City of Love’, a label that earns some eye-rolls but is hard to argue with once you arrive. It sits on a ridge above the Alazani Valley, its 18th-century walls still standing in long stretches still almost encircling the town, along with ramparts regularly spread out along the old walls. We drove to the Lost Ridge Inn (which we had booked to stay at the night before) on the outskirts of Sighnaghi. It was set in a 170-year-old farmhouse that has been modernized without losing its character. Stone walls, comfortable beds — and when we looked more carefully, a sealed Qvevri set into the floor directly beneath the bed frame. Original. Still there. The owners had simply built the house around it, which seemed entirely right.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Our room at Lost Ridge Inn, Sighnaghi — 170-year-old stone-arch walls, traditional Caucasian carpet, and a Qvevri under the floor beneath us! — **Our room at Lost Ridge Inn, Sighnaghi — 170-year-old stone-arch walls, traditional Caucasian carpet, and a Qvevri under the floor beneath us!**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Beautiful views of the countryside with the fog rolling in, from the Lost Ridge inn; our B&B — **Beautiful views of the countryside with the evening fog rolling in, from the Lost Ridge inn; our B&B**

Dinner was light — soup and salad — early night. The valley below Sighnaghi is one of the better views in Georgia.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, View of the valley from the Lost Ridge Inn; complete with small lonely church in the valley — **View of the valley from the Lost Ridge Inn; complete with small lonely church in the valley**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Hearty breakfast at our B&B — **Hearty breakfast at our B&B**

We spent a couple of leisurely days checking out Sighnaghi. Some scenes below

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Sighnaghi's ancient 18th-century castle walls, city gate & cobblestone roads — still intact and running through the town — **Sighnaghi’s ancient 18th-century castle walls, city gate & cobblestone roads — still intact and running through the town**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Stunning views of Sighnaghi town, with Church of St George ; the fertile grape growing valley, and Caucasus mountain range ever present in the back — **Stunning views of Sighnaghi town, with Church of St George ; the fertile grape growing valley, and Caucasus mountain range ever present in the back**

Georgians enjoying the local street music

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Random ancient church Sighnaghi — **Random ancient church Sighnaghi**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Walking the top of Sighnaghi's city walls — the 18th-century walls with ramparts run for miles along the ridge, with the Alazani Valley and Caucasus mountains stretching into the distance — **Walking the top of Sighnaghi’s city walls — the 18th-century walls with ramparts run for miles along the ridge, with the Alazani Valley and Caucasus mountains stretching into the distance**

Sighnaghi from the ridge — the hillside town and its ancient walls above the Alazani Valley

We also visited Bodbe Monastery (the Nino Monastery), a short drive from Sighnaghi on a wooded hillside.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Bodbe Monastery (the Nino Monastery) — **Bodbe Monastery (the Nino Monastery)**

The Bodbe Monastery is the burial place of St. Nino, the Cappadocian missionary who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century. The story goes that she fashioned her cross from grapevine branches bound with her own hair — a detail that feels entirely natural in this vine-covered landscape. Very nice old town of Sighnaghi, with winding cobblestone streets. Lots of tourists here and in Sighnaghi, but not overly bad.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Scenes like these were everywhere — **Scenes like these were everywhere**

We drove back to Tbilisi via another southern route. Some scenes along the way back to Tbilisi.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Bakery with hot bread coming out of the tandoor oven at a little village along the way — **Bakery with hot bread coming out of the tandoor oven at a little village along the way**

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Of course, Dilshad had to get one to try 😊 — **Of course, Dilshad had to get one to try 😊**

We stopped at Giuaani Winery on the way for a late lunch — to find a wedding party in full swing in the winery, all tables taken and dancing already underway at mid-afternoon! The sympathetic staff found us a small table at the edge of the courtyard terrace, so we tried their wine and our fresh bakery bread here. A fitting end to wonderful days in wine country 😊.

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Peaches and other fruit at Giuaani Winery — **Peaches growing plentifully at Giuaani Winery**

We spent the next night at the Sheraton in Tbilisi — a concession to comfort after several days of farmhouses and rural guesthouses. Overall, we highly recommend a visit to the Kakheti wine region. After all, this is the birthplace of wine, 8,000 years ago, AND a totally unique way of making wine in Qvervi’s. Lots of wineries everywhere offering excellent tours and degustations — best to go during harvest season (late September–October). A great non-touristy cheap option to Bordeau or Napa.

Next is Western Georgia

Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022, Our trip so far — **Our trip so far**

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Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022

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Kakheti Wine Region, Eastern Georgia Sept 2022

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