Wine is to Georgians like oxygen is to the rest of us. They practically come out of the womb crying for their first sip of Saperavi. According to our guide on a recent one-day wine tour to Kakheti, many children even begin to imbibe in just one glass per day from as early as four years old – for the high dose of antioxidants, of course! With this being our third long stay in Tbilisi, we’ve come to know this as a country of oenophiles, but some of the facts we learned during our tour still surprised us.
How to Book a Wine Tour to Kakheti
A one-day wine tour to Kakheti is one of the most popular day trips from Tbilisi. Whether you’re planning far in advance or hoping to grab a last-minute seat out of the city, you’ll have no trouble finding a guide.
We took our first tour to Kakheti back in 2019 and weren’t sure we wanted to repeat the adventure. However, with the low prices we found on GetYourGuide, we ultimately found ourselves piling into the back of a van and trading the loud noises of the city to be among the grapevines for a day. We booked our tour the afternoon before the scheduled trip.
If you’d rather book a tour in person, it is possible. Walking around downtown, you’ll likely be approached by numerous people offering day trips to many regions around Georgia, including Kakheti. In our experience, these always seem to be more expensive than what is being offered online, but it is an option to consider. Don’t worry, they’ll find you before you find them, unless you’re really good at blending in with the locals.
What to Expect From a Wine Tour to Kakheti
Departure Points
The tours usually depart from various locations around Tbilisi early in the morning. Our group had a meeting time of 9:00 AM in a central area near the sulfur baths. In 2019, our tour met at the company’s office near the Avalabari metro station, so this will really depend on which company you choose.
PW&A Hot Tip : Bathrooms in the area are very limited, so think twice before pouring yourself a second cup of coffee prior to meeting your group. You’ll be at the mercy of a nearby restaurant to take pity on you and your bladder.
Stops En Route to Kakheti
The main attraction of your day is no doubt going to be sampling the local Georgian wines in Kakheti, but your tour will likely include a few additional stops along the way. Again, this will vary depending on the specific company you select, but many of them are very similar.
Despite being the largest region in Georgia, Kakheti is home to the fewest people in the country. Those that do live here, are said to ALL make wine.
Shotis Puri From a Traditional Tone Oven
Not far outside of the city limits, most tours will make their first stop to introduce you to the traditional style of making bread in Georgia. You and your group will be invited to gather around and watch as the baker (usually an older woman) hangs over the traditional tone oven as she slaps freshly rolled-out pieces of dough onto the interior walls. Minutes later, she’ll pull out steaming loaves of shotis puri, perfectly fluffy and ready to be devoured. Some tours may include the bread in the cost of the tour. Ours was not included, but the price for a loaf that kept us both full for the next few hours was only 2 GEL ($0.70 USD).
Outside of the small building housing the oven, it is likely you will find another lady selling her cheese. Bread and cheese – a match made in heaven – and Georgia does it best. At our particular stop, we tried three different types of local cheese, made from both cows and goats.
Churchkela Shop
If you walk around Tbilisi, it won’t be long before you encounter your first vendor selling churchkela. It’s a local snack, often referred to as the “Georgian Snickers” made from nuts and grape juice. On your wine tour to Kakheti, you’ll likely visit a shop outside of town where the sweet snack is made.
During the stop at the churchkela shop on our tour, we also enjoyed our first taste of wine. Our guide described the wine as being “homemade” and wanted us to be able to compare this style to the ones we’d try later at a winery. From reused plastic bottles, she poured glasses of white, amber, and black wine for us to try. If you’re scratching your head at “amber” wine, you must not be familiar with the qvevri. By the end of your tour to Kakheti, you’ll be well-acquainted with the clay vessel used in traditional Georgian winemaking that gives the wine its amber hue. As for the “black wine” that is how our guide described the Saperavi. It’s a wine that is so dark red, it almost takes on a black appearance.
Fun Fact : According to our guide, a law was enacted in 1998 which indicated that wine is not alcohol. According to her, there are no limits with drinking or selling wine. Even a child of 6 years old can buy wine from the market.
Bodbe Monastery
Almost all tours to Kakheti make a stop at the Bodbe Monastery. Here our tour gave us a quick overview of the significance of this monastery and then allowed us 30 minutes to wander the grounds. You won’t be able to resist the temptation to take numerous selfies with the mountain range as your backdrop.
After we soaked in the views, we took advantage of the small break to enjoy another beverage before hopping back into the bus. Next to the parking lot, there is a small cafe where you can purchase tea, coffee, beer or wine. During the winter months, glint wine is also available to warm you from the inside. Tea and coffee are served indoors, while the small outside area houses the bar. The man working behind the bar was one of the friendliest we encountered in all of Georgia. Together, we counted 1-10 in Georgian and he taught me the Georgian word for chicken, “katami”, as he pointed to his nearby neighbors.
Signaghi
Better known as “the city of love,” this stop will almost always be included in a wine tour to Kakheti. Before entering the town, there is a scenic overlook that will grant you the opportunity to capture photos like this one :
Afterward, you’ll descend into the town for the opportunity to climb along the Signaghi wall. Be quick and try to get to the front of your group for the best photo opportunities. We’ve never been aggressive enough to manage a nice shot here.
During the warmer months, most groups will leave room for having lunch here at a sit-down restaurant. However, this isn’t really possible in the winter because the restaurant is situated on a rooftop terrace and it is closed for the season. Instead, we dined at the next stop, the winery.
PW&A Hot Tip : Take advantage of the cheap prices in Sighnaghi and order a glass of fresh pressed pomegranate juice. During our visit, they were selling for only 5 lari. Back in Tbilisi, the same size serving was being sold for over 20 lari.
Winery / Lunch
Ah, the main attraction. The famed Kakheti wines, the tours of the qvevri, and likely – a taste or two of chacha and Georgian brandy. Which winery you’ll visit will be entirely up to the company you take your tour with. On our first wine tour, we visited both an industrial factory with large volumes of wine held in steel tanks and a smaller family-operated winery. This time, our winery of choice was Wineland Telavi. As we were dining here as well, our guide allowed us time to place our orders and then we made our way into the tasting room.
The Tasting Room
Stepping into a tasting room where traditional Georgian wine is made, you’ll likely be greeted by a floor featuring many large circular holes. No, this is not a setup for a life-size game of whack-a-mole, it’s where the qvevris are stored underground. The holes in the floor grant the winemakers access to the liquid that will soon end up in a wine glass like the one you’ll soon be swirling. In many wineries, you’ll be guided to gather around the openings and learn about their history.
Wine is so ubiquitous in Georgia that it can be found not only in a bottle, but also in many foods. It is added to everything, from cheese to bread, and both sweet and savory dishes. According to our tour guide, during a supra (a feast) guests drink an average of 3-4 liters of wine each.
During our tour, we also learned that adding any sugar to wine is illegal. Doing so is a crime that could land you in jail for 2-7 years.
Lunch
We couldn’t have been more pleased that by the time we returned from the tasting room, lunch was just being served. By then, it was after 3 PM, and so far, our diet for the day had been consistent with that of a good Catholic – bread and wine only. We were famished, a wee bit tipsy, and ready to indulge in some of our favorite classic Georgian foods.
In warmer times of the year, you will likely eat much earlier in the day when visiting Sighnaghi. However, if you come during the winter, be sure to fill up on bread during your first stop to help curb your appetite. Lunch during the tour is generally at an additional expense not included in the price paid for the tour.
Final Thoughts
No trip to Georgia would be complete without experiencing its wine culture; It is an integral part of the country’s identity after all. While you can certainly get a solid introduction by visiting some of the wine bars in Tbilisi, there’s nothing like going straight to the source. We spent less than $10 per person for what turned out to be about a 10-hour day with tastings included. Money well spent in our opinion.
If you’re looking for other short trip ideas from Tbilisi, consider two of our favorites : Lagodekhi, and Kazbegi.
Cheers friends,
Megan and Matt
