Plan a trip
A route through the vines
Pick a country and a style, and we'll sketch a few days through it — real sub-regions in a sensible order, with what to expect at each stop and when to go, drawn from everything already on the site.
Where to
Style preference
Your route
A focused 3-stop route through Georgia
The character of this trip
Where wine may have begun
Georgia has been making wine for around eight thousand years, and clay jars with wine residue found here are among the oldest evidence of it anywhere. The qvevri, a vessel buried in the ground, is at the centre of the tradition, and a trip is as much about the table as the cellar: long feasts, toasts led by a tamada, and amber wines made from white grapes on their skins. Regions are linked by mountain roads, so allow for the journey.
A focused route through what's currently documented
Georgia has 3 places mapped on Ampelos so far. The route below draws on the ones within reach of each other — enough for a short, honest route rather than a full itinerary — and will grow as more of the country is documented.
Stops
3
Total driving
~303 km
Behind the wheel
5h 30min
Worth setting aside
5–7 days
What to expect
Notable producers
- Pheasant's Tears — Sighnaghi; a pioneer of qvevri wines with an international following.
- Teliani Valley — Telavi area; a large modern producer.
- Shumi — Tsinandali; produces both modern and qvevri wines.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~126 km · 2h 17min to the next stop
Moving from a Saperavi-led stop to a Chinuri-led one, the route changes grape as well as place: Kakheti, then Kartli.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Château Mukhrani — The valley's historic estate, founded in the 19th century by Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni.
- Iago's Wine — Iago Bitarishvili; a small producer known for qvevri-fermented Chinuri.
- Ori Marani — A quality-focused producer in Kartli.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~177 km · 3h 13min to the next stop
Imereti feels different from Kartli, in the glass and in the air: continental, then humid continental to subtropical.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Baia's Wine — Meore Obcha; the Abuladze family's estate, making Tsolikouri, Tsitska and Krakhuna in churi.
- Ramaz Nikoladze — Nikoladzeebis Marani, in Nakhshirgele; a small biodynamic producer working in the Imeretian style.
- Antadze Winery — A small natural-wine producer in Imereti.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.