Top 10 Wineries in Georgia
Georgia is not merely an old wine country — it is the oldest. Archaeological evidence from the Caucasus dating to approximately 6,000 BC shows grape seeds, wine residue, and the remains of vessels consistent with winemaking: the earliest confirmed wine production on Earth. Georgian winemaking culture survived millennia of invasion, Soviet collectivisation, and the near-destruction of its traditional qvevri (clay amphora) methods during the industrial era. The revival that began in the 1990s and accelerated after independence has produced, in the past decade, one of the most discussed wine movements in the world. UNESCO recognised traditional Georgian winemaking knowledge and expression in qvevri as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.
The qvevri (also spelled kvevri) is a beeswax-lined clay amphora, typically holding between 200 and 3,000 litres, buried in the earth to the lip for temperature stability. Grapes — often white varieties — are crushed and fermented in the qvevri with skins, seeds, and sometimes stems (chacha), producing amber wines of tannin and oxidative complexity over six months or more. The buried clay maintains a constant 14-16°C; no temperature-controlled refrigeration is needed. After maceration, the wine is sealed and left underground through winter, drawing off clear wine in spring.
1. Pheasant's Tears, Kakheti
John Wurdeman, an American painter, and Georgian winemaker Gela Patalishvili founded Pheasant's Tears in Sighnaghi, the hilltop town in the heart of the Alazani Valley in Kakheti, in 2007. The estate has become the most internationally visible advocate for traditional qvevri winemaking, producing a range of amber wines from Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Chinuri, Tavkveri, Goruli Mtsvane, and other indigenous Georgian varieties. The Rkatsiteli and Kisi are the most widely exported; the Chinuri sparkling wine (pét-nat method, traditional Georgian) is a distinctive curiosity. Pheasant's Tears also operates a restaurant in Sighnaghi serving traditional Kakhetian food paired with their wines.
2. Tbilvino, Tbilisi and Kakheti
Tbilvino is one of Georgia's largest commercial producers and the country's most significant exporter to the European market. Founded in 1962 as a Soviet enterprise in Tbilisi, now privatised and quality-focused, Tbilvino produces a wide range across conventional and traditional methods. The Qvevri White (Rkatsiteli from Kakheti, qvevri-fermented) and Qvevri Saperavi (red, skin-contact) are the traditional-method flagship expressions. Tbilvino's conventional Saperavi — Georgia's most important red grape, producing deeply coloured, intensely tannic reds from Kakheti — is one of the most widely available introductions to the variety internationally.
3. Telavi Wine Cellar, Kakheti
Telavi Wine Cellar (Marani), one of Georgia's oldest and most respected traditional producers, is based in Telavi, the capital of the Kakheti wine region. Founded in 1915, the cellar produces Tsinandali (the classic Kakheti dry white blend of Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane Kakhuri), Gurjaani, Mukuzani (100% Saperavi from specific Kakheti sub-appellation, requiring minimum 3 years ageing), and the prestige Iberia series. The Marani Rkatsiteli Qvevri White is the traditional-method flagship. Telavi Wine Cellar is one of the largest holders of traditional qvevri in the region, with 800 qvevri across multiple production facilities.
4. Vinoterra / Schuchmann Wines, Kakheti
The Schuchmann estate in Kvareli, eastern Kakheti, is one of the most impressive wine tourism destinations in Georgia: a boutique hotel, restaurant, and winery built around a courtyard modelled on a traditional Kakhetian castle. German entrepreneur Burkhard Schuchmann established Vinoterra in 2002 and developed the Schuchmann Wines label under winemaker Giorgi Dakishvili. The Saperavi Reserve and the Schuchmann Qvevri Rkatsiteli are the flagship expressions. The hotel and restaurant make Schuchmann one of the few Georgian producers where wine tourism is fully integrated into a European-standard visitor experience.
5. Khareba Winery, Kakheti
Khareba is most famous for its extraordinary ageing tunnel: 7.7 kilometres of hand-carved tunnel bored through the Caucasus Mountains near Kvareli, maintained at a natural 12-14°C for wine ageing. The tunnel tour — taking visitors through a working ageing facility with over a million bottles and 5,000 qvevri — is one of the most dramatic winery experiences in the world. The Khareba Kisi and Rkatsiteli qvevri wines are the traditional flagship expressions; Khareba also produces a large commercial range of conventional wines including Tsinandali, Rkatsiteli, and Saperavi under accessible labels.
6. Château Mukhrani, Kartli
Château Mukhrani, in the Kartli region west of Tbilisi, occupies a 19th-century royal palace estate with a remarkable history: established by Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni in 1878 as one of Georgia's first modern wineries, producing French varieties alongside indigenous Georgian grapes. Restored and replanted from 2002, Mukhrani now produces Goruli Mtsvane, Chinuri (the key Kartli white variety), and Saperavi, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The Grande Reserve Saperavi and the Réserve de Mukhrani Chinuri are the prestige expressions. The palace chateau, formal gardens, and underground cellars make Mukhrani one of the most historically significant winery visits in Georgia.
7. Lagvinari, Kakheti
Eko Glonti's small-scale Lagvinari estate in Sighnaghi has become one of the most internationally discussed natural wine producers in Georgia, working with qvevri and a commitment to indigenous varieties with minimal intervention. The Lagvinari Rkatsiteli and the Goruli Mtsvane are the flagship expressions, produced in tiny quantities and exported primarily to natural wine-focused importers in Europe and North America. Lagvinari represents the intersection of the traditional Georgian method and the international natural wine movement — a producer whose wines appear on the lists of some of the world's best natural wine restaurants.
8. Kindzmarauli Marani, Kakheti
Kindzmarauli is a protected Georgian wine designation (the Kindzmarauli Controlled Appellation of Origin, or AOG) from a specific microzone in the Alazani Valley, producing the semi-sweet red wine Kindzmarauli from Saperavi grapes that naturally retain residual sugar due to the cool conditions of the zone. Kindzmarauli Marani is the leading producer of this appellation, and the Kindzmarauli — dark, semi-sweet, intensely fruited with natural cherry and blackberry sweetness — was reportedly Stalin's favourite wine. The style is an important reference for understanding Georgia's diverse wine portfolio beyond amber qvevri wine.
9. Iago's Wine, Kartli
Iago Bitarishvili's small biodynamic estate in Chardakhi, Kartli region, produces one of Georgia's most acclaimed natural wines: a bone-dry qvevri-fermented Chinuri that has won extraordinary critical praise from international natural wine writers. Made from organically farmed Chinuri grapes fermented in qvevri for six months with extended skin contact, the Iago Chinuri is an amber wine of particular delicacy, mineral tension, and complexity — quite different from the more structured Kakhetian amber wines. Iago's Wine produces in tiny quantities and is allocated primarily to natural wine specialists in Europe.
10. Doremi, Kakheti
Doremi, established by three brothers from the Napareuli village in eastern Kakheti, is a small estate that has gained significant attention for its qvevri Rkatsiteli from the Napareuli subzone — one of Kakheti's most highly regarded village designations. The Doremi Napareuli Rkatsiteli qvevri is the flagship; the Saperavi from Napareuli soils is the primary red expression. Doremi represents the new generation of small Kakhetian family producers who are working at high quality with traditional methods, aimed at both domestic and export markets.
The Georgian Wine Tradition and Its Global Influence
Georgia's qvevri winemaking influenced Josko Gravner and Stanko Radikon in Friuli when they visited in the early 2000s, setting off the skin-contact white wine movement that has now spread globally. The traditional Georgian amber wine style — fermented on skins in buried clay amphorae, aged without temperature control — is now replicated (with varying degrees of faithfulness) in Friuli, Slovenia, Austria, California, Australia, and beyond. The original, as practiced in Kakheti's villages, remains the most authentic expression.
Visit Georgian Wineries via the Map
Georgian wineries from the Alazani Valley to Kartli are plotted on the winery map. Filter to Georgia to find producers in Kakheti's main wine towns (Sighnaghi, Telavi, Kvareli), and plan a visit that combines the extraordinary landscape of the Caucasus with one of the world's oldest and most distinctive wine cultures.