Georgia is one of the oldest wine-producing places in the world, but that does not mean Georgian wine is stuck in the past. Today you can drink everything from traditional qvevri wines and deeply tannic amber wines to fresh European-style whites, rosé, sparkling wine, naturally semi-sweet reds, dessert wines, fortified wines and even small-production ice wine.
For a first-time visitor, the difficult part is not finding Georgian wine. It is understanding what all the unfamiliar names mean.
Is Saperavi a grape or a wine? What exactly is Kindzmarauli? Should you expect amber wine to taste sweet? Does every Georgian wine come from a qvevri? And if Kakheti is Georgia’s main wine region, is that the only place you should taste wine?
This guide is meant to make Georgian wine easier to understand before you start drinking it.
Last updated: September 2026
Quick Answer: What Makes Georgian Wine Different?
Three things make Georgian wine especially interesting: an exceptionally old winemaking tradition, hundreds of indigenous grape varieties, and the continued use of qvevri — large clay vessels traditionally buried in the ground.
Archaeological evidence places winemaking on the territory of modern Georgia at around 6000 BC, giving the country roughly 8,000 years of wine history. The Georgian National Wine Agency documents 525 local vine varieties, although winemakers use only a fraction of them commercially today. In 2013, UNESCO added the traditional Georgian qvevri winemaking method to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
But there is one thing worth understanding immediately:
Georgian wine does not mean only qvevri wine.
Modern Georgian winemakers work with qvevri, stainless steel, oak and other techniques. They make dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines; white, amber, rosé and red wines; sparkling and fortified wines; and experimental or niche styles as well. Georgian law even defines ice wine, and some producers make limited examples from naturally frozen grapes.
8,000 Years of Wine — but Georgian Wine Is Still Evolving
You will hear the phrase “8,000 years of wine” almost everywhere in Georgia. For once, this is not simply tourism marketing.
Archaeological discoveries from Neolithic settlements south of Tbilisi revealed chemical evidence associated with grape wine dating to roughly 6000 BC. This is why people so often describe Georgia as the cradle of wine.
What I find more interesting, however, is that Georgian wine is not important only because it is old. The wine scene here is developing quickly. Small family wineries are reviving grapes that were almost forgotten, winemakers are experimenting with different lengths of skin contact, natural and low-intervention wines have become much easier to find, and producers now combine traditional methods with modern technology.
So when you travel through Georgia today, you are not visiting a wine museum. You are seeing an ancient tradition that is still changing.
Amber Wine or Orange Wine? What Do Georgians Call It?
This is one of the questions I hear very often from visitors.
Internationally, you will frequently hear the term orange wine for white wine made with extended skin contact. In Georgia, however, we normally call this style amber wine — ქარვისფერი ღვინო.
The reason becomes obvious when you see a good example in the glass. The colour can range from pale golden amber to deep copper or tea-like tones rather than literally looking like orange juice. Wines of Georgia also uses amber wine as the preferred term when discussing Georgian skin-contact wines.
So if you hear both terms while travelling:
Georgian amber wine is what international wine drinkers often call orange wine.
They describe the same broad category of skin-contact white wine, although individual wines can be dramatically different.
Is Georgian Amber Wine Sweet?
Usually, no — and this is one of the most common misunderstandings I hear.
Amber describes the colour and winemaking style, not the sweetness.
Many traditional Georgian amber wines are completely dry. White grapes remain in contact with their skins, seeds and sometimes stems, which can give these wines tannin, structure and flavours very different from a conventional white wine.
A dry amber wine can therefore feel almost halfway between what a beginner expects from a white and a red: the aromas come from white grapes, but the tannic structure can remind you of red wine.
Georgia also has officially protected dry amber wines. For example, the PDO Kisi Magraani specification defines an amber style with very low permitted residual sugar.
My advice for your first amber wine
If you have never tried Georgian amber wine before, tell the sommelier, waiter or wine-shop consultant that this is your first one.
Do not feel that you need to start with the darkest, strongest, most tannic traditional Kakhetian wine available. Ask for something lighter and easier first. If you enjoy it, gradually move toward wines with longer skin contact, more tannin and greater complexity.
In my experience, this gives beginners a much better introduction to amber wine than starting with the most powerful example and deciding after one glass that the entire category is not for them.
Why Are Some Amber Wines Much Darker Than Others?
The amount of time the wine spends in contact with grape skins and other solid parts is one important factor, but it is not the only one.
The grape variety, winemaking method, amount of grape solids and length of maceration all influence colour, tannin and structure. Georgian regional traditions differ as well.
The National Wine Agency explains that the traditional Kakhetian method can ferment wine with the full amount of grape solids, while the traditional Imeretian method uses a smaller proportion.
That is one reason two Georgian amber wines can look and taste completely different. One may be golden, relatively soft and easy to drink; another may be dark amber, strongly tannic and much more intense.
Neither is automatically “better.” They are different expressions of grapes and winemaking choices.
What Is Qvevri Wine?
A qvevri is a large egg-shaped clay vessel that Georgians traditionally bury in the ground to ferment, mature and store wine.
Burying the vessel helps create a relatively stable environment. Depending on the grape, region and winemaker, grape juice may ferment together with skins, seeds and sometimes stems. The wine can then remain in the qvevri for further maturation.
UNESCO describes the traditional process as putting grape juice together with skins, stalks and pips into the qvevri before sealing it underground. Georgian winemakers also adapt the technique according to region, grape and personal style.
Two important things to remember are:
Not every Georgian wine comes from a qvevri.
And:
Not every qvevri wine is amber.
Winemakers also make red qvevri wines from grapes such as Saperavi.
Why Is Saperavi So Dark?
Saperavi is the most important Georgian red grape and one of the easiest Georgian varieties for visitors to remember.
Unlike most red grapes, Saperavi is a teinturier variety: its flesh contains pigment as well as its skin. This can produce an exceptionally dark, inky wine that sometimes looks almost opaque.
When I show a particularly dark Saperavi to guests, I sometimes joke that it looks closer to black wine than red wine. That is not an official wine category, of course, but once you see a deeply coloured Saperavi in the glass, you understand the description.
Qvevri Saperavi can become especially intense when the winemaker extracts a lot of colour and structure, although the final result always depends on the grapes and the individual winemaking choices.
Georgian Wine Is Much More Than Qvevri Wine
Visitors sometimes arrive believing that an “authentic” Georgian wine must be qvevri wine. I would not look at it that way.
Georgia produces excellent wine using both traditional Georgian and classical European methods. Even within one grape variety, the difference can be fascinating.
Rkatsiteli can become a light, fresh dry white or a structured amber qvevri wine. Winemakers can turn Saperavi into dry red, qvevri red, rosé, sparkling wine or naturally semi-sweet wine depending on where and how they work. The National Wine Agency notes that Kakheti produces both traditional qvevri and European-style wines and that winemakers also use Saperavi for rosé and sparkling styles.
Across Georgia you can find:
| Style | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Dry white | Fresh, conventional white wines as well as fuller regional styles |
| Amber | White grapes with skin contact; usually dry, sometimes very tannic |
| Rosé | Georgian red grapes such as Saperavi and Chkhaveri can produce rosé |
| Dry red | From light regional reds to powerful Saperavi |
| Naturally semi-sweet | Famous styles include Kindzmarauli and Khvanchkara |
| Sweet / dessert | Smaller-production sweet and late-harvest wines |
| Sparkling | Particularly associated with varieties such as Chinuri and Goruli Mtsvane |
| Fortified | A smaller but established category |
| Ice wine | Rare, but genuine Georgian examples exist |
| Natural / low-intervention | Increasingly visible among small Georgian wineries |
If you come to Georgia expecting only one style of wine, you will miss most of the fun.
What Georgian Wine Should You Try First?
There is no single “best Georgian wine.” I prefer introducing people to different styles, because that makes the country much easier to understand.
A useful first tasting could look something like this:
| If you want to try… | Look for… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A fresh dry white | Tsinandali, Chinuri or a classical-style Rkatsiteli | An easy starting point |
| A softer amber wine | Kisi, Mtsvane or a lighter western Georgian qvevri wine | Good first introduction to skin contact |
| A fuller traditional amber | Rkatsiteli, Kisi or Khikhvi made in qvevri | Shows the structure Georgian amber wine can develop |
| A serious dry red | Saperavi or Mukuzani | One of Georgia’s essential red-wine experiences |
| A naturally semi-sweet red | Kindzmarauli or Khvanchkara | Shows a very different traditional Georgian style |
| Something regional and less familiar | Ojaleshi, Chkhaveri, Otskhanuri Sapere or Usakhelouri | A good next step beyond the famous grapes |
My simple rule is:
If you really want to discover Georgian wine, taste as widely as you can — not simply more of the same wine.
One bottle of Saperavi and one bottle of Rkatsiteli do not represent Georgian wine any more than two wines could represent all of France or Italy.
Georgian Grape Varieties You Actually Need to Know
Georgia has 525 documented local vine varieties, but nobody arriving for a holiday needs to memorise all of them. Wines of Georgia lists around 40 varieties in current commercial production.
These are a good place to start:
| Grape | Colour | Main region(s) | How likely you are to encounter it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saperavi | Red | Kakheti, also elsewhere | Very common |
| Rkatsiteli | White | Kakheti | Very common |
| Mtsvane Kakhuri | White | Kakheti | Common |
| Kisi | White | Kakheti | Common |
| Tsolikouri | White | Imereti, Lechkhumi | Common |
| Chinuri | White | Kartli | Common |
| Khikhvi | White | Kakheti | Worth looking for |
| Goruli Mtsvane | White | Kartli | Worth looking for |
| Tsitska | White | Imereti | Worth looking for |
| Krakhuna | White | Imereti | Worth looking for |
| Tavkveri | Red | Kartli | Worth looking for |
| Otskhanuri Sapere | Red | Imereti | More regional |
| Aleksandrouli & Mujuretuli | Red | Racha | Regional; important for Khvanchkara |
| Ojaleshi | Red | Samegrelo | Regional |
| Chkhaveri | Red/pink | Guria, Adjara | Regional |
| Usakhelouri | Red | Lechkhumi | Rare and often expensive |
Saperavi and Rkatsiteli dominate the conversation because growers plant them widely, but some of the most interesting tastings start after you move beyond them. You can explore more varieties in the Wines of Georgia grape guide.
Grape, Wine or Place? Georgian Wine Names Explained
This is where many visitors get confused.
A bottle label may use the name of a grape, a protected geographical area or a traditional wine appellation, and at first they can all look like grape names.
Saperavi
Saperavi is a grape variety.
Winemakers can use it to produce many different wines and styles.
Kindzmarauli
Kindzmarauli is not a grape.
It is a protected naturally semi-sweet red wine from the Kindzmarauli microzone. Producers make it from Saperavi, and the official specification sets residual sugar at 18–45 g/L.
The geographical conditions help Saperavi achieve good ripeness, while the winemaking process leaves enough natural grape sugar in the finished wine to create its semi-sweet style.
Mukuzani
Mukuzani is a protected dry red wine from the Mukuzani area, made from Saperavi.
You will often encounter excellent oak-aged Mukuzani, but it is worth correcting a common simplification: the official PDO rules do not require every Mukuzani to spend time in wood. Producers may bottle it without ageing; if they choose the ageing option defined by the specification, the wine must spend at least six months in a wooden barrel.
Tsinandali
Tsinandali is a protected dry white wine associated with Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane Kakhuri rather than the name of a grape.
Khvanchkara
Khvanchkara is a naturally semi-sweet red PDO wine from Racha. Producers traditionally make it from Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli.
Once you understand the difference between grape + place + wine style, Georgian wine labels become much easier to read. You can also explore Georgia’s registered appellations through Wines of Georgia.
Georgian Wine Regions: What Comes From Where?
Tap a region to see its key Georgian grape varieties.
Zoom in, then drag the map to explore the regions.
Administrative map: SimpleMaps. Wine-region information: National Wine Agency of Georgia.
The National Wine Agency groups the country’s viticultural areas into Kakheti, Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi, the Black Sea coastal zone and Meskheti. The Black Sea zone includes Guria, Samegrelo, Adjara and Abkhazia. For travellers, it is more useful to separate the accessible western regions because their grapes and wine cultures are quite different.
| Region | Grapes worth knowing | Wines / styles to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Kakheti | Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane Kakhuri, Kisi, Khikhvi | Kindzmarauli, Mukuzani, Tsinandali, powerful Kakhetian amber wines |
| Kartli | Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, Tavkveri, Shavkapito | Fresh whites, reds, rosé and sparkling styles; Atenuri |
| Imereti | Tsolikouri, Tsitska, Krakhuna, Otskhanuri Sapere | Lighter qvevri styles, dry whites and distinctive reds |
| Racha | Aleksandrouli, Mujuretuli, Rachuli Tetra | Khvanchkara and small-production mountain wines |
| Lechkhumi | Tsolikouri, Usakhelouri, Orbeluri Ojaleshi | Tvishi, Usakhelouri |
| Samegrelo | Ojaleshi, Chvitiluri | Ojaleshi and Salkhino Ojaleshi |
| Guria | Chkhaveri, Aladasturi, Jani, Mtevandidi | Small-production western Georgian wines |
| Adjara | Chkhaveri, Satsuravi and revived local grapes | Very small regional production |
| Meskheti | Meskhuri Mtsvane, Meskhuri Shavi and other revived varieties | High-altitude wines and restored historic varieties |
The National Wine Agency includes Samegrelo in Georgia’s historic Black Sea wine zone, while Salkhino Ojaleshi now holds registered PDO status.
Why does everyone talk about Kakheti?
Because its scale is completely different.
Using 2022 agricultural data, Kakheti accounted for around 73% of Georgia’s vineyard area and approximately 77% of the country’s grape harvest. Rather than fixing this forever at “70%,” I prefer saying that roughly three quarters of Georgian grape production comes from Kakheti, because the exact percentage changes from year to year.
But production volume is not the same thing as diversity. A tiny region can produce a grape or style that exists almost nowhere else.
Should You Go to Kakheti or Taste Wine in Tbilisi?
Ideally, do both.
I would not treat Kakheti and Tbilisi as competitors. They give you two different parts of the same wine experience.
Go to Kakheti to see where wine comes from
A day or several days in Kakheti lets you walk into a marani, see qvevri buried in the ground, visit vineyards and talk to people actually making the wine.
That visual experience matters. Once you have stood above an open qvevri or seen how a family cellar works, the process becomes much easier to understand than it is from a diagram.
Kakheti is also overwhelmingly Georgia’s largest wine-producing region, so it deserves time of its own.
But one day in Kakheti can only show you a very small part of Kakheti itself. There are far too many wineries and wines to turn a normal day trip into a complete Georgian wine education.
Use Tbilisi to compare the whole country
This is where Tbilisi becomes extremely useful.
Specialised wine bars and shops in the capital collect bottles from producers around Georgia, making it possible to compare Kakheti with Imereti, Kartli, Racha-Lechkhumi, Samegrelo and other regions without travelling hundreds of kilometres between each glass.
Georgia’s official tourism platform gives essentially the same advice: start your wine exploration in Tbilisi because wines from every region can be found in the capital.
My recommendation is therefore simple:
Go to Kakheti to experience Georgian winemaking. Use Tbilisi to explore the diversity of Georgian wine.
And if you have time, absolutely do both.
Where I Recommend Tasting and Buying Georgian Wine in Tbilisi
These are not meant as a ranking. They are places I recommend for different reasons based on my own experience.
Nino Meris Wine Selection
A small wine bar and shop on Sioni Street in Old Tbilisi. I like it when someone wants a more personal introduction rather than a huge commercial environment. It carries Nino Meris’s own wines alongside bottles from other Georgian producers, so you can compare different wineries and styles.
Winos
A wine-focused restaurant, bar and shop in the Old Town. This is a useful option when you want to combine Georgian wine with a proper meal rather than treating tasting as a separate activity.
8000 Vintages
One of the easiest places for a visitor who simply wants choice. It offers a very large selection of Georgian wines, making it particularly useful when you want to compare producers, grapes and regions. It also has several locations around Tbilisi.
WAREHOUSE at Stamba
A good direction if you are particularly interested in natural and minimal-intervention wine. Warehouse has a strong focus on carefully selected Georgian and international natural and biodynamic wines.
Wine Gallery
A long-established wine shop and a useful stop when your priority is browsing bottles and taking wine home. It is particularly convenient if you want to compare several producers rather than buy directly from one winery.
Want Someone to Guide You Through the Wines?
If you would rather taste first and learn as you go, I also recommend doing a structured tasting rather than randomly ordering five glasses.
On our Georgian Wine Tasting in Tbilisi, we taste five Georgian wines — two amber, one white and two reds — together with local cheese and traditional snacks. The idea is not simply to drink five wines but to compare them and understand what changes when the grape, method or style changes.
It is a three-hour seated tasting in Old Tbilisi, so you do not need to leave the city or commit to another full-day excursion.
Kakheti Wineries I Recommend
For Kakheti, I deliberately mix smaller family wineries with one much larger producer. They provide very different experiences, and seeing that contrast is useful.
Berika’s Winery
A small winery in Velistsikhe. This is the type of stop I prefer when someone wants a more intimate experience of Kakheti rather than only visiting large commercial facilities.
Nino Meris Wine Cellar
A small family winery in Dedoplistskaro producing traditional qvevri wines. Visitors can combine wine tasting with food and, when arranged, Georgian cooking experiences. The local tourism association describes it as a small family business focused on traditional qvevri wine and Georgian wine culture.
Wine Yard N1
Located in Akhalsopeli in the Kindzmarauli microzone, Wine Yard N1 centres on a three-generation family cellar. Visitors can see traditional qvevri, taste wine directly from them and experience a much broader picture of Kakhetian family wine culture.
IBERO WINERY
A three-generation family winery in Vachnadziani. Ibero owns five hectares of vineyards planted with Rkatsiteli, Khikhvi, Kisi, Mtsvane Kakhuri and Saperavi and focuses its tastings on traditional qvevri wines. This is a particularly useful stop if you want to compare several Kakhetian white grapes side by side.
Khareba Winery
Khareba gives you the opposite perspective: a major Georgian wine producer rather than a tiny family cellar. The company owns more than 1,500 hectares of vineyards across eastern and western Georgia and works with qvevri, European technology and oak-barrel ageing. For a traveller, this can be a useful way to see how Georgian wine works on an industrial scale after visiting smaller producers.
For the small wineries in particular, I would always contact them before arriving. A family marani is not necessarily a walk-in wine bar; the winemaker may be in the vineyard, travelling or already hosting another group.
How to Order Georgian Wine Without Understanding the Wine List
If a Georgian wine list looks like a wall of unfamiliar words, you do not need to memorise grape varieties before dinner.
Tell the server or sommelier what you normally like:
- dry or semi-sweet;
- white, amber, rosé or red;
- light or full-bodied;
- qvevri or classical style, if you already have a preference;
- familiar or adventurous.
Then let them translate your normal tastes into Georgian wine.
If it is your first amber wine, remember my earlier advice: say that clearly. A good sommelier should understand that you may enjoy a lighter introduction before moving to a heavily extracted Kakhetian amber wine.
Common Mistakes First-Time Visitors Make
The biggest mistake is deciding what Georgian wine is after tasting only one style.
Trying Kindzmarauli and assuming all Georgian wine is sweet is wrong. One very tannic amber wine does not mean every qvevri wine tastes that way. And if you assume every authentic Georgian bottle must come from Kakheti, you will miss some of the country’s most interesting regional varieties.
I would also avoid choosing wine only because the label looks traditional. Ask about the grape, region, producer and winemaking method. Those four pieces of information will usually tell you much more than the design on the bottle.
Most importantly, do not rush to find your “favorite Georgian wine” after the first tasting.
Explore first.
FAQ
What is Georgian wine most famous for?
Georgian wine is known for its roughly 8,000-year history, indigenous grape varieties and traditional qvevri winemaking. The country has 525 documented local vine varieties, and UNESCO recognises the traditional qvevri winemaking method as intangible cultural heritage.
Is Georgian wine sweet?
Some Georgian wines are naturally semi-sweet or sweet, but a huge proportion of Georgian wine is dry. Winemakers commonly use Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Chinuri, Tsolikouri and many other grapes to make dry wines.
What is the difference between amber wine and orange wine?
They are broadly two names for the same category of white wine made with skin contact. “Orange wine” is common internationally; in Georgia, amber wine is the preferred term.
Is amber wine always made in qvevri?
No. Amber refers mainly to skin-contact white wine, while qvevri describes the vessel and winemaking method. Many famous Georgian amber wines come from qvevri, but the two terms are not identical.
Is qvevri wine always amber?
No. Winemakers also ferment and mature red wines, including Saperavi, in qvevri.
What Georgian red wine should I try first?
For dry red wine, start with Saperavi. If you prefer naturally semi-sweet reds, try Kindzmarauli or Khvanchkara, remembering that these are protected wines from specific areas rather than grape varieties.
What Georgian white wine should I try first?
For a conventional dry white, Rkatsiteli, Tsinandali or Chinuri offer approachable starting points. If you want to understand what makes Georgian winemaking unusual, add a lighter amber Kisi, Mtsvane or Rkatsiteli to the tasting.
Is Kakheti the best place for Georgian wine?
Kakheti is Georgia’s largest and most important wine-producing region and is ideal for visiting vineyards and wineries. But it is not the only Georgian wine region. If your aim is to compare wines from across the country, Tbilisi is one of the easiest places to do it.
How many Georgian grape varieties are there?
Official Georgian sources document 525 local vine varieties, although winemakers use a much smaller number in commercial wine production today.
Final Tip
If I had to give a visitor only one piece of advice about Georgian wine, it would be this:
Taste as widely as you can.
Start with Kakheti, but do not stop there. Discover Saperavi, then move beyond it to grapes from other parts of Georgia. Explore qvevri wine, but also taste what the same Georgian grapes can do with different winemaking methods.
Visit a marani, look inside a qvevri, talk to a winemaker and then return to Tbilisi and put several regions side by side in the same tasting.
That is when Georgian wine starts making sense.