This is your destination guide for Georgia.
Wine fermented in clay jars buried in the ground, a walled town on a hill, and the Caucasus standing white along the horizon.
The reality: It's a September afternoon in a family cellar outside Telavi. The floor is earth, and set into it are the round lids of qvevri, huge clay jars buried up to their necks. The winemaker lifts one off, dips a long ladle in and pours you a glass of something amber, cloudy and dry. It's last year's Rkatsiteli, made the way it was made here before Rome existed.
Kakheti is Georgia's wine country, a long valley under the Greater Caucasus, about two hours east of Tbilisi. It's often treated as a day trip: Sighnaghi, a tasting, back by dark. It deserves more. The valley is full of monasteries, palaces and small wineries, and the best of it is in the villages, not in the hill town.
Stay two or three nights, ideally during the harvest, and don't plan to drive after lunch.
A walled town above the valley, and the view everyone comes for.
The walls — Sighnaghi sits on a ridge above the Alazani Valley, inside an 18th-century wall with more than twenty round towers. Walk along the top at sunset, when the whole Caucasus range turns pink across the valley.
The town — heavily restored around 2007, with cobbled streets, balconied houses and tiled roofs. Pretty, if a little too tidy. Its wedding registry is open 24 hours, which is why it's called the "city of love".
Bodbe Monastery — two kilometres away, with the grave of St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia. Walk down through the forest to her spring if your knees are good.
Palaces, monasteries and cellars on a valley floor.
Telavi — Kakheti's main town, with the palace of King Erekle II and a plane tree said to be 900 years old. The best base for the valley.
Alaverdi Cathedral — alone among the vineyards north of town, one of the tallest old churches in Georgia. Its monks make wine as they have for a thousand years.
Gremi, Nekresi and Ikalto — a brick citadel on a hill that was once the royal capital, a monastery high above the valley, and a medieval academy.
Tsinandali — the 19th-century estate of the Chavchavadze family, with a museum, a big park and a cellar holding bottles from 1814. The Tsinandali Festival of classical music is usually held here in September.
Waterfalls, a desert monastery and a tunnel full of wine.
Clay jars, grilled meat and a sweet that looks like a candle.
Qvevri — clay jars buried in the ground, where the juice ferments with the skins, the way it's been done for thousands of years. White grapes like Rkatsiteli and Kisi come out amber, dry and slightly tannic.
Saperavi — the big red grape, dark and juicy. Look for Kindzmarauli (semi-sweet) and Mukuzani (dry). Visit the big wineries, but go to the small ones too, around Telavi and Kvareli, where the owner pours straight from the jar.
Mtsvadi — pork or lamb grilled over vine cuttings, with bread from a round tone oven. In spring, try chakapuli, lamb stewed with tarragon and plums.
Churchkhela — walnuts dipped in thick grape juice and hung to dry, at every roadside stall.
Harvest season is the one to aim for.
May and June — green and warm, 20–28°C, with snow still on the mountains behind the vineyards.
July and August — hot, 30–35°C, and the valley is dusty.
Mid-September to mid-October — Rtveli, the harvest. Families pick grapes, press them and fill the qvevri, and many wineries let you help. 18–26°C. The best time to come.
Winter — quiet and cold, with the clearest views of the snowy Caucasus.
A car, a driver, or a lot of patience with minibuses.
By car — the easiest way. Two roads lead from Tbilisi: the main road via Sagarejo to Sighnaghi, and the scenic one over the Gombori pass to Telavi. Do a loop. Georgia's drink-driving limits are strict.
With a driver — a day with a driver from Tbilisi or Telavi is the sensible choice if you plan to taste. Ask your guesthouse.
By minibus — marshrutkas go from Tbilisi's Samgori station to Sighnaghi and Telavi, but there are few connections between the villages.
Compare rental cars →A hill town, a valley town or a winery.
Sighnaghi — guesthouses with balconies and the view. Busy with day-trippers until late afternoon.
Telavi — the practical base, with restaurants and transport to the valley.
Winery stays — hotels and guesthouses at wineries around Telavi, Tsinandali and Kvareli. Wake up in the vines.
Kvareli and Lagodekhi — quiet places under the mountains, for walkers.
Find Kakheti stays →Cheap wine, pricier drivers.
Kakheti is cheap for wine and food. A bottle of good qvevri wine from a family cellar costs about the price of a cocktail in Western Europe. The big wineries and wine hotels charge more, and a driver for the day is the biggest cost, but it splits well between two.
Prices in 2026 Georgian lari. 10 GEL is about €3. Sighnaghi fills up at weekends in harvest season.
Go if you want amber wine from buried clay jars, monasteries in the vines and the Caucasus on the horizon. Skip if you don't drink, want slick tasting rooms or come in August for a harvest that hasn't started. Three nights, in late September.
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