By Mariam Lomidze, Culture & Events Reporter · 29/10/2026
- Visit by prior arrangement only — contact ahead rather than arriving unannounced.
- Pair it with Sighnaghi, seven kilometres away, for a half-day or full-day Kakheti itinerary.
- Best for travellers who want an immersive, slower-paced wine and food experience rather than a quick tasting stop.
Kakheti in October is at its most expressive: vineyards turning gold and rust along the hillsides, the last grapes often still being gathered, and village cellars busy with the rhythms of the harvest season. Kakhetian House Vakirelebi, run by the Demetrashvili family at their home in the village of Vakiri, just seven kilometres from Sighnaghi, offers a direct way into that rhythm rather than a staged performance of it.
The appeal here is the scale and the hands-on nature of the visit. This is not a large commercial winery but a family house where, by prior arrangement, guests sit down to a traditional feast built on a farm-to-table concept, using the family’s own agro-products alongside homemade staples. A wine tasting takes place in the family cellar, where three varieties of organic wine are poured alongside what the family describes as their best chacha, Georgia’s grape spirit. For those who want to go beyond tasting, cooking classes let visitors learn the dishes themselves rather than simply eating them, and folk music is part of the gathering, adding a layer of local tradition to the table.
Who it suits and how to get there
This stop is best suited to travellers genuinely interested in wine and gastronomy as cultural experiences, not just a glass and a view. It rewards those willing to slow down for a few hours, ask questions about qvevri winemaking, and treat the meal as the main event rather than a quick stop between sights. Families, small groups and independent travellers with an interest in rural Georgian life will find it a natural fit, though because arrangements must be made in advance, it suits planned itineraries better than spontaneous detours.
Reaching Vakiri is straightforward as part of a wider Kakheti route. Most visitors arrive by road from Tbilisi, typically via Telavi or directly toward Sighnaghi, and the village sits close enough to Sighnaghi to be folded easily into a day exploring that walled hill town, its churches, and its views over the Alazani Valley. Kakheti rewards a loop itinerary: combine Vakirelebi with a morning in Sighnaghi’s old streets, a stop at a monastery such as Bodbe nearby, and perhaps a cellar or two in Gurjaani or around Telavi, so the day moves between architecture, landscape and wine rather than wine alone.
In October specifically, the harvest backdrop adds context to the cellar visit — a chance to see, not just hear about, why Kakheti remains central to Georgia’s winemaking identity.
Read more on gtour.ge: Kakheti · Kakhetian House Vakirelebi — Wine in Kakheti, Georgia
Wine of the day — a daily GTour desk feature drawn from the verified-place register and our destination guides. Not sponsored.
Source: Georgian National Tourism Administration — official register (georgia.travel)
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Source: Georgian National Tourism Administration — official register (georgia.travel). Reported by the GTour desk; updated 29 October 2026, 11:46 (Tbilisi).
