The best wineries to visit in Georgia: 20 cellars across Kakheti, Imereti, Racha and Kartli, from family maranis to estates

The honest answer is that there is no single “best” winery in Georgia, because the country’s four main wine regions make fundamentally different wine. Kakheti, in the east, is the volume producer with both grand estates and famous natural-wine pioneers; Imereti favours lighter, half-skin-contact whites made in small open-air maranis; Racha and neighbouring Lechkhumi grow rare grapes for semi-sweet reds on steep, cool hillsides; and Kartli, around Tbilisi and Mtskheta, mixes a 19th-century château with a handful of modern natural producers. Qvevri winemaking, the clay-vessel method used across all four regions, is recognised by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is as good a reason as any to taste it where it is made.

This guide lists 20 cellars worth building a day or a week around, grouped by region, with what each does well, how visits work, and when to go. Because small family cellars change hours, fees and even names more often than large estates, we give ranges rather than fixed prices and tell you exactly where to check before you drive out. For a ready-made itinerary rather than a self-drive list, see our Kakheti Classic — Sighnaghi, Bodbe and Two Cellars in a Day, Kakheti Grand Wine & Heritage — 3 Days, or Western Wine — Imereti and Racha in 3 Days.

How the four wine regions compare

Kakheti: estates, family maranis and the natural-wine names

Kakheti is where most visitors start, and it rewards a full day or two. The following nine cellars cover the range from museum estate to one-room family marani.

• Pheasant’s Tears, Sighnaghi — one of the producers credited with reviving interest abroad in qvevri amber wine, with a restaurant attached to the tasting room.
• Schuchmann Wines, Kisiskhevi near Telavi — a German-Georgian estate making both qvevri and European-style wine, with a hotel and restaurant on site.
• Tsinandali Estate, Tsinandali — the 19th-century Chavchavadze family estate, now a museum park and working winery, and host to the Tsinandali classical music and wine festival in late summer.
• Shumi Winery, Tsinandali — known for its ampelography collection of Georgian grape varieties alongside its own tastings.
• Khareba Winery, Kvareli — large-scale production with tastings inside a cooled wine tunnel cut into the hillside.
• Teliani Valley, Telavi — one of the longer-established modern producers, making both qvevri and barrel-aged lines.
• Twins Wine Cellar, Napareuli — a family winery working in both styles, with lunch usually available alongside the tasting.
• Okro’s Wines, Kardanakhi — a small natural qvevri producer, visits normally by appointment only.
• Vazisubani Estate, near Gurjaani — a historic estate now combining a hotel with its own vineyard and cellar.

Imereti: open qvevri and a quieter style

Imereti ferments white grapes with less skin contact than Kakheti, giving lighter, often fizzier wines, and many cellars here are genuinely small family operations rather than visitor-ready estates.

• Our Wine (Vinoterra), Nakhshirgele village, Terjola — the cellar of Soliko Tsaishvili, widely credited as a pioneer of the modern natural qvevri wine movement.
• Family maranis around Baghdati — several small producers working Tsitska and Tsolikouri, usually visited by prior arrangement through a local guide or driver.
• Family maranis around Zestaponi — similar small-scale operations, often combined on day trips from Kutaisi.
• Cellars near Vartsikhe, close to Kutaisi — convenient to pair with Kutaisi sightseeing on a short visit.

These Imereti visits are best arranged through a guide who knows the families, since opening hours are informal. Our Vani, Baghdati and Sairme — Gold, Poets and Springs day trip and Western Wine — Imereti and Racha in 3 Days both build in cellar stops with local introductions already made.

Racha and Lechkhumi: rare grapes on steep ground

Racha’s vineyards sit higher and cooler than anywhere else on this list, which is why its wines stay semi-sweet without added sugar. The region is thinly populated, so treat these as clusters rather than fixed addresses.

• Khvanchkara appellation cellars, Ambrolauri district — family producers of the Alexandreuli and Mujuretuli blend that gives the region its name.
• Usakhelouri cellars, Okureshi village, Lower Racha — a rare grape made in very small volumes, worth asking about in advance.
• Tvishi appellation cellars, Tvishi village — a lighter semi-sweet white, the other well-known Racha appellation.
• Cellars around Nikortsminda — easy to pair a tasting with the frescoed 11th-century cathedral nearby.

Our Racha — Khvanchkara Wine & Mountain Lakes (2 Days) and Racha in a Day — Shaori Lake, Nikortsminda and Khvanchkara both include pre-arranged cellar visits, which matters here more than anywhere else because so few producers have signage or a website.

Kartli: a château and a short drive from Tbilisi

• Chateau Mukhrani, Mukhrani — a restored 19th-century estate with formal gardens, a château building, and both modern European-style and qvevri wine, the most visitor-ready stop in this region.
• Baia’s Wine, Chardakhi — a small natural producer run by winemaker Baia Abuladze, visits by appointment.
• Family cellars of the Ateni valley, near Gori — small-scale Chinuri and Atenuri production, best combined with the frescoed Ateni Sioni church.

Kartli suits travellers with limited time: our Kintsvisi, Samtavisi and Ateni Sioni — the Frescoes of Kartli day trip and Gori & Uplistsikhe — Cave City Day Trip can both add a cellar stop on request.

Booking a tasting, what it costs and what to expect

Large estates such as Tsinandali, Schuchmann, Khareba and Chateau Mukhrani take walk-ins during opening hours but recommend booking ahead in the July to October high season. Small family cellars almost always need advance notice, often a day or two, because the winemaker may be out in the vineyard. Tasting fees vary widely by cellar, pour count and whether food is included, and they change often enough that we will not print a figure here; ask directly or through a guide when you book, and expect a simple bread, cheese and walnut plate to be included more often than not at family cellars. A full lunch, cellar tour and multiple tastings generally cost more than a short tasting alone. For current appellation rules and the official list of protected wine names such as Khvanchkara, Tvishi and Kindzmarauli, the National Wine Agency publishes the register at wine.gov.ge.

If you would rather not plan the logistics, our Kakheti Wine in 2 Days — Family Cellars and the Great Estates and Qvevri Masterclass — a Day with a Winemaker and a Qvevri Maker are built around exactly this mix of scale, and a car with driver or licensed specialist guide can be added by the day through our services page.

Harvest timing: when to visit for rtveli

Grape harvest, known as rtveli, runs roughly from mid-September into October in Kakheti, slightly earlier in Imereti and Kartli, and later in cooler Racha. This is when cellars are busiest, grapes are being pressed by foot or machine, and many family hosts will let visitors join in for an hour. Outside harvest, spring (April to June) is quieter and the vineyards are green rather than full of activity, which some travellers prefer for a calmer tasting. Georgia’s main wine festivals, including New Wine Festival in Tbilisi each spring and the Tsinandali Festival in late summer, are a good way to taste widely in one place; check current dates at newwinefestival.ge and tsinandalifestival.ge. For a harvest-focused trip, see our Rtveli — the Harvest Week in Kakheti, 5 Days or the shorter Rtveli — Wine Harvest in Kakheti (3 Days, September–October).

Background: why qvevri matters here

The underground clay qvevri is not a gimmick aimed at tourists; it is the method Georgian families have used to ferment and age wine for thousands of years, and UNESCO inscribed the ancient Georgian traditional qvevri wine-making method on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013, details at ich.unesco.org. Visiting a cellar that still uses qvevri, whether a famous Kakheti name or a one-room Imereti marani, is a direct way to see that heritage rather than read about it. The Georgian National Tourism Administration and Georgia’s national travel portal both maintain wine-region overviews worth checking before you set a route, at gnta.ge and georgia.travel.

Practical summary

• Pick a region by style: Kakheti for scale and natural-wine names, Imereti for a quieter local scene, Racha for rare semi-sweet reds and mountain scenery, Kartli for a short trip from Tbilisi.
• Book large estates a day or two ahead in high season; small family cellars almost always need advance notice through a guide or driver.
• Expect simple food with most tastings at family cellars; ask the fee before you arrive since it is not standardised.
• Visit September to mid-October for harvest (rtveli), or spring for a quieter cellar with fewer other visitors.
• Check appellation and producer information at wine.gov.ge, and festival dates at newwinefestival.ge and tsinandalifestival.ge, before finalising a route.
• For a planned route with introductions already made, see our Kakheti Wine 2 Days, Western Wine Imereti and Racha 3 Days, or Racha Khvanchkara Wine tours.

Sources

• Qvevri traditional winemaking (UNESCO ICH)
• National Wine Agency of Georgia
• Georgia wine tourism overview
• Georgian National Tourism Administration
• Tsinandali Festival
• Georgian grape varieties reference