Winilia Winery — Wine in Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia

In short

Winilia is a private family winery in the village of Dzegvi, in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, about 45 minutes by road from Tbilisi. The winery says it operates by reservation only, hosting a single table at a time, so that whoever books an afternoon or evening has the whole estate to themselves. Visits are built around qvevri wine tastings, estate chacha and fruit brandy, and a wide menu of hands-on Georgian food experiences, from khachapuri baking to khinkali folding, all run personally by a host in the guest’s own language.

The estate and its history

The official material does not give a founding year or name the founders, so those details are not stated here. What the winery does say is that it is a family-run operation standing in Kartli, the wine region around Dzegvi, and that its identity rests on being “closed by design”: rather than a public tasting room open to passing visitors, it operates as a single reserved table, with the scarcity of access presented by the winery itself as part of its character.

A rough timeline can be pieced together from the dates the winery attaches to its wines and awards:

• 2018–2019: vintages that later won medals at the International Qvevri Wine Competition, according to the winery.
• 2019 and 2020: Winilia’s qvevri wines are recognised at the International Qvevri Wine Competition, winning seven medals across the two years, the winery says.
• 2025: the estate’s chacha and fruit brandy are honoured at the Chacha Festival in Telavi, per the winery.
• 2026: further recognition at the same festival, including what the winery calls “Silver Chacha 2026,” and the launch of an invite-only “Rent-A-Qvevri” pilot for the 2026 harvest.

Vineyards, grapes and method

The winery says its wines are made by the qvevri method, the traditional Georgian practice of fermenting and ageing wine in large clay vessels buried in the ground, a technique inscribed by UNESCO as part of Georgia’s intangible cultural heritage. According to Winilia, its estate wines draw on grapes from both its home region of Kartli and from Kakheti, including Chinuri and Tavkveri, described by the winery as “the grapes of Kartli, where the estate stands,” alongside Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi and Mtsvane, grapes more commonly associated with Kakheti to the east. The site does not state vineyard area in hectares or annual production volumes, so these figures are not given.

Beyond wine, the winery produces chacha (Georgian grape pomace brandy) and a feijoa-based fruit brandy, both of which it describes as award-winning.

The wines

• Saperavi — qvevri-made red from this deeply coloured Kakhetian grape, offered as part of the estate tasting flights, per the winery.
• Rkatsiteli — qvevri white from one of Georgia’s most widely planted grapes, included in the churchkhela-dipping tasting session.
• Kisi — qvevri white, served as part of the Kakheti-themed tasting alongside Saperavi, Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane.
• Mtsvane — qvevri white, part of the same estate flight, according to the winery’s tasting menu.
• Chinuri — qvevri wine from the Kartli grape the winery describes as native to its own home ground.
• Tavkveri — qvevri red, the other grape the winery names as characteristic of Kartli.
• Estate chacha — grape pomace brandy, described by the winery as award-winning, with a “Silver Chacha 2026” honour cited.
• Feijoa brandy — a fruit brandy made from feijoa, also described by the winery as award-winning.

Guests can also blend and bottle their own wine at what the winery calls the “Wine Blending Lab,” tasting the single varietals first and then writing their own name on the label in Georgian script, the winery says.

Visiting

Winilia says it does not run a walk-in tasting room. Instead, the estate opens for one reserved table at a time, booked through WhatsApp, with the door said to open 24 hours ahead of a confirmed booking. Hosts are described as working personally with guests in English, German, Spanish, Georgian or Russian.

According to the winery, the main ways to visit and their starting prices are:

• The Tastings — three or five estate wines, from 60 GEL, the winery says.
• The Supras — a full Georgian feast, from 150 GEL.
• The Culinary Hub — fourteen hands-on food stations (described below), from 25 GEL.
• Signature Experiences — themed days and evenings, price on request.
• Tours — guide-led day trips from Tbilisi, from $150, per the winery.
• Private Events — celebrations, corporate offsites and weddings, arranged individually.

The hands-on “Culinary Hub” stations the winery lists include churchkhela dipping with the estate’s qvevri wines; shoti bread shaped and baked in a clay tone; Adjaruli or Imeretian khachapuri baked in a wood-fired pechi; kubdari and a Svanetian salt blend; a khinkali folding masterclass; a mtsvadi barbecue where guests thread their own skewers; the Wine Blending Lab; a Georgian pantry tasting of oils, khmeli-suneli, walnuts, bazhe, adjika and tkemali; a tea-blending session with Georgian revival teas; a honey table pairing five Georgian honeys with amber wine; a cheese and oil tasting featuring six Georgian cheeses and four Kakheti oils (the winery notes the last cheese is matured in its own Rkatsiteli pomace); a session on supra etiquette and the role of the tamada; live Kakhetian polyphony and Georgian dance with chokha costume; and a Sokhumi-style sand coffee session with cup reading.

Food and stays

Food at Winilia is built around the supra, the Georgian feast, served at what the winery names as the Marani Table, the Heritage Table and the Winemaker’s Table, alongside the Culinary Hub stations described above. The winery also hosts private events such as celebrations, offsite gatherings and weddings, and runs cooking classes and family-oriented sessions for children.

For overnight stays, the winery says it has four rooms, available only to the group occupying the reserved table that day, starting from 700 GEL a night.

Awards

The winery states that its qvevri wines won seven medals at the International Qvevri Wine Competition across 2019 and 2020: one gold, five silver and one bronze, awarded to its 2018 and 2019 vintages. It also says its chacha and fruit brandy were honoured at the Chacha Festival in Telavi in 2025 and 2026, including a “Silver Chacha 2026” distinction.

Location and getting there

Winilia is located in the village of Dzegvi, in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, which borders Tbilisi to the north and west. The winery describes itself as 45 minutes from Tbilisi by road. It places itself within what it calls the “Mtskheta cluster,” near the Jvari Monastery, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and the Chronicles of Georgia monument, and notes that it sits on the road continuing west toward Gori and the cave town of Uplistsikhe, making it, in the winery’s words, “not a detour, the road you’re already on.” This makes it straightforward to combine a visit with a day trip covering Mtskheta’s UNESCO-listed churches or an onward stop in Gori and Uplistsikhe.

Good to know

• Visits are by reservation only, booked via WhatsApp; there is no public tasting room or walk-in access, according to the winery.
• Only one table is hosted at a time, so a booking secures exclusive use of the estate for that visit, the winery says.
• Hosting is offered in English, German, Spanish, Georgian and Russian.
• The winery states the door opens 24 hours ahead of a confirmed booking.
• Starting prices quoted by the winery: Tastings from 60 GEL, Supras from 150 GEL, Culinary Hub stations from 25 GEL, Tours from $150, overnight stays from 700 GEL.
• Four guest rooms are available, but only to the group booked at the table that day, per the winery.
• A 2026 “Rent-A-Qvevri” programme, allowing guests to rent a qvevri and make their own batch of wine, is described as a small, invite-only pilot.
• Dzegvi sits close to major Mtskheta sites and on the route toward Gori and Uplistsikhe, useful for combining visits.

Questions travellers ask

Is Winilia open to walk-in visitors?

No. The winery says it operates strictly by reservation, with no walk-in tasting room, and bookings are made through WhatsApp.

How far is Winilia from Tbilisi?

The winery states it is about 45 minutes from Tbilisi by road, in the village of Dzegvi in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region.

What kind of wine does Winilia make?

According to the winery, it makes qvevri wines from grapes including Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi and Mtsvane as well as the Kartli varieties Chinuri and Tavkveri, and it also produces chacha and a feijoa fruit brandy.

Can you stay overnight at the winery?

Yes. The winery says it has four rooms, available from 700 GEL a night, but only to the group occupying the reserved table that day.

What happens during a visit beyond wine tasting?

The winery describes a range of hands-on activities alongside tastings, including bread and khachapuri baking, khinkali folding, a mtsvadi barbecue, wine blending, honey and cheese tastings, tea blending, and live polyphonic singing and dance.

Sources

• Winilia Winery — official website (winilia.com)
• Winilia Winery: Your own wineWine Blending Lab · Your Name in GeorgianTaste the single varietals, blend your own, bottle it by hand, and write your name on the label in Georgian script.
• Winilia Winery: Guria & ImeretiThe Tea RoomGeorgia's revival teas from small family growers, tasted as a flight, then your own tisane, blended by hand.
• Winilia Winery: ToursGuide-led days from Tbilisi, from $150→
• Winilia Winery: Mtskheta Wine Day
• Winilia Winery: Tbilisi & Wine Day
• Winilia Winery: After the Slopes

Profiled in depth by the GTour desk on 28 October 2026 from the property’s official website; photographs are the property’s own, from its official website, credited under each image. Not sponsored; tell us if something has changed.