By Mariam Lomidze, Culture & Events Reporter · 28/10/2026
- Base yourself in Kutaisi and treat Makaridze Winery as a short detour on a day combining Bagrati Cathedral, Gelati Monastery or the Imereti canyons.
- October is harvest season in Imereti, so expect a working cellar with qvevris in active use rather than a staged tasting setup.
- This suits travellers interested in indigenous varieties like Tsitska, Tsolikouri and Krakhuna, and in small, family-run producers over larger wine estates.
On R. Robakidze Street in Terjola, a modest family cellar tells a story familiar across Imereti: vines that were once grown mainly for cuttings and home wine, now shaped into something more deliberate. The Makaridze family has worked this land for generations, but it was Gogita Makaridze who, at 23, turned a side pursuit into a vocation. He left his job in the finance department of the local town hall, invested what he had into planting Otskhanuri Sapere, and expanded the family’s qvevri cellar to match his ambition. The result is a small producer built on minimal intervention, working with grapes that define this part of western Georgia.
Why October suits a visit
Imereti’s vineyards are at their most expressive in autumn, when Tsitska, Tsolikouri, Krakhuna and Otskhanuri Sapere come off the vines and the qvevris fill for the season ahead. Visiting in October means seeing a working cellar rather than a quiet one, with the region’s winemaking rhythm visible in the cellar itself, not just explained after the fact. The cooler air also makes this a comfortable month for driving the rural roads around Terjola and combining the stop with time outdoors.
Makaridze Winery is not a grand estate, and that is part of its appeal. It suits travellers who want an unpolished, genuine look at Imereti’s wine culture, rather than a polished tasting room experience. Those drawn to Georgia’s qvevri tradition, or simply curious how a family cellar operates day to day, will find this a worthwhile detour.
Terjola sits close to Kutaisi, Imereti’s regional hub, which has its own pull: Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery are both within easy reach and make natural companions to a wine stop. Travellers continuing further afield can pair the visit with Imereti’s dramatic landscapes, including Okatse and Martvili canyons and the Prometheus Cave, all accessible as part of a loop through the region. Because Kutaisi has transport links and accommodation, it works well as a base, with Makaridze Winery folded into a day of driving rather than a trip planned around it alone.
This is a stop for travellers building their own route through western Georgia, interested in small producers and the everyday reality of rural winemaking, and happy to combine a cellar visit with cathedrals, monasteries and canyons in the same day.
Read more on gtour.ge: Imereti · Makaridze Winery — Wine in Imereti, Georgia
Wine of the day — a daily GTour desk feature drawn from the verified-place register and our destination guides. Not sponsored.
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Source: Georgian National Tourism Administration — official register (georgia.travel). Reported by the GTour desk; updated 22 October 2026, 12:08 (Tbilisi).
