By Mariam Lomidze, Culture & Events Reporter · 01/11/2026
November in Shida Kartli has a particular stillness to it. The vineyards along the Mtkvari River valley have shed most of their leaves, the harvest rush of September and October has passed, and the region settles into the slower rhythm that makes it easy to actually talk with the people making the wine rather than simply tasting it between tour buses. This is the season for a visit to Tedzami Wines, a small family operation in the village of Garikula, in the Kaspi municipality.
Tedzami has been producing natural Qvevri wine since 2017, working mostly with endemic Kartli grape varieties rather than the more widely exported Kakhetian labels. The wine is made in a cellar that is itself three centuries old, a detail that grounds the operation in the long agricultural and quarrying history of this stretch of the Mtkvari valley. Unlike the larger commercial cellars further east, this is a modest, hands-on address, and it suits travellers who are more interested in meeting the people behind the bottle than in polished visitor centres.
Why November suits this stop
With the growing season finished, there is no pressure of harvest work to interrupt a visit, and the cooler air makes the short drive from Tbilisi or Gori pleasant rather than hot and dusty. Shida Kartli in late autumn also pairs well with indoor and semi-indoor sites, since the region’s major attractions, the cave town of Uplistsikhe, the Ateni Sioni church, and the museums of Gori, are all manageable in a day regardless of weather.
Tedzami Wines sits conveniently along the main road connecting Tbilisi and Gori, which makes it an easy addition to a day trip rather than a detour requiring a special journey. Travellers heading west toward Gori, Uplistsikhe or onward into Imereti can treat Garikula as a natural stopping point partway along the route, breaking up the drive with a glimpse of small-scale, family-run winemaking.
This address will appeal most to visitors who already have some curiosity about Georgia’s wine culture beyond its best-known labels, and who do not need extensive visitor infrastructure to enjoy the experience. Those seeking large tasting rooms or elaborate hospitality setups should look elsewhere in the country; those wanting a genuine sense of how rural Kartli families have quietly kept Qvevri traditions alive will find it worthwhile.
Read more on gtour.ge: Shida Kartli · Tedzami Wines — Wine in Shida Kartli, 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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Related private tour: Mtskheta, Gori and Uplistsikhe — Kartli in a Day. GTour runs private tours with English-speaking guides from Old Tbilisi. See all tours or ask the desk on WhatsApp +995 577 416 314.
Source: Georgian National Tourism Administration — official register (georgia.travel). Reported by the GTour desk; updated 1 November 2026, 11:45 (Tbilisi).
