Georgian Wine Journey

Arrival at Kutaisi airport, where your guide meets you. Kutaisi was the capital of ancient Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece; we walk past the Colchis Fountain, the White Bridge and the lively green market.

Imereti wines are lighter and fresher than those of the east, fermented in qvevri with only a little skin contact. With an early arrival, lunch with a tasting at a family marani; in the evening dinner in a traditional cellar where qvevri are buried in the earth — Tsitska, Tsolikouri and Otskhanuri Sapere with Imeretian cuisine.

Morning visit and tasting at a marani near Kutaisi. In the village of Makatubani we meet one of the last masters who still make qvevri by hand, and see how the clay vessels in which Georgian wine has matured for millennia are built and fired.

We continue south through Akhaltsikhe, the capital of Meskheti, to the Mtkvari gorge. Dinner and overnight with our host Valodia in a family guesthouse facing Vardzia — with his own wine on the table.

Morning at Vardzia, the 12th-century cave city of Queen Tamar: halls, tunnels and a frescoed church carved into the cliff. In nearby Chachkari we see old wine cellars cut into the rock, and on the way we stop at the terraced vineyards below Khertvisi fortress — medieval Meskhetian terraces now being revived.

Lunch near Akhaltsikhe (optional) and a walk in the spa park of Borjomi, tasting the mineral water straight from the spring. In the evening dinner with a tasting at a marani near Tbilisi.

A day in the capital: the Old Town with the sulphur baths of Abanotubani, Narikala Fortress, Metekhi Church and the Bridge of Peace. Optional lunch at Karvasla, a restaurant in an old caravanserai, then time to rest at the hotel.

In the afternoon we visit Sarajishvili, Georgia's oldest brandy house, with its cellars, oak barrels and a tasting. Evening dinner with a folk show — polyphonic singing and Georgian dances.

Into Kakheti, the heart of Georgian winemaking. Visits and tastings at the Janashia and Velino cellars, where Saperavi and amber Rkatsiteli are made in qvevri.

Time permitting, Bodbe Monastery, resting place of St. Nino, then Sighnaghi, the walled hilltop town with views across the Alazani valley to the Caucasus. Drive to Lake Kvareli for dinner and overnight by the lake.

Morning at the Khareba wine tunnel, cut into the mountain, with a tasting. We climb to Nekresi Monastery above the Alazani valley and visit Alaverdi Cathedral, whose monks have made wine since the 11th century.

Home-cooked lunch with our family in Zemo Alvani (optional), a stop in Telavi, the old royal town of Kakheti, and the drive back to Tbilisi over the forested Gombori pass. Dinner in Tbilisi.

We drive to Mtskheta, the ancient capital and UNESCO site: Jvari Monastery above the meeting of two rivers and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.

Lunch with a final tasting at a marani near Mtskheta, then across the Rikoti pass to the west. Farewell dinner in Kutaisi.

Early in the morning, or after breakfast depending on your flight, transfer to Kutaisi airport. Gaumarjos — to your health, and see you again in Georgia!