The short answer: most Georgian wine comes from a handful of native grapes: Saperavi for reds and Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane, Kisi and Khikhvi for whites. What makes Georgia different is the qvevri, a large clay vessel buried in the ground, and the amber wine it produces when white grapes ferment with their skins. Here is what those words mean, how to read a Georgian label, and what to taste on a trip.
Qvevri: the Georgian method
A qvevri is an egg-shaped clay vessel used to ferment, age and store wine. In the traditional method the pressed grapes go into the qvevri together with their juice, skins, stalks and pips; the vessel is sealed and buried in the ground, and the wine stays there for around five to six months. Being underground keeps the temperature steady. UNESCO added the ancient Georgian qvevri wine-making method to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013.
Not all Georgian wine is made this way. Many wineries also use stainless steel tanks and oak barrels, as winemakers do elsewhere, and a label or the person pouring will tell you which method was used.
Georgia's wine history is long. Archaeologists found some of the oldest known traces of grape wine at Neolithic village sites in Kvemo Kartli, south of Tbilisi. Kakheti, in the east, is where the qvevri tradition is strongest today.
Amber wine (orange wine)
Amber wine is white wine made like a red: the juice ferments in contact with the grape skins, sometimes for months. The skins give it a deep golden to amber colour, more texture and some tannin, with flavours of dried fruit, tea, nuts and honey. Outside Georgia it is usually called orange wine; in Georgia you'll hear "amber" or "Kakhetian-style" wine. It is often served a little warmer than a crisp white, and goes well with Georgian food, which is rich in walnuts, herbs and cheese.
The grapes to know
- Saperavi (red): Georgia's main red grape and one of the few in the world with red flesh as well as red skin, which gives very dark, full-bodied wines with good acidity. It is made dry, semi-sweet, in qvevri and in oak.
- Rkatsiteli (white): the most widely planted Georgian grape. Crisp and apple-like when made in steel; firm and savoury as an amber wine.
- Mtsvane (white): often labelled Kakhuri Mtsvane; more aromatic and softer than Rkatsiteli, and often blended with it.
- Kisi (white): a Kakhetian grape that makes rich, floral amber wines with notes of herbal tea and ripe fruit.
- Khikhvi (white): aromatic, with honey and flower notes; used for both dry whites and qvevri amber wines.
You'll also meet grapes from the west, such as Tsolikouri and Tsitska from Imereti, which make lighter wines, and Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli from Racha.
Appellations: names you'll see on the list
Georgia has a few dozen protected appellations (PDOs) registered with its national intellectual property office. Most are in Kakheti and take the name of a village or area. The ones you'll see most often:
- Tsinandali (Kakheti): a dry white, mainly Rkatsiteli with some Mtsvane.
- Mukuzani (Kakheti): a dry red from Saperavi.
- Napareuli (Kakheti): used for dry reds from Saperavi and whites from Rkatsiteli.
- Kindzmarauli (Kakheti, near Kvareli): a naturally semi-sweet red from Saperavi.
- Akhasheni (Kakheti): another semi-sweet Saperavi.
- Khvanchkara (Racha, in the mountains of western Georgia): a naturally semi-sweet red from Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli.
Semi-sweet reds
Many visitors are surprised by how much semi-sweet red is sold in Georgia. Kindzmarauli, Akhasheni and Khvanchkara are the classic examples: fermentation is stopped before all the sugar has turned to alcohol, leaving a soft, fruity wine. They are popular at the table and as gifts. If you prefer dry wine, say so; ask for "mshrali" (dry) or look for Mukuzani, Napareuli or a varietal Saperavi labelled dry.
How to read a Georgian label
- Place first: an appellation name (Tsinandali, Mukuzani, Kindzmarauli) tells you the grape and the style, as in France or Italy.
- Grape: varietal wines name the grape (Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi). Georgian names are often transliterated in different ways, so Mtsvane may appear as Mtsvani.
- Sweetness: look for dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet or sweet. This matters more in Georgia than in most countries.
- Method: "qvevri" means it was made in clay; "amber" or "Kakhetian" on a white means skin contact.
- Region: Kakheti produces most Georgian wine; Kartli, Imereti and Racha make smaller amounts.
Chacha
Chacha is Georgia's grape spirit, distilled from the skins, pips and stalks left after pressing, much like Italian grappa. Home-made chacha is strong and often offered at family tables and after a supra toast; accept small amounts and pace yourself. Many cellars sell it by the bottle, and some let you watch it being distilled.
Where to taste
Kakheti is the obvious place: Tsinandali's house-museum and enoteca (whose bottles go back to 1814, the famous one an 1841 Saperavi), family cellars with qvevri in the floor, and qvevri makers near Telavi. Close to Tbilisi, Château Mukhrani makes a good half day. Harvest (rtveli) runs from about mid-September to October. For the wine country itself, read our guide to Kakheti wine tours and qvevri.
Tours for wine lovers
Our Kakheti wine tour, 3 days includes natural-wine cellars in Sighnaghi, Tsinandali, a qvevri workshop and a family supra with chacha. For a full week, the Georgia wine tour, 7 days adds Mukhrani, Twins' qvevri museum and the wine hills of Kvemo Kartli. Short on time? The Mtskheta and Mukhrani half day pairs Georgia's oldest churches with a palace-cellar tasting. All are private, with a driver-guide who doesn't drink. See each tour page for the current price, or build your own wine route. Nothing to pay now.
Sources
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, "Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method" (2013): ich.unesco.org
- Wikipedia, "List of Georgian wine appellations": en.wikipedia.org
- McGovern et al., "Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus", PNAS, November 2017: pnas.org
- Tsinandali Estate museum: tsinandali.ge
- Silk Road Wines, "The ultimate guide to Georgian amber wine": silkroadwines.com
Last checked: September 2026.
