The short answer: Rtveli is the Georgian grape harvest, and in Kakheti, the main wine region, it runs from late August into October. It isn't a single festival but weeks of picking, pressing and feasting in family vineyards, and each family picks when its grapes are ready. In 2026 the Kakheti harvest officially began on 10 September. For 2027 nobody can give you a date yet, so plan a trip for mid-September to early October and keep one or two days flexible.
What Rtveli is
The word covers the whole end of the wine year: picking the grapes, crushing them, and putting the juice into the cellar. Traditionally it is a family and village affair, with relatives and neighbours coming to help and a long meal at the end of the day. Many Georgian families outside the big wineries still make their own wine, so for a few weeks in autumn the villages of Kakheti smell of crushed grapes and wood smoke.
When it happens
The harvest moves with the grapes, and the grapes move with the weather. In Kakheti it usually falls between late August and October; western regions such as Imereti and Racha pick later, into October and beyond. The official start in Kakheti changes a lot from year to year: Wander-Lush records 13 August in 2024, 2 September in 2025 and 10 September in 2026. Within that, each family chooses its own days, often at short notice.
That is why we can't promise a 2027 date. What you can do:
- Aim for mid-September to early October. In most recent years at least part of the harvest has been under way then.
- Keep one or two spare days in your trip, so a harvest day can move if the family changes plans.
- Expect confirmation about a week ahead. On our harvest day, the host family confirms the date 7–10 days before.
- Book your Kakheti rooms early. Harvest weekends are busy in Sighnaghi and Telavi.
A harvest day: what you do
Picking
You start in the vineyard in the morning with secateurs and a bucket, working along the rows with the family. It is real work but not hard work, and there is usually a break for bread and cheese. Wear old clothes and closed shoes; vineyards can be muddy after rain.
Pressing in the satsnakheli
The traditional way to crush grapes is by foot in a satsnakheli, a long wooden trough. Many families now use a mechanical crusher, but some still tread by foot, and visitors are usually welcome to join. The juice runs off and goes into the qvevri, the large clay jars buried in the cellar floor; for amber wine, the skins go in too. Qvevri winemaking has been on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list since 2013. For the grapes and styles behind it, read our guide to Georgian wine grapes and amber wine.
Churchkhela
Harvest is also churchkhela season. Fresh grape juice is boiled and thickened with flour, and strings of walnuts are dipped in it again and again, then hung up to dry. If the family is making a batch, you may get to dip your own string.
The supra
The day ends at the table: a harvest feast led by a tamada, the toastmaster, with toasts to the harvest, to family and to guests, and plenty of the previous year's wine. Pace yourself; the toasts keep coming.
Joining a family or visiting a winery?
The two experiences are quite different. A family harvest is small and informal: a handful of people, a vineyard behind the house, a meal in the garden, and very little English unless your guide translates. It is the closest you will get to Rtveli as Georgians live it, but the timing is entirely the family's. A winery harvest programme is more organised, with set times and a tasting, and often more visitors at once. Neither is better; it depends whether you want a day in someone's home or a structured visit. Our harvest day is with a family, and your driver-guide translates the stories and the toasts at the table.
Where to go
- Family vineyards in Kakheti, around Telavi, Sighnaghi and the villages of the Alazani Valley. This is the most personal way to take part, and needs a local contact.
- Wineries that run their own harvest programmes, from small natural-wine cellars to larger estates.
- The Gurjaani Wine Festival, which in 2026 was held on 10 October. Check the 2027 date once it is announced.
For other autumn events and how they fit into the year, see our guide to Georgia's festivals.
Tips for a harvest trip
- Bring a hat and sun cream; September days in the Alazani Valley can still be hot.
- Tastings and chacha are for adults; children enjoy picking and treading grapes.
- Don't drive after a supra. On a private trip your driver doesn't drink, so you can.
- If the harvest has finished by the time you arrive, the cellars, tastings and supras carry on through the autumn and winter.
- Since 1 January 2026, travel insurance with at least 30,000 GEL of cover is mandatory for visitors to Georgia.
Tours for the harvest
Our private Kakheti grape harvest (Rtveli) day takes you to a winemaking family for picking, treading or pressing, and a harvest lunch with toasts, followed by a second tasting and Sighnaghi's walls; it runs in September and October, with the date confirmed 7–10 days ahead. For a longer stay, the 3-day private Kakheti wine tour adds Tsinandali, a qvevri workshop and a family supra, and in harvest season we can build a picking day into it. Both are private, with your own car and English-speaking driver-guide; see the tour page for the current price. Or plan your own 2027 wine trip. Nothing to pay now.
Sources
- Wander-Lush, "Where to Go for the 2026 Rtveli": wander-lush.org
- UNESCO, "Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method": ich.unesco.org
- Georgia National Tourism Administration: georgia.travel
Last checked: September 2026. Harvest dates depend on the weather and are set each year; we confirm them as the season approaches.
