Skip to main content
Geotour
Vineyard rows in Kakheti with the Caucasus behind
Narikala fortress and the red-roofed Old Town of Tbilisi above the Mtkvari river
The white Mukhranbatoni palace of Château Mukhrani with its central tower, Mukhrani
Equestrian statue of King Erekle II in front of the Batonis Tsikhe fortress in Telavi
Alaverdi Cathedral behind its monastery walls, with vineyards and the Caucasus in the background, Kakheti
Sighnaghi's red-roofed houses on a wooded hilltop above the Alazani Valley, Kakheti
The stone basilica of Bolnisi Sioni behind a clipped hedge garden, Kvemo Kartli
Tour photo

Photos: Archil sutiashvili (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Jon Gudorf Photography (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Diaoha (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons

Georgian Wine Tour: Kakheti & Kartli — 7-Day Private Tour

Tbilisi · Château Mukhrani · Telavi · Tsinandali · Alaverdi · Sighnaghi · Bolnisi Sioni

  • 7 days
  • Private, 1–8 travellers
  • Easy
  • Year-round

Overview

A seven-day private wine tour of Georgia, from Château Mukhrani in Kartli to the qvevri cellars of Kakheti, with an English-speaking driver-guide who does not drink. You meet a family of qvevri makers in Vardisubani, taste at Tsinandali, the Alaverdi monastery cellar and Pheasant's Tears, and share a family supra with a tamada. Three nights in Kakheti (two in Telavi, one in Sighnaghi) keep the drives short; the rest of the week is based in Tbilisi, with an evening in two natural-wine bars. On day six you head south to Kvemo Kartli, where archaeologists found traces of wine from about 6000 BC, for the 5th-century Bolnisi Sioni church and lunch at a family cellar. Most days have one or two tastings and plenty of time at the table, so the tour suits wine lovers more than sightseers in a hurry. From mid-September to October the rtveli harvest is on and we can add grape picking with a family. Racha and its Khvanchkara wine can be added as a two-day extension from June to October.

Itinerary

7 stops: Tbilisi, Château Mukhrani, Telavi, Tsinandali, Alaverdi, Sighnaghi, Bolnisi Sioni

1

Day 1Arrival and Château Mukhrani

Mukhrani is about 45 minutes from Tbilisi. If you land after midday, we visit it on the free afternoon of day 5 instead.

  1. Airport pickup and hotel check-in

  2. Château Mukhrani: palace cellars and tasting

    • Château MukhraniDay 1: the cellars of Château Mukhrani, the restored 19th-century estate of Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni about 45 minutes from Tbilisi, and a tasting.

      Day 1: the cellars of Château Mukhrani, the restored 19th-century estate of Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni about 45 minutes from Tbilisi, and a tasting.

      Château Mukhrani is the restored 19th-century palace and wine estate of Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni in the Mukhrani valley of Kartli, about 45 km (45–55 min) from Tbilisi and 30 minutes beyond Mtskheta. The prince, a member of the Bagrationi royal family, brought French winemaking ideas home and released his first vintage in 1878. Today you tour the palace and the old cellars, taste the estate's wines from Georgian and French grape varieties, and can stay for lunch in the estate restaurant.

      View destination details

  3. Welcome dinner (included)

  4. Overnight: Tbilisi (hotel, breakfast)

    • TbilisiNights 1, 5 and 6 in Tbilisi; on day 5 an evening in two of the city's natural-wine bars with your guide.

      Nights 1, 5 and 6 in Tbilisi; on day 5 an evening in two of the city's natural-wine bars with your guide.

      Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, spreads along the Mtkvari river gorge between Narikala fortress and the Mtatsminda ridge. It is where most trips begin and end, and it deserves 2–3 days of its own. Walk the Old Town from the domed sulphur baths of Abanotubani up to Narikala, cross the Bridge of Peace, spend a morning with the gold of the Georgian National Museum and eat your way through the city's wine bars and khinkali houses. Every day trip in this area starts from here.

      View destination details
2

Day 2Qvevri makers and Tsinandali

Tbilisi to Telavi about 2 hours over the Gombori pass.

  1. Drive to Kakheti

  2. Kbilashvili qvevri workshop, Vardisubani

  3. Lunch (not included)

  4. Tsinandali house-museum, park and tasting

    • TsinandaliDay 2: the house-museum of the poet Alexander Chavchavadze, the landscaped park and a tasting at the estate's enoteca.

      Day 2: the house-museum of the poet Alexander Chavchavadze, the landscaped park and a tasting at the estate's enoteca.

      Tsinandali is the 19th-century country estate of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, about 10 km south-east of Telavi in Kakheti, with a house museum, a large landscaped park and one of Georgia's oldest wineries. A visit takes 1.5–2 hours: tour the family house, walk the park under old plane trees and cedars, go down to the enoteca, whose collection starts in 1814, and taste the estate's wines. In early September the estate hosts the Tsinandali Festival of classical music.

      View destination details

  5. Overnight: Telavi (hotel, breakfast)

    • TelaviDays 2–3: the Kbilashvili family's workshop in Vardisubani, where qvevri are still made by hand, the Twins cellar and qvevri museum in Napareuli, and a family supra with a tamada. Nights 2–3 in Telavi.

      Days 2–3: the Kbilashvili family's workshop in Vardisubani, where qvevri are still made by hand, the Twins cellar and qvevri museum in Napareuli, and a family supra with a tamada. Nights 2–3 in Telavi.

      Telavi is the main town of Kakheti, Georgia's wine region, on the slopes of the Gombori range above the Alazani Valley, about 95 km (2 h) from Tbilisi. It is a practical base for the wine country: the Tsinandali estate, Alaverdi Cathedral, the Ikalto academy and the royal town of Gremi are all within 30 minutes. In town you see the fortress and palace of King Erekle II, the giant plane tree and a lively morning market, then spend the afternoon at family cellars and wineries.

      View destination details
3

Day 3Twins, Alaverdi and a family supra

Short drives around Telavi.

  1. Twins cellar and qvevri museum, Napareuli

  2. Alaverdi Cathedral and the monastery cellar

    • AlaverdiDay 3: the 11th-century Alaverdi Cathedral and a tasting of the qvevri wine the monks make in the monastery cellar.

      Day 3: the 11th-century Alaverdi Cathedral and a tasting of the qvevri wine the monks make in the monastery cellar.

      Alaverdi Cathedral rises over the vineyards of the Alazani valley in Kakheti, about 20 km north-west of Telavi and 2–2.5 hours from Tbilisi. The 11th-century church of St George, about 50 m tall, was the tallest church in Georgia until Tbilisi's Sameba Cathedral in 2004, and the monks still make wine in qvevri clay jars. Visitors walk the walled grounds, see the frescoed interior and can buy the monastery's own qvevri wine; it combines easily with Telavi and Tsinandali.

      View destination details

  3. Afternoon free; optional Khareba wine tunnel in Kvareli

  4. Family supra with a tamada (included)

  5. Overnight: Telavi (hotel, breakfast)

4

Day 4Sighnaghi's natural-wine cellars

Telavi to Sighnaghi about 1.5 hours.

  1. Drive to Sighnaghi via Gurjaani

    • SighnaghiDay 4: lunch and a tasting at Pheasant's Tears, a tasting at Okro's Wines, and sunset from the town walls; night 4 in Sighnaghi.

      Day 4: lunch and a tasting at Pheasant's Tears, a tasting at Okro's Wines, and sunset from the town walls; night 4 in Sighnaghi.

      Sighnaghi is a small walled town at about 790 m on a ridge above the Alazani Valley in Kakheti, about 113 km (2 h) east of Tbilisi. Its 18th-century defensive wall with towers looks across the vineyards to the Greater Caucasus. You walk a section of the wall, see Niko Pirosmani's paintings in the Sighnaghi Museum, taste qvevri wine in the town's cellars, and visit Bodbe convent, the burial place of St Nino, 2 km away. It works as a half-day stop or a relaxed overnight in wine country.

      View destination details

  2. Lunch at Pheasant's Tears (not included) with tasting (included)

  3. Okro's Wines tasting

  4. Sunset from the town walls

  5. Overnight: Sighnaghi (hotel, breakfast)

5

Day 5Back to Tbilisi; natural-wine bars

Sighnaghi to Tbilisi about 2 hours.

  1. Bodbe convent

  2. Drive to Tbilisi

  3. Free afternoon

  4. Two natural-wine bars with your guide (tastings included)

  5. Overnight: Tbilisi (hotel, breakfast)

6

Day 6Kvemo Kartli wine hills

About 3 hours of driving in total.

  1. Drive south into Kvemo Kartli

  2. Bolnisi Sioni church

    • Bolnisi SioniDay 6: Bolnisi Sioni, a 5th-century basilica with some of the oldest dated Georgian inscriptions, then lunch and a tasting at a family cellar in the Kvemo Kartli hills.

      Day 6: Bolnisi Sioni, a 5th-century basilica with some of the oldest dated Georgian inscriptions, then lunch and a tasting at a family cellar in the Kvemo Kartli hills.

      Bolnisi Sioni is a stone basilica built in 478–493 in the village of Bolnisi in Kvemo Kartli, about 70 km (1–1.25 h) south-west of Tbilisi, and the oldest surviving church building in Georgia. Its Georgian building inscriptions are among the oldest dated texts in the Georgian script, and its capitals carry vine scrolls and animals in a style influenced by Sasanian Persia. A visit takes about an hour and pairs well with the Dmanisi hominin site and the old German-settler wine town of Bolnisi.

      View destination details

  3. Lunch and tasting at a family cellar (included)

  4. Back in Tbilisi; free evening

  5. Overnight: Tbilisi (hotel, breakfast)

7

Day 7Departure

Airport drop-off at any hour.

  1. Transfer to Tbilisi airport

Make this tour your own:Build your own tour

What's Included

  • Private car or minivan with fuel and parking (sedan for 1–3 travellers, minivan for 4–8)
  • English-speaking driver-guide throughout, who does not drink (Russian-speaking guide on request)
  • Tbilisi airport pickup on arrival and drop-off on departure
  • 6 nights in hotels, twin/double rooms, breakfast included (Tbilisi 3, Telavi 2, Sighnaghi 1)
  • Welcome dinner in Tbilisi, a family supra in Telavi and a family-cellar lunch in Kvemo Kartli
  • Tastings: Château Mukhrani, Kbilashvili qvevri workshop, Tsinandali, Twins, Alaverdi monastery cellar, Pheasant's Tears, Okro's Wines, a Kvemo Kartli cellar and two Tbilisi wine bars
  • Bottled water

  • Lunches and dinners not listed as included (about 30–50 GEL per person per meal)
  • Khareba wine tunnel if you choose it (price depends on the tasting)
  • Bottles you buy
  • Racha extension (2 days, quoted on request)
  • Single room supplement
  • Tips (optional)
  • Travel insurance (mandatory for visitors to Georgia from 1 January 2026)
  • Flights

Map

Good to know

Best Time to Visit
Year-round; rtveli harvest mid-September to October
Physical Requirements
Suitable for most fitness levels. Involves some walking on mostly flat terrain with minimal elevation changes.
Cancellation Policy
Nothing to pay now. Your quote includes the cancellation terms before you pay anything.
Pace
one or two tastings a day with short drives; no single drive is longer than about 2 hours (Tbilisi–Telavi over the Gombori pass, Sighnaghi–Tbilisi).
Tasting
your driver-guide does not drink, so you can taste freely; tell us if you prefer fewer tastings and more sights.
Taking wine home
bottles must go in checked luggage; we can show you where to buy protective bottle sleeves in Tbilisi.
Harvest
rtveli runs from about mid-September to October in Kakheti; picking days depend on the grapes and the weather, so we confirm them a few days ahead.
Opening hours
Tsinandali and the family cellars keep varying hours; we book every tasting in advance.
Categories:
Round trip (6–14 days)
Wine & food

You Might Also Like