🥃 Chacha

If you know chacha as Georgia's answer to grappa, the label is what matters: «Chacha» is a protected name, not a general word for any grape spirit. It is a Georgian strong spirit made from grape marc, the skins and seeds left after the juice is pressed. The name «ჭაჭა / Chacha» is Georgia's first geographical indication: Sakpatenti registered it on 13 December 2011 as No. 1, on an application from the Ministry of Agriculture. Chacha goes on sale at 40% ABV or more.

In Georgian, «chacha» also means the marc itself, from which the spirit is distilled. Under the specification, only varieties permitted for wine may be used, and only from vineyards in ten zones and sub-zones: Kakheti, Kartli, Imereti, Racha, Lechkhumi, Guria, Samegrelo, Meskheti, Adjara and Abkhazia. The grapes must meet all the requirements set for wine grapes. Distillation, production and bottling may take place outside these zones, but only within Georgia.

The specification describes chacha as a transparent, colourless liquid with a finely expressed specific aroma and taste; the finished spirit may also be straw-coloured. It is obtained by fermentation from pressed and unpressed grapes and distilled directly with steam or after water is added; wine lees may be added and the distillate may be distilled a second time. The distillate may not exceed 75% vol., and volatile substances must be at least 1.4 g per litre of absolute alcohol.

Chacha may be made in oak or other wooden vessels of various sizes, or kept in contact with wood, which explains the straw colour. Natural flavourings are allowed to improve the taste, but they must be stated on the product or its label. Adding any spirit other than chacha spirit, or artificially raising the sugar or alcohol content, is prohibited.

These rules are stricter than the general EU rules for grape marc spirit (category 6 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787), under which the marc is distilled to less than 86% vol. and the minimum strength is 37.5% vol. EU grape marc spirits with their own geographical indications include grappa, tsipouro, zivania and törkölypálinka; chacha is a separate Georgian indication with its own specification.

The register is kept by Sakpatenti, the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia. The 1999 law on appellations of origin and geographical indications of goods was amended in 2011, and on 21 September 2023 Parliament adopted a new law on the subject. According to Sakpatenti, 39 appellations of origin and 31 geographical indications were registered in Georgia in 2025, and it names chacha among them. Outside Georgia, the name «Chacha» has been protected on the UK register since 31 December 2020 under the two countries' strategic partnership agreement. According to Sakpatenti in 2023, an agreement with Moldova also provides special protection for chacha. Georgia joined the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on 14 July 2025, and the Act entered into force for Georgia on 14 October 2025; it allows Georgian appellations and indications to be protected abroad through a single international application.

According to a 2013 WIPO article, chacha has been distilled in Georgia for more than a thousand years. Traditionally the marc was fermented in a closed vessel for at least a month, and the still was sealed with clay.

Why this matters to you. The name «Chacha» guarantees grapes from Georgian wine zones, production in Georgia, at least 40% ABV and no outside alcohol. Clear and straw-coloured chacha are equally legal, and any added flavourings must be stated on the bottle. WHO: there is no safe level of alcohol.