📍 Imereti
Western Georgia, where wine is made in qvevri with only a little skin contact.
Imereti is a historic region in western Georgia. Its main city is Kutaisi. The region is known for an unusual way of making wine: Imereti is called the land where wine is made in qvevri, clay vessels buried in the ground, but with only a small amount of skins and seeds. In Kakheti far more skins are used.
Because of this, Imeretian wine is softer, lighter and less tannic than Kakhetian wine. The main local white grape is Tsolikouri, and the reds include Argvetula Sapere and others. The wine can be white or red.
The region has protected designations, for example Sviri and Obcha. Each describes wines from a certain place and certain grapes.
Imereti is part of Georgian wine and stands next to Kakheti as the second most important region, with a different, softer style. The tradition of the feast, the supra, lives here too.
How it connects to Wine
📍 Imereti ← grows in ← 🍇 Tsolikouri Mskhvilmartsvala → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
Frequently asked questions
Where is Imereti?
In western Georgia; the main city is Kutaisi.
How does Imeretian wine differ from Kakhetian?
It is made in qvevri with a small amount of skins, so it is softer and less tannic.
Which grapes grow in Imereti?
The white Tsolikouri and reds such as Argvetula Sapere.
What to read next
- 🍇 Tsolikouri Mskhvilmartsvala — A large-berried form of the white Tsolikouri grape from Georgia.
- 🍇 Ghrubela Imeruli — A local grape from Imereti, Georgia; little known.
- 🍇 Imeretis Supris — A table grape from Imereti, Georgia; little known.
- 🍇 Tita Imeruli — A local grape from Imereti, Georgia; little is known about it.
- 🍇 Mtsvivani Imeruli — A local grape from Imereti, Georgia; little known.
Similar
📍 Guria · 📍 Lechkhumi · 📍 Samegrelo · 📍 Adjara · 📍 Racha · 📍 Abkhazia
What it includes
Sources
- Georgia.to: Georgia's 29 wine appellations (National Wine Agency catalogue)
- Law of Georgia on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (Matsne)
- CBW: Sazanos Otskhanuri added to Georgian PDO list