📍 Kakheti

Kakheti is a region in eastern Georgia and the country's most important wine region. Georgian law lists it as one of ten viticulture zones, with two subzones, Inner and Outer Kakheti. ⁵ Its best vineyards lie in the basins of the Alazani and Iori rivers at 400–700 m. ¹

Land and climate. Vines grow on humus-carbonate, black and alluvial soils, and the agency notes that Kakhetian wine expresses its soil more than any other in Georgia. ¹ On the right bank of the Alazani, in the Tsinandali micro-zone, the sun shines over 2,300 hours a year, the mean temperature is 12.4 °C and about 845 mm of rain falls, with hail the main risk in May and June. ⁸ Across the valley near Kvareli, the river Duruji brings black stone slabs from the Caucasus that warm vineyard soil by 3–5 °C in the daytime. ⁹

Grapes. Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane Kakhuri, Kisi, Khikhvi, Budeshuri, Mtsvivani, Sapena and Kunsi are grown here, as are Saperavi, Tavkveri, Ikalto Red and Cabernet Sauvignon. The most widespread variety is Saperavi, which makes qvevri wine and European-style wine as well as rosé and sparkling wine. ¹

Appellations. Twenty of Georgia's 33 appellations of origin are Kakhetian, among them Tsinandali, Mukuzani, Kindzmarauli, Napareuli, Gurjaani, Kvareli and Akhasheni. ³ Mukuzani, Tsinandali, Akhasheni and Gurjaani were registered on 30 August 2005, Manavi and Kindzmarauli in 2006, most of the others on 10 December 2007, and the newest, Zegaani, on 30 August 2022. ² The EU–Georgia Association Agreement of 2014 protects 18 Georgian wine names in the EU, and 14 of them come from Kakheti. ⁶

The Kakhetian method. Grapes are crushed in a wooden press called satsnakheli and the juice goes into a qvevri together with the skins, stalks and pips; after malolactic fermentation the qvevri is sealed, the first racking comes in March, and the wine then ages for about a year. The result is a wine high in extract, phenolic compounds and tannins. ¹ In Kakheti all the pomace takes part in fermentation, white wine stays on the skins until spring, and qvevri can hold 6,000–8,000 litres. ¹⁰ In 2013 UNESCO inscribed the qvevri method on its list of intangible heritage. ⁴

European style too. Kakhetian grapes also make fine European-style wine, and the agency names Tsinandali from Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane as the classic example. ¹ Its white version is fermented from settled juice at no more than 20 °C, a world away from months on the skins in a qvevri. ⁸

Harvest. In 2025 some 730 companies processed about 340,000 tonnes of grapes in Georgia, the most in 30 years, and a record 327,000 tonnes came from Kakheti; the state company bought surplus Saperavi there for 1.50 lari per kg. ³ By 30 October 2026 Kakheti had processed about 314,500 tonnes, only 0.7% of it low-quality fruit; Saperavi with at least 20% sugar fetched 1.50 lari per kg and Rkatsiteli with at least 19% sugar 1.30 lari. ⁷

History. In 1835 Aleksandre Chavchavadze built a large cellar with a wine laboratory at Tsinandali, and in 1886–1887 a palace, a two-storey cellar and a barrel workshop rose there; Tsinandali wines won top marks in Chicago in 1892. ⁸ Kvareli developed differently: its vineyards were not part of the princely estates, and its naturally semi-sweet Kindzmarauli became stable only after cooling was introduced in 1942. ⁹

Why it matters to you. An appellation such as Tsinandali or Mukuzani names a specific zone and grape, not just any Kakhetian wine. ² Not every Kakhetian wine comes from a qvevri: both traditional and European methods are used, so look for the method on the label. ¹ WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ¹¹