Georgia · 6 days · 6–10 people
Western Georgia: Imereti, Racha and the other qvevri
Six-day wine tour, Kutaisi to Tbilisi, with sommelier Dante Minutello: garden qvevri in Imereti, Khvanchkara cellars in Racha and the western Georgian table.
Topics
Qvevri
Tours
Georgia · 7 days · 6–10 people
Georgia: Kakheti, qvevri and the long table
Seven days from Tbilisi with sommelier Dante Minutello: a small-group wine tour of Kakheti and Kartli, Georgia, from qvevri maranis to a palace and the supra.
ArmeniaGeorgia · 11 days · 6–10 people
Armenia and Georgia: two cradles of wine in eleven days
Eleven-day wine tour from Yerevan to Tbilisi with sommelier Dante Minutello: karas and qvevri cellars, Areni Noir and Saperavi, tables in Armenia and Georgia.
Winemaker stories
Czechia · Znojmo Biodynamic
Petr Nejedlík and the qvevri buried near Znojmo
Dobrá Vinice at Nový Šaldorf, Znojmo, Czechia: winemaker Petr Nejedlík farms 16 hectares biodynamically in Podyjí and ages Grüner Veltliner in Georgian qvevri.
Italy · Friuli Natural
Joško Gravner and the qvevri of Oslavia
Gravner in Oslavia, Friuli Collio, Italy: Ribolla Gialla six months on skins in Georgian qvevri, six years in botti, and a winemaker who lets time do the work.
Georgia · Imereti Natural
Baia Abuladze and the churi of Obcha
Baia's Wine, Obcha, Imereti, Georgia: Tsitska, Tsolikouri and Krakhuna from churi buried in a village yard, and the young winemaker who put Obcha on a label.
Georgia · Kakheti Classic
Gogi Dakishvili and the two cellars of Kisiskhevi
Schuchmann Wines in Kisiskhevi, Kakheti, Georgia: winemaker Giorgi Dakishvili makes Saperavi and Kisi in steel and oak, and as Vinoterra in qvevri, near Telavi.
Georgia · Imereti Natural
Ramaz Nikoladze and the qvevri in a garden near Kutaisi
Nikoladzeebis Marani, Nakhshirghele, Imereti, Georgia: winemaker Ramaz Nikoladze's Tsitska from qvevri in a garden, a fifth of the skins, no added sulfur.
Georgia · Kartli Natural
Iago Bitarishvili and the two Chinuris of Chardakhi
Winemaker Iago Bitarishvili in Chardakhi, Kartli, Georgia: two hectares of Chinuri in qvevri, organic since 2005, one grape made with and without skins.
Georgia · Kakheti Natural
John Wurdeman and the qvevri of Pheasant's Tears
Pheasant's Tears in Sighnaghi, Kakheti, Georgia: a painter, a grower, amber Rkatsiteli from buried qvevri, a 117-grape field blend and a winemaker who sings.
Wine knowledge
history · qvevri
Eight thousand years of wine: Gadachrili Gora and Areni-1
Georgia's Gadachrili Gora jars and Armenia's Areni-1 cave winery: how they were dated, what residue chemistry proves, and where my wine tours visit them.
saperavi · rkatsiteli
Saperavi and Rkatsiteli: the two pillars of Georgian wine
What Saperavi and Rkatsiteli are, how Kakheti turns them into Tsinandali, Mukuzani and amber qvevri wine, and where I pour them on my Georgia wine tours.
qvevri · karas
Qvevri, karas, amphora: clay across the wine world
How Georgian qvevri, Armenian karas and Italian amphorae differ, what clay does to a wine, and where I pour them on my wine tours in Kakheti and Vayots Dzor.
Tell me where you want to drink
Write in any of my five languages. I answer personally, usually within a day.
Dante replies personally, usually within a day, in English, Russian, Czech, Armenian or Italian.