Tbilisi-Kakheti region and Wine tasting-Tbilisi

Tbilisi-Kakheti region and Wine tasting-Tbilisi

Travel around Kakheti region which is famous for its vineyards and wine factories ,stop on the way at one of the Georgian small houses to taste the homemade cheese and bread .Visit a couple of wineries and a wine factory . Walk around Sighnagi city wall.

Itinerary

10:00 Arrive Kakhetian Traditional Winemakeing Factory

Route Duration: 40 minutes

• Kakheti Highway

Lilo Mall

Operates: 10:00 Arrive Kakhetian Traditional Winemakeing Factory (Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking” is one of the largest wine and spirits producing companies in Georgia and Caucasus region. Established in 2001, KTW produces wine, brandy, sparkling wine and chacha with traditional Georgian techniques mixed with the state of art technologies. This allows company to preserve an old, unique taste of wine and create its own signature style to spread to the world. We will have possibility to visit Wine factory and try 5 type of Georgian wine and 10 years of Brandy. Advices: •Take your bottle of water to drink it between wine tasting. •In a wine factory can be low temperature so take your jackets. •Chkhaveri – White Dry Wine. KTW’s signature wine “Chkhaveri” dates back 1880 to the village Askana, where wine-maker Antimoz Chkhaidze founded one of the most prominent wine-cellars of that period. He used unique grapes to that region and made a brand new wine type. He named it: “Chkhaveri”. •Tvishi – White Semi-sweet Wine. Tvishi is an appellation for wines produced in a 15-square-kilometer zone around Tvishi village in northwestern Georgia. The zone is on the right bank of the Rioni River and includes Alpana village. Tsolikauri Grapes. •Saperavi – Red Dry Wine. Saperavi is known to have been in production since 1886 is a hardy variety, It is known for its ability to handle extremely cold weather and is popular for growing in high altitude and inland regions such as Kakheti. It is an extractive wine with a characteristic bouquet, a harmonious taste, and pleasant astringency. •Kindzmarauli- Red Semi-sweet Wine. Kindzmarauli is a high quality naturally semi-sweet wine of dark-red color. It is made from the Saperavi grape variety cultivated on the slopes of the Caucasian mountains in the Kvareli district of Kakheti. It has a strong characteristic bouquet and aroma, a gentle harmonious and velvety taste. The wonderful taste and curative properties have won Kindzmarauli general recognition. It has been manufactured since 1942. For its supreme qualities Kindzmarauli was 3 gold, 4 silver & 1 bronze medal at international wine competitions. •Mukuzani -Red Dry Wine. Mukuzani is distinct from the other wines made from the same grapes in that it is aged in oak casks for a longer time - at least three years.Mukuzani has a deep red color with a soft smoky scent of oak and berry. The taste begins dry but the oak and fruit flavors quickly come through. As a result of its longer aging, Mukuzani has more complexity than the other wines made from saperavi grapes. It goes particularly well with steaks and dark meats. Mukuzani is considered by many to be the best of the Georgian red wines made from Saperavi. •Khvanchkara – Red Semi-sweet wine. Khvanchkara is a high-end, naturally semi-sweet red wine made from the Alexandria & Mudzhuretuli grape varieties cultivated in the Khvanchkara vineyards in Racha, Western Georgia. The wine has a strong, distinctive bouquet and a well-balanced tannin profile with flavors of raspberry. It has a dark ruby color. Khvanchkara wine is one of the most popular Georgian semi-sweet wines. The wine has been made since 1907. It was awarded 2 gold and 4 silver medals at various international exhibitions.

Sighnaghi

Route Duration: 3 hours

• Sighnaghi

Bodbe Monastery of St. Nino / Sighnaghi Ethnographic Park / Signagi City Walls

Operates: 11:15 Arrive Badiauri, Traditional Bakery ___ ____( Unique opportunity to take part of daily ritual. Try to bake traditional bread by yourself with local expert for miserable price (around 3 Lari) and enjoy own baked bread with several kind of countryside cheese. Georgian cuisine is well-known across the world. One of the most celebrated Georgian foods is Shoti Bread (in Georgian “Shotis Puri”. This canoe-shaped bread is distinguished not only by its taste but also the way it is traditionally baked. It’s a ritual of daily life here. In order to bake Shoti all you need is a mix of flour, water, salt, and yeast. After mixing you should knead the dough, everything is done by hand. That’s the special ingredient,”. Shoti bread is a flat bread soft inside and crispy outside. It is baked vertically in a sunken stone oven (tandoori) known as “Tone” in Georgian. Shotis puri is consumed as an everyday bread, but it is especially popular during festive events such as Easter, Christmas, and birthdays.”) 12:25 Arrive Bodbe Monastery ___ ____( The Monastery of St. Nino at Bodbe is a Georgian Orthodox monastic complex and the seat of the Bishops of Bodbe. Originally built in the 9th century, it has been significantly remodeled, especially in the 17th century. The monastery now functions as a nunnery and is one of the major pilgrimage sites in Georgia, due to its association with St. Nino, the 4th-century female evangelist of Georgians, whose relics are shrined there. The Bodbe Monastery is nested among tall Cypress trees on a steep hillside overlooking the Alazani Valley, where it commands views of the Greater Caucasus mountains.) 13:25 Arrive Sighnaghi, City Of Love ___ ____(Signagi is located in the Kakheti region of Georgia, settled since the Paleolithic period. Although it is one of Georgia's smallest towns, Signagi serves as a popular tourist destination due to its location at the heart of Georgia's wine-growing regions, as well as its picturesque landscapes, pastel houses and narrow, cobblestone streets. Located on a steep hill, Signagi overlooks the vast Alazani Valley, with the Caucasus Mountains visible at a distance. Word Sighnaghi in Turkic languagemeans shelter or trench. Impressive fortress in Signaghi is among the most famous in Georgia, and its defensive city walls make for nearly the largest of the remaining Georgian fortified towns. The fortress was built around 1770 at the times of Kartli-Kakheti King Erekle (Heraclius) II to protect Signaghi. The thoroughly fortified town was surrounded by the defensive walls 4.5-5km long with 28 (according to other sources – 23) watch towers and 8 gates. Each tower of the fortress was named after the nearest village, so that the residents of this village knew where to hide in case of danger and which tower they were to defend. Signagi is known as the "City of Love" for all the weddings it hosts.) 13:25 Lunch Break ___ ____(We will have Lunch break in restaurant located around Central square of Sighnaghi. Restaurant is proud of wonderful Georgian traditional dishes and various options for vegetarian and Hallal. • Advises for those who want to try something representative of the region. The Kakhetian cuisine is considered to be a more "meat-based" cuisine and the "Region of Wine". It is also known as the birth-place of one of the Georgian bread, Tonis Puri. Notable dishes from Kakheti: Mtsvadi (Meat cooked on fire), Chakapuli ( Fresh herbs such as tarragon and meat of sheep or lamb cooked I a white wine), Khashlama (Boiled meat of beef or lamb), Chanakhi (Soup made of lamb eggplant and tomatoes), Chikhirtma (Soup made of chicken meat), Ajapsandali (Kind of ragout made of eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes), and many others. In Kakheti, they made famous desserts such as Churchkhela (Candy made of grape juice, flour and walnuts), Pelamushi (Dessert made of grape juice and folour). Kakheti is also well-known for its wines such as Mukuzan,i Manavi, Akhasheni, Saperavi, Kindzmarauli, etc.

Kvareli

Route Duration: 4 hours

• Kvareli

Tunnel Winery Khareba's / Kindzmarauli Corporation Wine House

Operates: 16:45 Arrive Khareba Winery (Winery Khareba owns an unique and rare wine cellar located in Kvareli, in the Alazani Valley. Carved inside the Caucasus mountains and opened in 1962 for the OIV World Congress, the cellar/tunnel is 7,7 kilometers long. The best wines of the Kakheti region have been stored and aged here for decades. The tunnel preserves a natural temperature of 12-14° Celsius with a humidity rate of 70%; the ideal conditions for wine preservation. Tunnel consists of 2 main and 13 interconnecting 500 meter tunnels. There are two purposes of the tunnel : Tourism and winemaking. The visitor can see more than 25 000 bottles of Winery Khareba premium wines aging there and buy some of them available at unique and amazing inside shop. Winery Khareba has developed a wine infrastructure around the tunnel: a large recreational park with river and old Qvevris, a beautiful old Georgian style water mill, a traditional Georgian bread bakery in "Tones" (clay ovens), Chacha distillation, a traditional press called “Satsnakheli”, a trout-filled lake, “Patskhas” lodges (small traditional houses) and a very large and typical stone fire grill. Guests are provided with the opportunity to taste more than 40 kinds of Winery Khareba wines, bake their own bread, participate to Chacha making process, prepare "Churchkhela" (sweet peanuts and wine made Georgian snack) on the "Mtsvadi" (local name for BBQ). The Winery Khareba harmoniously confluents with nature (there is a waterfall next to it), a beautiful garden with perennial trees, a mountain river, tower and veranda, from where pictures can be taken with open view on Alazani Valley and Kvareli vineyards.) •Live guided tour is included in your package, If you would like to have a tasting you will have to pay difference. 16:45 Arrive Corporation Kindzmarauli (It is place where you will have full and deep information about grape types, soils, difference between Georgian and European winemaking ways, wine-producing, wine-keeping, bottling and aging. Possibility to try four kinds of wines with a professional sommelier.) •Informative Tour in wine factory will be free. In case of Tasting you will pay 2 Lari for each tasted wine. 20:00 Break For Refresh (10 Minutes) (Opportunity to refresh after 2 hours drive. (Coffee, tea, cigarette, restroom or just fresh air.) 21:00 Rose revolution square Hope you had incredible day. Don’t forget to review us on tripadviser.