DISCOVER A COUNTRY OF WINE - GEORGIA

There has been wine in Georgia almost as long as there have been Georgians. Georgia cannot be imagined without wine. In our country you will find about 500 varieties of endemic grape. It is even said that the word "wine" is of Georgian origin and that this is where wine-making first began. All over Georgia, archaeologists have found ancient wine presses and clay vessels, proving that viticulture has been practiced here at least since the 3rd-2nd millennia BC.

Georgians have a special method of making wine in stone presses and then storing it in clay vessels sunk in the ground. Even today many houses in the country have a wine cellar - the so-called "marani" with a wine-press and underground clay jars. These wine jars are called "kvevris" and their presence is betrayed only by the stone slabs with which they are sealed. Unlike the European way of wine-making which implies the separation of juice from grapes after pressing, Georgians keep juice and grapes together for some time before separating them. This is what gives Georgian wine its special flavour and strength.

Wine is an inseparable part of the traditional Georgian feast. At Georgian table toasts are made by a toast-master or "tamada" and wine is drunk from a clay cup or a horn called a "kantsi". Folk songs are also frequently sung at table.

In this tour you travel to the wine-growing region of Kakheti in East Georgia and the province of Imereti where you can taste different wines. You will see for yourself how wine is made and stored in Georgia and of course you will soon become acquainted with the traditions of the Georgian table - making toasts and drinking wine from special vessels.