If a guest asks you about Georgian wine and you cannot answer, you are not alone. Here is what you need to know to speak about it with confidence, recommend it intelligently, and explain why it belongs on your list.
Start with the geography
Georgia is a country in the South Caucasus — bordered by Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south, Azerbaijan to the east, and the Black Sea to the west. The primary wine region, Kakheti in eastern Georgia, has a continental climate: hot summers, cold winters, significant diurnal variation. Classic fine wine conditions. The vines here have been growing for 8,000 years.
The key regions
Kakheti — Eastern Georgia, the dominant wine region. Home to most of the finest small producers. The Alazani valley produces the most structured, age-worthy wines.
Imereti — Western Georgia. Traditional qvevri winemaking but shorter skin contact than Kakheti — lighter amber wines and a distinct regional character.
Kartli — Central Georgia, around Tbilisi. Lighter-bodied wines, cooler conditions at elevation.
Racha-Lechkhumi — Mountainous northwest Georgia. Tiny production, some of Georgia's rarest wines. Semi-sweet reds from Alexandrouli grape unlike anything else in the wine world.
The grapes to know
Rkatsiteli — Georgia's most widely planted white variety. High acidity, stone fruit, floral notes. In qvevri with skin contact, produces one of the world's great amber wines.
Saperavi — The great red. Teinturier grape — red flesh, not just red skin. Dark, structured, ageworthy. Food-friendly acidity. The grape most likely to make American buyers sit up straight.
Mtsvane — White variety, often blended with Rkatsiteli. Aromatic, delicate floral qualities.
Chinuri — High-acid white from Kartli with sparkling potential. Interesting for by-the-glass programs wanting something unusual.
Kisi — Rare, sub-regional white from Manavi in Kakheti. The backbone of some of the finest amber qvevri wines, with a honeyed aromatic profile and silky tannin.
Khikhvi — Aromatic white, often made semi-sweet but also vinified dry in qvevri — peach, quince, and acacia blossom notes.
Tsolikouri — Imereti's principal white grape. High acid, citrus-driven, often fermented with minimal intervention.
Aleksandrouli — Rare Racha red grape, historically the backbone of Khvanchkara, one of Georgia's most prestigious wines.
Tavkveri — Light-bodied red from Kartli, often compared to Pinot Noir for its delicacy and transparency.
One grape you won't find anywhere else
Usakhelauri, from Lechkhumi, is planted so sparingly that most bottles never leave Georgia. If you want a list no competitor can replicate, names like this are what do it.
"There are 525+ indigenous Georgian grape varieties. Start with Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, and Mtsvane. That is enough to have a serious conversation."
Lead with the origin story: 8,000 years of winemaking, the oldest documented wine culture in the world, a method UNESCO considers protected cultural heritage. Then move to what is in the glass. Georgian wine sells itself once someone has tasted it. Your job is to get the glass in front of them.
Written by Nick Russell
