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Georgia

Kakheti

48 000 ha under vine

Soils
Cinnamon-brown alluvial loams of the Alazani valley beneath the Caucasus
Climate
Moderate continental, shielded by the Great Caucasus; long dry autumns

On the map

Kakheti — 48 000 haLanguedoc — 220 000 haBordeaux — 110 000 haSicily — 98 000 haVeneto — 96 000 haPuglia — 87 000 haSouthern Rhône — 66 000 haRioja — 66 000 haTuscany — 60 000 haLoire Valley — 57 000 haEmilia-Romagna — 50 000 haSouth-West France — 45 000 haPiedmont — 43 000 haDouro — 43 000 haChampagne — 34 000 haAbruzzo — 33 000 haUtiel-Requena — 32 000 haBurgundy — 29 500 haProvence — 27 000 haSardinia — 27 000 haFriuli — 25 000 haRibera del Duero — 25 000 haPenedès — 25 000 haPfalz — 23 000 haCampania — 23 000 haAlentejo — 22 000 haMinho — 21 000 haRueda — 20 000 haDão — 20 000 haMarche — 16 000 haAlsace — 15 600 haBeaujolais — 13 500 haBurgenland — 13 000 haUmbria — 12 000 haCalabria — 9 000 haMosel — 8 800 haDalmatia — 8 000 haJerez — 7 000 haCyprus — 7 000 haAttica — 6 500 haFranken — 6 100 haCorsica — 6 000 haTokaj — 5 800 haAlto Adige — 5 600 haValais — 4 800 haNorthern Rhône — 4 400 haRías Baixas — 4 300 haNahe — 4 200 haSussex & Kent — 4 000 haRheingau — 3 200 haBierzo — 3 000 haNemea — 3 000 haSavoie — 2 200 haJura — 2 000 haPriorat — 2 000 haWachau — 1 350 haValdeorras — 1 300 haSantorini — 1 100 haNaoussa — 700 haMadeira — 450 haColares — 20 haKakhetiLanguedocBordeauxSicilyVenetoPugliaSouthern RhôneRiojaTuscanyLoire ValleyEmilia-RomagnaSouth-West FrancePiedmontDouroChampagneAbruzzoUtiel-RequenaBurgundyProvenceSardiniaFriuliRibera del DueroPenedèsPfalzCampaniaAlentejoMinhoRuedaDãoMarcheAlsaceBeaujolaisBurgenlandUmbriaCalabriaMoselDalmatiaJerezCyprusAtticaFrankenCorsicaTokajAlto AdigeValaisNorthern RhôneRías BaixasNaheSussex & KentRheingauBierzoNemeaSavoieJuraPrioratWachauValdeorrasSantoriniNaoussaMadeiraColares
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

The world's oldest continuous wine culture: pottery residues from Gadachrili Gora, in Georgia's south, have been dated to around 6000 BC, and Kakheti — the country's eastern wine heartland along the Alazani valley — has never stopped. Wine is still made as it was then, fermented on the skins in qvevri, beeswax-lined clay vessels buried to the neck, a method UNESCO inscribed in 2013.

Wine structures Georgian life: the supra feast, guided by its toastmaster, the tamada, is unthinkable without it. The Tsinandali estate, founded by the poet-prince Alexander Chavchavadze in 1835, brought European-style bottling to Kakheti; the Soviet era turned the valley into a bulk supplier; and since independence a craft revival of qvevri wine and Saperavi has carried Georgia back onto the world's tables.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Qvevri Saperavi Red wine Qvevri Amber Wine Dry white

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 75The Monastic Middle Ages — 50Exploration & the Fortified Age — 30Classifications & the Golden Age — 25Phylloxera & the World Crises — 20The Modern & New World Era — 45Antiquity75500150017001875195045
Origins & Antiquity Antiquity The Monastic Middle Ages 500 Exploration & the Fortified Age 1500 Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950