In each country, there is something special for it to be associated with. In Azerbaijan it’s oil, in Ukraine - wheat, and for Georgia it’s, most assuredly, grapes. And, of course, the largest territory of growing grapes is Kakheti and its largest part - Alazani Valley, where more than 500 varieties of vine are cultivated, and another 300 lost ones are being restored. Not to see, not to try, not to taste wine made from those vines means simply not to feel Georgia. That’s why early in the morning we’ll be leaving Tbilisi and heading to Kakhetia, passing through Gombori on the way. The first stop is Telavi, where we visit the royal residence «Batonistsikhe», after which, we continue to Tsinandali (Alexander Chavchavadze’s family manor), where one can learn about the great contribution of members of this family to Georgian culture, science, politics and history. This house-museum is close connected with such names as Pushkin, Lermontov, Alexander Dumas-Sr., Griboyedov, Shamil, Napoleon, several Russian tsars of the Romanov family and many others. Older generation will, probably, remember the famous Georgian brandies called Eniseli and Gremy.  We will visit both of those places, but, first, make a stop at Gremy - the first capital of Kakheti kingdom, and take a look at the only remaining castle in the city. The next stop of our trip to Kakheti is Nekresi. The importance and greatness of this place for Georgia in the fighting against the invaders is simply not assessable. You’ll be sure to enjoy the beauty of the Alazany valley. Qvareli is our next stop. In Uplistsikhe we offered you to try the first of three methods of wine manufacturing in Georgia – the traditional homemade one, and here, in Qvareli you can tour the venture that produces wine according to European standards (the second method of wine making). What’s more – the wine tasting is going to be completely free of charge for you.  And the final stop of our one-day trip - the city of love, named Sighnakhi. We will see a beautiful town that overlooks the Alazani Valley with its vineyards and snow-covered chain of the Caucasus Mountains. We will climb the observation towers of one of the region’s most original, notorious, unusual buildings - Signakhi Fortress. Constructing the walls of the fortress would be difficult even with modern technology. To this day, a lot of questions regarding the reason and initial planning of the construction remain a mystery that’s yet to be solved.

Legend about origins of the city, along with its history and architecture, will be intertwined with tasting Georgian wines of different kinds and brands, which are, to this day, made according to exclusively traditional, old-fashioned way.

 

Another note for your consideration – you pay yourself for the tasting in Marani. The payment is not included, and the decision of how many glasses of wine you wish to try is solely yours. Standard degustation consists of 4 kinds of wine (white, pink, red and black) but you can make it 3 or more. The price is 5 GEL for 1 kind of wine.