Georgia Food & Wine Tour

There have been pro-democracy and pro-Europe protests at night in Tbilisi and some other cities. These have limited affect on the daily lives of tourists and locals at this point. In fact, the US State Department still has Georgia at Level 1 (standard) on its travel advisory scale, simply advising people to avoid protest areas at night. Our tour is still on, the situation will change, we will continue to monitor what is happening, and we will not run this tour if we believe it to be unsafe, in which case registered travelers will receive their money back. We strongly support the protesters and you will too once you have been immersed in Georgian culture.

Georgia (the country) is one of the hottest destinations for food and wine travel on the globe.

Georgian wine is well known in the wine industry because of its history, production methods, and varietals. The earliest known evidence of winemaking, anywhere on the globe, is from 8,000 years ago in what is now Georgia. The country is literally the birthplace of wine. But even more special are the methods many local winemakers use that have been passed down, generation by generation, for all of those 8,000 years. Georgia is known both for its “natural wine” (without additives) and for its unique fermentation in quevri, underground clay vessels. And the capstone is that Georgia has over 350 native grape varietals – most of which you have never tasted in your life.

But the food in Georgia is equally amazing. Because it is intrinsically tied into the Georgian culture, most dinners are served family style and often have a “host”. We’ll experience that when eating at wineries or in the homes of local villagers. The cuisine itself is full of local, fresh foods and spices. Vegetables are ubiquitous but are incorporated into dishes rather than served on their own. You’ll love eating Georgian food but we’ll go beyond that by visiting a farmer’s market, a bazaar, a cheese manufacturer, and a honey producer.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Georgia is the welcoming nature of the people. Georgians are very proud of and love to show off their country. Safety is really not an issue and you will go home with bragging rights to having visited a country most of your friends can’t find on a map but also with warm feelings about all the Georgian friends you made in your short visit.

Tour Details

• Private Tour Only: Choose Your Own Dates
• Trip Price Per Person: $5,950
• Single supplement: $850
• Group Maximum: 4 people
• Host: Tamara Natenadze
  
• Meals: All breakfasts, nine lunches, and seven dinners
• General Tour FAQs

PRIVATE TOUR BOOKINGS

• Minimum group size is only four people
• Private Tours are available to book with your own group on any date you choose, given guide and lodging availability
• Our pricing is based on double occupancy lodging. If upon finalizing your private trip, your group has a solo traveler in a room without a roommate, the single supplement becomes mandatory.
• Customizations to the itinerary are possible with additional per person fees

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Day 1 > Tbilisi

Welcome to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. You are free to fly into Tbilisi at any time of the day today. It is easy to take a taxi or use a ride share service to get into the city but we can also arrange a private transfer for you at additional cost. Because flights arrive at all different times of the day, we have nothing scheduled. You can check into our downtown hotel, which is perfectly located to be in the heart of the historic center but on a quiet street. Tbilisi is very safe and you will have no problem wandering the streets on your own, stopping into a restaurant for your first taste of Georgian food, and perhaps having a glass of the famous Georgian wine that is so prominently advertised in practically every local restaurant. We will send you more information on flights and arrival information in an electronic Pre-Departure Packet.

Day 2 > Tbilisi

A breakfast buffet is included with our hotel and you have the option to order one of the hot dishes from the menu, including several typical Georgian breakfast specialties. We’ll then meet our local guide (a Taste Vacations guide will be added for larger groups) for introductions and then a walking tour of Old Tbilisi including sights such as Metekhi church, the Bath House area, and Narikala castle. We’ll eat lunch in a local cafe – our first taste of family-style eating that is so common here – and afterward visit the National Museum of History. This is an excellent way to learn about the area, from the first hominim fossil finds dating to 1.8 million years ago (making this region a cradle of civilization) to the era of Soviet occupation. Remember, everything is optional so you can skip out and rest at the hotel if you wish! In the evening we’ll do a wine tasting at Vino Underground, the first all-natural wine bar in the country, followed by dinner at Cafe Litteri, one of our favorite local restaurants.

Day 3 > Sighnaghi

This morning after breakfast we check out and transfer to Khaketi, the largest wine grape growing region in the country. We’ll stop into a small, family-owned winery where we’ll see the underground quevri wine fermentation vessels, learn about the natural local production methods, and taste wines. This first stop will blow your preconceptions away – think home winemaker more than California winery. We’ll continue on to the town of Sighnaghi where we’ll visit Lost Ridge Inn & Brewery where we’ll forage for local herbs, do a cooking class using those herbs to make our lunch, and have a tasting of the inn’s craft beers. All this by mid-afternoon. We’ll make a brief stop at Bodbe Monastery, check into our hotel in Sighnaghi, and then do a walking tour of this fun small city that is a great place to buy souvenirs. Dinner this evening is at the Kerovani winery, where we’ll meet and dine with the owner Archil.

Day 4 > Sighnaghi

This morning will be leisurely, with breakfast at the hotel on your own schedule and departure not until 10:00 AM. Our first stop will be the local Sighnaghi Museum of Local Lore, which has archeological finds from the area plus primitivist paintings from a local artist. It is a great way to learn about Georgian’s ancient history with a specialty on this eastern region. We’ll then head to the small Cherkeza vineyards to learn about grape growing and the Zedashe winery for a tasting and lunch. This is a small, family-owned winery that has high quality white and red wines. In the afternoon we’ll stop by the Khirsa Monastery, from medieval times and located in the small village of Tibaani, to learn about the importance of the Catholic religion to this country. We’ll enjoy a few hours of leisure back in the hotel or you can choose to wander around Shigatse. Then in the evening, we’ll visit famous Pheasant’s Tears Winery (which is leading the country’s revolution in natural winemaking) for a wine-pairing dinner. Pheasant’s Tears was founded by an American who has been living in Georgia for almost 30 years.

Day 5 > Telavi

Today after breakfast we will pack up and check out before departing for the city of Telavi. Although the main city of the Khaketi region, the city has only around 20,000 in inhabitants. Regardless, the covered bazaar (like a farmers market) is amazing, with hundreds of stalls offering fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, and spices as well as many other goods. We’ll wander the stalls and perhaps buy a few items to take home. (The spices are a great purchase.) It is then off to the Lagazi winery, where we will meet the owner, Shota. Not only does Shota produce wine, he also mills and bakes with his own ancient grains and experiments with preservation and fermentation of various foods. We’ll taste his wines and enjoy a delicious lunch of traditional foods from the area. In the afternoon we’ll visit the Alaverdi St. George Cathedral, which was built in the 11th century (when the Crusades were happening) but is on construction dating from the 6th century. We’ll then visit a local artisan cheese producer for a tasting before checking into our hotel in Telavi. Dinner tonight is on your own and you might choose to eat pizza or pasta in the hotel’s Italian restaurant if you are ready for a change of cuisine.

Day 6 > Ateni

We move hotels again today, so it is a morning of packing, eating breakfast (the hotel’s buffet is amazing), and checking out. We leave the eastern Khaketi region for central Georgia, with our first stop being the monastery of Jvari. This beautiful 11th century church is located on a hilltop overlooking the Mtkvari and Aragvi river valleys below – the views themselves are worth the visit. We’ll then visit the Ionas Bee Farm to learn about their bee farming and honey production, with a taste of the sweet product at the end. Our morning wraps up with a stop into the winery of Iago Bitarishvili, who specializes in making wines from the Chinuri grape. (He was labeled the “Wizard of Chinuri” by wine writer Alice Feiring.) We’ll join Iago for lunch and a tasting. After lunch we continue on to the Uplistsikhe Cave Town, an amazing complex that was inhabited as early as the 1st century BCE. We’ll wander around and learn about the area viewing a pagan temple, water supply system, secret tunnel, market, and the remains of Georgia’s oldest theater, complete with auditorium, stage and orchestra pit. After a long day we check into our hotel, Nika Vacheishvili’s Guesthouse. While the guesthouse itself is simple, the hospitality is grand. We’ll dine on property, meet Niko, tour his own small winery, and possibly get to taste his chacha, a style of Georgian homemade brandy.

Day 7 > Kutaisi

This morning we head west again, leaving central Georgia and entering western Georgia. The distinction is important, as culture, foods, wines, and even dialects are different as we move west. Our first stop en route is the small village of Makatubani and the Qvevri maker Zaliko Bojadze. Zaliko will demonstrate how he creates – by hand – these famous clay vessels used in Georgia for wine fermentation. We’ll continue west and stop next at the Rdzlebi restaurant. We’ll meet chef Keto Puturidze and watch a demonstration of how to cook several dishes from this region of Imereti, such as the famous khachapuri, cheese-filled bread that is delicious and ubiquitous. This will be followed by lunch paired with wine from the Gogita Makaridze winery. Our next stop will be the winery of Baia and Gvantsa Abuladze, two sisters who are carrying on the winemaking tradition of their grandparents. We will do our final shuttle to the city of Kutaisi where we will check into our hotel and then take a walk through the city to dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 8 > Lechkhumi

After breakfast we’ll take a walk to the Kutaisi farmer’s market. Kutais, one of the oldest continually-inhabited cities in the world, is also the third largest in Georgia. So this is not like your weekly farmer’s market at home but is a daily market that connects farmers and other food producers to the purchasing public. We then depart north for the Lechkhumi wine region. The region is nestled up against the Caucasus Mountains and, although it is one of the smallest in Georgia, is also one of the most important. We’ll stop into a local winery to learn about local grape growing and taste the wines. We’ll then visit the historic site where two brothers, the lords David and Constantine Mkheidze, were captured by an invading Arab army and tortured for refusing to convert to Islam. After this historic lesson, we’ll stop by Agro House Korena, where we’ll do a cooking lesson and learn to bake chicken with Bajhe sauce made from walnuts. We’ll eat dinner in the restaurant and then make our way back to our hotel in Kutaisi.

Day 9 > Samegrelo

This morning we do not have to check out once again. After breakfast we’ll shuttle further west to the province of Samegrelo, so far west that it juts against the Black Sea separating Georgia from Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria. Our first stop is the beautiful Martvili Canyon, formed by the Abasha River. We’lll take a short boat ride down the river to enjoy the waters of the river, which can appear deep blue or even green, depending on the time of day, and contrast vividly with the white limestone cliffs on either side. We’ll then visit Zaza Gagua’s wine cellar in the village of Targameuli. Zaza is a director of the protected areas and national parks of the region but he is very passionate about wines. We’ll taste a selection of wines grown from grapes endemic to the region and then enjoy lunch featuring traditional Megrelian recipes. We’ll then visit, of all things, a tea plantation where we’ll learn about this crop and, if we are lucky, even try our hand at picking tea leaves. It is then back to Kutaisi. This evening is free on your own to enjoy one of the many restaurants in the city.

Day 10 > Tbilisi

This morning after breakfast we will check out and shuttle to the Vani Archeological Site. Vani was an ancient city that existed for eight centuries from the 8th through the 1st centuries BCE. That is 2,800 years ago. The attached museum houses findings from the site excavations including gold, silver, and bronze instruments. It is then back to modern day and the small village of Zeindari, where we will visit the Igavi Wine Cellar. Igavi is run by an Englishman, Aidan, who fell in love with the country and never left. We’ll enjoy lunch with Aidan and tour his marani (winery), a true blend of traditional Georgian and Western winemaking technology and techniques. In the afternoon we make the drive back to Tbilisi where we check into our hotel, back where we started. In the evening we’ll have a final farewell “supra”, or banquet dinner, accompanied by polyphonic singing. In Georgian music, polyphonic singing is a very old tradition in which the singer manipulates the vocal chords to produce second, underlying notes to the main tune. It is important culturally to Georgia and recognized as a cultural heirloom by UNESCO.

Day 11 > Departure

Breakfast is at at Tbilisi hotel. You are free to depart at any time of the day needed to catch your onward flight. It is easy to arrange a taxi via the hotel or use a ride sharing app to get to the airport. Alternatively, we can arrange a private shuttle for you at an additional price.

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Nights 1, 2, and 10: Makmani Hotel (Tbilisi) This boutique hotel is perfectly situated only a short walk from the heart of old Tbilisi and yet on a quiet side street. The rooms are modern and updated. The staff is friendly. The breakfast is excellent.

Nights 3 & 4: Kabadoni Hotel (Sighnaghi) This is another small, boutique hotel. Located in the heart of Sighnaghi, you can walk out the door and down the main street of this town. Looking out the back, you’ll see vineyards in the valley below the hilltop town. The hotel’s interior blends modern and ancient Georgian motifs.

Night 5: Holiday Inn Telavi (Telavi) This is not your typical Holiday Inn. It is a modern, upscale hotel located in the heart of Telavi. Dinner this evening is on your own and you can choose to eat in one of the hotel’s two restaurants (one Georgian and one Italian) or wander the streets of Telavi from our central location.

Night 6: Nika Vacheishvili’s Guesthouse (Ateni) The guesthouse is not fancy and is located in the countryside, far from any town. But the ambiance is amazing and the welcome is pure Georgian. We’ll dine al fresco, sip Nika’s wines, tour his wine cellar, and possibly wash it all down with homemade chacha, a style of Georgian brandy.

Nights 7, 8, & 9: Hotel Newport (Kutaisi) This modern-four-star hotel is built in a former courthouse building located in the center of the city. You will love the rooftop terrace with views over the city but also the many nearby shops, restaurants, and bars for when we have a few hours of free time in Kutaisi.

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