A Georgia story

According to an ancient legend, Georgian soldiers kept a sprig of vine inside their armor, so that if they died in battle, a vine would sprout from their hearts.
Our journey in the cradle of wine tells us, in every corner, every glance and during every meal, the unbridled desire of the Georgians to occupy a special place on the world wine scene. In this land, wine was already produced 8,000 years ago. A strong, generous and romantic soul guides the winemakers with a handmade approach.
Fermentation took place in large terracotta amphoras called qvevri. And it is precisely within these ancient vessels that archaeologists discovered the remains of prehistoric winemaking in 2015, confirming what every Georgian had known for a long time: that they were the inventors of the nectar that later became the nectar of Bacchus, but which today, in the West, we all call with a term of probable Georgian origin, ghvino.
Thanks to a climate perfectly suited to the cultivation of vines, the ancient inhabitants of Georgia laid the foundations of viticulture, which soon became part of a millennia-old culture and the driving force behind the development of a civilization whose traces have never been lost, despite the continuous and numerous invasions that have threatened this borderland to this day.
Everywhere on our Georgian journey we encountered what Master of Wine Lisa Granik in her book The Wines of Georgia calls: “the remains of the ghostly Soviet industrial cellars.” However, no invader managed to undermine the soul of the country, feeding instead a pronounced national pride. Even Georgian wine has resisted modernity thanks to the tenacity and pride of a people who have intertwined their lives with the vine, which has become a symbol of resistance, rebirth, and prosperity.
It is no coincidence that Georgia is “the only country in the world where the winemaking methods developed 8,000 years ago have not only never been abandoned, but remain in many ways the best practices,” wrote journalist Andrew Jefford in the Financial Times.
Inside the so-called Marani cellar, the qvevri are still buried and used for the production of white and red wines using the prolonged maceration technique, which involves the contact of the grape skins with the juice, giving the wines made from white grapes an amber-colored, tending to orange hue, emblematic of Georgian winemaking, but also of a handmade and non-standardized way of making wine. These amber wines, elsewhere dubbed “orange wines”, are characterized by complexity, depth, and, above all, by a tannin texture that is usually imperceptible in classic white wines.
The cradle of wine is today the champion of a rediscovered trend linked to the naturalness of the wine-making process, which is leading it to become one of the most popular destinations among wine enthusiasts. In 2013, the vinification in qvevri tanks was recognized by UNESCO as a “Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” while since 2021, the typical amphorae have enjoyed the status of a Protected Geographical Indication (IGP), which legally establishes Georgia as the place of origin and codifies its shape, capacity, raw materials, and production method; it was the first non-food product to be classified as an IGP.
Furthermore, the Georgians managed to protect and preserve over 550 varieties of grapes from extinction, continuing to produce wine in the secret cellars hidden in many houses, so that today there are more than 100,000 family wineries throughout the country.
The winemaker here is considered a guardian of history, a warrior who has fought for centuries to protect his heritage, and an archaeologist who digs deep into the earth to plant vines and amphorae and bring his traditions to light. Thus wine becomes ritual, visceral and at the same time spiritual: a renewed authenticity of millennia-old traditions.
From war to celebration, from myths to rituals, our journey to the cradle of wine concludes with participation in a Supra, a festival rich in dishes of all kinds and, of course, excellent wine. And so, one toast after another, welcomed by an incredibly hospitable and warm-hearted people, Georgian wine began to flow into our veins as well. A journey to be savored, among antiquity, identity, and new authenticity.

Family Winery

The manifesto: the people, the project, the hospitality
In the Imereti region, also known as “the little Tuscany”, there are many points of contact between Georgian tradition and the Italian style. With Kutaisi as its capital, the Imereti region of western Georgia is the second most productive wine region and plays an equally important role in preserving the wine heritage. Rich in small and authentic wineries, Imereti is the perfect place to discover the Georgia of wine.
As we head towards the Black Sea, the climate becomes cooler and wetter than in the eastern part of the country, and the wines take on characteristics of freshness, lightness and elegance, balanced by a range of deep and vibrant flavors and aromas. Here, a young Georgian family has chosen to return to their roots and embark on a new project of life driven by the need to honor the immense Georgian wine heritage and inspired by the sharing of wines and genuine moments. Rurality and conviviality represent the true luxury of the small things.
The Georgians, like the Italians, cultivated not only wine but also a culture of wine that permeates history, literature, moments of celebration and everyday life. The desire to share their traditions in the most authentic and profound way is unstoppable. The creation of a new winery is the confirmation of a reappropriation of identity that is now celebrated worldwide through exports, but also through enoturism, an increasingly flourishing industry in the country.
Various wineries are adopting the Georgian spirit and techniques for the production of their wines. In the Italian territory on the border with Slovenia, a group of producers inspired by the research work of Josko Gravner have in recent decades brought consumers closer to the knowledge of conscious viticulture through the export of the ancient methods of vinification in amphorae.
But Georgia is also exporting a female vision of wine to the world: a femininity that starts from the concept of family creation and union, but above all as an embodiment of ideals of strength, resilience and nature. Even the colossal statue of Kartlis Deda, or Mother Georgia, which dominates the capital Tbilisi from above, holds a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other, symbols of a combative and warm-hearted people where the woman has always been a symbol of freedom.
In addition to being one of the oldest languages in the world, Georgian has a peculiarity that is not accidental: it has no gender distinction; even pronouns are neutral. Its sound is also distinctive at least as much as the writing itself, with rounded letters resembling tiny little twigs, or the tufts with which the vine clings to its support.
In the same way, clinging to a tradition of the country, but above all of the family, the new brand will be characterized by the production of wines that are thousands of years old but with the flavor of a story just beginning and still to be discovered through a project of modern, unique, and experiential hospitality. Georgia and Tuscany meet in the Imereti region, united by the green and sweet hills that crisscross both territories, but above all by the sense of beauty and history that illuminates everything.