Georgian wine Archives - Dr. Liz Thach, MW

Day Four of Georgian Wine Tour – Kakheti Region, Tsinandali Palace and Khareba Winery

(March 2016) I awoke at 6:30am in the large four-poster bed on the top floor of the Hotel Mere castle. A faint light was beckoning beyond the long curtains and I knew dawn was rising over the Caucasus Mountains. Jumping out of bed, I pulled back all of the drapes that covered the floor to ceiling windows, then threw open the doors to step out on the balcony that ran around three sides of my tower room. Then I caught my breath in wonder! The view of the long range of snow-capped Caucasus Mountains was magnificent, with the rosy fingered [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T14:09:51-08:00April 21, 2016|

Day Two of Georgian Wine Tour – Visit the Kartli Region and Chateau Mukhrani

(March 2016) After only about six hours of sleep, it was time to get up, grab some breakfast and jump on the bus to drive about one hour north of Tbilisi to the Kartli wine region. This is one of the oldest wine regions in the country, and is well known for its limestone soils and windy evenings, that promote fresh acids in wine. Hilltop Monestery Taken From Bus Window Guramishvili Historical Wine Cellar The drive was beautiful along a winding river, with views of ancient hilltop monasteries in the distance. Our first stop was Guramishvili Marani with its famous historical [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-12-20T08:32:56-08:00April 18, 2016|

Dinner at Bagrationi Cellars – A Sparkling Wine House

(March 2016) After about a 50 minute drive from the Kartli wine region, we arrived back in Tbilisi to visit the famous Bagrationi Cellars, known for their sparkling wine production. Established in 1882 by Georgian Prince Ivane Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, today they produce around 2 million bottles of sparkling wine made in the traditional method of secondary fermentation in bottle. In addition, they also produce 1.5 million bottles of Charmant. Entry Hall at Bagrationi Sparkling Wine Cellars During the Soviet era, the winery was taken over as a Soviet project and produced millions of cases of sparkling. Indeed the winery cellars [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T14:10:57-08:00April 17, 2016|

Ikalto Academy – The Oldest Winemaking School in the World?

After a stomach churning ride over the Gombori Mountain range between Tbilisi and Telavi, where we stopped along the way to take breathtaking photos of the snowcapped Caucasus mountains in the distance, we arrived at Ikalto Academy. Established in the 6th century, Ikalto Academy is perhaps home to the oldest winemaking school in the world. Some of the members of our group crossing the Gombori Mountains We were greeted by Bishop David who welcomed us in Georgian to the ancient site, while Tina translated. The Bishop explained that the school was founded by Saint Zenon, one of 13 fathers who [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T14:14:09-08:00April 8, 2016|