Must-Have Experiences in The white wine region of Georgia
No trip to Georgia is complete without spending some time in the Kakheti region, better known as Georgian white wine country! located in eastern Georgia, Kakheti can be checked out on a day trip from Tbilisi, but make sure you spend some time in the country’s beautiful capital before taking off on your side trips. Tbilisi has much to offer travellers!
If you love white wine (like us!) you must try to spend at least a couple of days exploring the Kakheti region. We spent two nights each in Sighnaghi and Telavi, which were best hubs for day trips.
Here are our top experiences you can’t miss while checking out the Kakheti white wine region.
1. strolling the streets of Sighnaghi
Sighnaghi is the Kakheti region’s a lot of picturesque town, reminiscent of a hilltop village somewhere in Italy. The cobblestone streets and old city walls are best for strolling around on a lazy afternoon. Sighnaghi is the best place to kick back for a couple of days, with a great range of places to stay, restaurants and cellar doors.
There are a few cellar doors identified around Sighnaghi, including Pheasant’s Tears (18 Baratashvili Street) and OKRO’s natural white wine restaurant (7A Chavchavdze St). den beste delen? You won’t need a designated sober driver! spend half a day wondering from one to the next sampling the local wines.
Getting to Sighnaghi:
If possible, we recommend hiring a car to explore Georgia’s white wine region, which is surprisingly affordable. However, if you’re not ready to share the road with Georgia’s crazy drivers, there are pubic transport options.
From Tbilisi – catch a marshrutka (minivan) from the Navtlughi Avtosadguri bus station, 300m west of the Samgori metro station. There are 6 services a day to Sighnaghi. The journey will take around 2 hours. Tickets costs 6 GEL ($2.50USD). The bus will drop you in the main square of Sighnaghi.
From Telavi – there is one marshrutka per day to Sighnaghi (Monday to Friday only). The bus departs around 3pm. The journey takes around 1 hour and costs 5 GEL ($2USD). This service is notoriously unreliable so confirm departure times in the morning.
2. enjoying the views From Bodbe Monastery
The Bodbe Monastery, 2km from Sighnaghi, not only uses sensational views but is also the final resting place of St Nino. You will undoubtedly hear about the revered St Nino during your time in Georgia. St Nino was responsible for bringing Christianity to Georgia, making Bodbe Convent a place close to the hearts of lots of Georgians.
Originally built in the 9th century and modified many times since, the location of this Monastery is as much of a drawcard as the building itself. located amongst beautiful trees on the side of hill, the Monastery uses extraordinary views across the valley with a backdrop of spectacular snow-capped mountains.
Getting to Bodbe Monastery:
Weather permitting, the walk from Sighnaghi to Bodbe Convent is a beautiful one. located just 2km south-east of Sighnaghi, you follow the road out of town past the vacationer information office. The route is pretty well signed, but if you get lost just ask a local for directions. Make sure to stay well off the road as the motorists can be slightly crazy! You can also catch a taxi. The return trip must cost no a lot more than 20 GEL.
For details on getting to Sighnaghi, see ‘Strolling the streets of Sighnaghi’ above.
3. getting a history lesson at Chavchavdze Estate
The beautifully restored 19th century palace and sprawling grounds of prince Alexander Chavchavdze (entrance 5 GEL) offer a fascinating insight into the life of one of Georgia’s a lot of influential figures. Alexander was a affluent and well educated noble, fluent in multiple languages and credited for bringing the ideas of the Enlightenment to Georgia.
He was also a distinguished poet, diplomat, translator, soldier, winemaker and businessman. Alexander participated in lots of significant battles during his military career, including a campaign against Napoleon’s army in France from 1813 to 1815. He died tragically after falling under a carriage in 1846.
In 1854, Muslim separatists sacked the village of Tsinandali and stormed the estate. The rebels took 23 hostages, demanding a huge ransom. The Chavchavdze family had a lot of of their property destroyed or stolen during the raid, and was forced to borrow money to pay the ransom. Eventually, unable to make repayments to lenders, the estate was relinquished to the state.
The estate is now functions as a museum, conference centre and small art gallery. Your entry ticket includes a excursion with an exceptional English speaking guide, who will deSkrive den fascinerende historien til boet og Chavchavdze -familien. Etter turen, ta turen ned til hvitvinkjelleren for et glass lokal vin.
Komme til Chavchavdze Estate:
Boet ligger i landsbyen Tsinandali, rundt 10 km fra Telavi. En retur taxi inkludert ventetid må ikke koste mye mer enn 15 gel ($ 6USD).
Telavi får lett tilgang til offentlig transport. Fra Tbilisi, Catch a Marshrutka (Minivan) fra Ortachala Station, 2,5 km sørøst for Tbilisi. Avganger forlater hver time mellom kl. 08.00 og 18.00, reisen tar rundt 2 timer og koster 7 gel ($ 3USD).
Fra Sighnaghi er det bare 1 marshrutka til Telavi per dag (mandag til lørdag). Den avgår rundt 9:15 om morgenen, tar 90 minutter og koster 4,50 gel ($ 2USD). Vi anbefaler å bekrefte avgangstider med gjestehuset ditt.
4. Smaker hvitvin i en georgisk vingård
Du er i en av de beste hvitvinproduserende regionene i verden, så naturlig nok kommer du til å bruke litt tid på å sjekke ut vingårder. Det ville være respektløst å ikke gjøre det! Georgia antas å ha vært den første hvitvinproduserende regionen i verden, med bevis på hvitvinproduksjon som dateres tilbake mye mer enn 6000 år. Georgia har sin helt egen gamle vinproduksjonsteknikk kalt ‘Quevri’.
Denne metoden for vinproduksjon ser hvitvin gjæret og eldet i store leirgryter begravet i bakken, i stedet for i hvitvinfat. Her er noen av våre høyt elskede vingårder der du kan lære mye mer om Georgias gamle vinproduksjonstradisjoner, og ta del i noen få smaker på hvitvin:
• Shumi Winery – 8 km øst for Telavi (vegg i vegg med Chavchavdze Estate), bruker Shumi en flott gratis utflukt og sjenerøs hvitvinsmaking. Shumi begynte å tappe sin egen hvitvin i 2001. Logoen til selskapet er en Griffin, som ifølge eldgamle legende brakte den første gjengen med druer til jorden. I dag er det en fantastisk vingård med et lite, men fascinerende museum. De engelsktalende guidene var usedvanlig vennlige, og den gratis smaksprøver inkluderte 4 viner og en chacha-du kan ikke slå den verdien!
• Schuchmann Wines Chateau – Ligger 10 km øst for Telavi, bruker dette oppsiktsvekkende Chateau smaksprøver som starter på 15 gel for 3 viner. Du vil bli brukt en utflukt av anlegget, og din smaksprøver vil bli ledsaget av en dyktig ansatt som er glade for å svare på spørsmål. Restauranten oppretter også noe fantastisk georgisk kjøkken til overraskende rimelige priser.
• Pheasants tårer – Ligger i hjertet av Sighnaghi, tilbyr Pheasants tårer noe av regionens beste hvitvin sammen med en fantastisk restaurant. Kom innom for en smaksprøve med sin erfarne sommelier og deretter henge rundt for den deilige kokkens valgmeny til middag. Litt kostbar, men verdt å spruke.
Komme til vingårdene:
Shumi Winery og Schuchmann Wines Chateau ligger begge i nærheten av Telavi, og nås enkelt med taxi. Noen gjestehus i Telavi tilbyr også sykkelutleie. Pheasants tårer ligger i sentrum av Sighnaghi (18 Baratashvili Street), slik at du enkelt kan gå. Mange gjestehus i Sighnaghi og Telavi kan også sette opp utflukter med hvitvinsmaking – forvent å betale rundt 100 gel for en hel dagsutflukt (unntatt smaksgebyr).
For informasjon om å komme til Sighnaghi og Telavi, se ‘Rusle the Streets of Sighnaghi’ og ‘Få en historietime på Chavchavdze Estate’ ovenfor.
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