Racha Lechkhumi wine

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Western Georgia Wine Tour: Discover Georgia’s Rarest Wines

Price for one tour per person

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tour features

Tour Duration: 5 Days

Tour Location:Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi

Tour highlights:

Tour is available Whole year

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While the world discovers Kakheti’s Saperavi and Rkatsiteli, Western Georgia guards wine secrets that even many Georgians haven’t tasted. This is where Georgia’s most expensive wine grows on a single mountain slope, where semi-sweet reds preceded European dessert wines by millennia, and where family winemakers still cultivate grape varieties that exist nowhere else on earth.

This five-day journey takes you deep into the humid, mountainous regions of Racha, Lechkhumi, and Imereti territories that produce wines as different from Eastern Georgia as Burgundy is from Rioja. You’ll cross mountain passes at 1,500 meters, drive rutted roads to remote vineyards, taste wines that cost €200 per bottle in Tbilisi restaurants, and meet winemakers whose families have cultivated the same slopes for centuries.

This isn’t a tour for those seeking comfort and predictability. It’s for wine lovers who want to taste something genuinely rare, travelers who appreciate that the best experiences require effort, and anyone curious about why Georgia’s western wines remain one of the country’s best-kept secrets.

Why Western Georgia Wines Are Different

Geography creates personality in wine, and Western Georgia’s geography couldn’t be more different from Kakheti’s sun-drenched valleys. Here, the Caucasus Mountains trap humid air from the Black Sea, creating a subtropical climate where vines grow lush and grapes develop differently. While Kakheti produces bold, tannic dry wines perfect for qvevri aging, Western Georgia naturally produces semi-sweet wines not through added sugar, but from grapes so rich in natural sugars that they retain sweetness even after fermentation.

The Racha-Lechkhumi region specializes in naturally semi-sweet wines that earned international recognition in the 19th century when Russian aristocrats declared Khvanchkara their favorite. Stalin’s preference for Khvanchkara made it famous, but the wine’s quality keeps it relevant. Small production volumes mean these bottles rarely leave Georgia, and when they do, prices reflect their scarcity.

Usakhelauri, grown only on the western slopes of Khvamli Mountain in microclimates so specific that attempts to cultivate it elsewhere have failed, produces Georgia’s most expensive wine. A single bottle can cost 300-500 GEL (€100-180) in Tbilisi. The grapes require intensive hand labor, yields are tiny, and the resulting wine is deep red, aromatic, and naturally sweet tasting like nothing else. Its Georgian name means “nameless,” though whether this refers to its rarity or its indescribable character remains debated.

Tvishi, another naturally semi-sweet white wine, comes from Tsolikauri grapes that thrive in Lechkhumi’s narrow gorges. Delicate, floral, balanced, it’s the wine that converts people who claim they don’t like sweet wines. Production stays small, quality remains high, and outside Lechkhumi itself, finding authentic Tvishi requires effort.

Western Georgia Wine Western Georgia WineTour Highlights

  • Rare wines you’ll taste: Khvanchkara (Stalin’s favorite red), Usakhelauri (Georgia’s most expensive wine), Tvishi (semi-sweet white from Lechkhumi), Aladasturi, Ojaleshi, plus Western Georgian amber wine Krakhuna

  • Exclusive access: Family winemakers in Terjola, Chateau Dio estate, mountain vineyards not accessible to large groups, traditional qvevri cellars in Imereti

  • UNESCO Heritage: Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery, both representing pinnacles of Georgian medieval architecture

  • Mountain adventures: Nakerala Pass (1,500m) with Kolkheti valley panoramas, Orbeli Pass crossing, off-road drive to Mount Orkhvi for St. George Church ruins

  • Natural wonders: Shaori reservoir, Dzusa waterfall, twin waterfalls Gvirishi and Nikordziri, dramatic Kinchkha waterfall (70m), Lomina falls, Okatse Canyon

  • Cultural insights: Nikortsminda Church with unique medieval frescoes, Racha’s winemaking micro-zones, Lechkhumi’s preserved traditions

  • Authentic cuisine: Traditional Western Georgian dishes paired with regional wines, outdoor barbecue in Tvishi village, dinners at family wineries

5-Day Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Kutaisi to Terjola - Introduction to Western Wine Culture

Your journey begins in Kutaisi, Georgia’s ancient capital and third-largest city, where morning light reveals Bagrati Cathedral dominating the skyline. Built in the 11th century under King Bagrat III, the monarch who unified Georgia, the cathedral stands as both an architectural masterpiece and a symbol of national identity. Recent restoration sparked controversy among preservationists, but the views over Kutaisi and the Rioni River remain spectacular.

A short drive brings you to Gelati Monastery, another UNESCO site and perhaps the most important monastery in Georgian history. King David the Builder established Gelati as Georgia’s intellectual center in the 12th century, founding an academy that taught philosophy, theology, and sciences. The mosaics and frescoes inside represent Georgian medieval art at its finest. Your guide explains why David requested burial not inside the church, but under the gateway where every monk would walk over him an act of humility from Georgia’s greatest king.

The day shifts from cultural immersion to natural beauty at Dzusa waterfall, where the Rioni River cascades through forested gorges. Then the character of the journey changes as you reach Terjola, entering a wine country that operates on different rhythms than famous Kakheti.

Your first winery welcomes you with the kind of hospitality that defines Western Georgia. Here you’ll taste wines that reveal the region’s personality: Tsitska, a fresh dry white with minerality and citrus; Krakhuna, an amber wine fermented with skins that develops complex nutty, honeyed notes; and Otskhanuri Sapere, a semi-sweet red that shows how Western Georgia’s climate creates natural sweetness without cloying.

Dinner at the winery pairs these wines with Imeretian cuisine khachapuri (the western version is flatter and less cheesy than Adjarian or Megrelian styles), lobio (bean stew), shkmeruli (chicken in garlic cream sauce), and seasonal vegetables. You’ll overnight here, falling asleep in wine country silence broken only by night birds and the occasional dog barking in distant villages.

The drive to Racha ranks among Georgia’s most scenic journeys. Nakerala Pass climbs to 1,500 meters, revealing sweeping views over the Kolkheti valley toward the Black Sea coast. On clear days, the contrast between humid lowlands and alpine heights creates an atmospheric perspective that photographers dream about. The landscape shifts from subtropical to mountain forest as you climb, then opens dramatically as you descend toward Racha.

Shaori reservoir appears like a mountain jewel, an artificial lake created in Soviet times that now serves as both a hydroelectric resource and an accidental beauty spot. The surrounding peaks reflect in still water when the weather cooperates.

Before reaching Racha’s wine heartland, a detour brings you to Nikortsminda Church, an 11th-century masterpiece whose exterior stone carving and interior frescoes represent Georgian ecclesiastical art at its pinnacle. The church sits in a village that time seems to have bypassed, where old women in headscarves tend gardens and cows graze near medieval walls.

Ambrolauri, Racha’s modest capital, serves as a gateway to the Khvanchkara micro-zone. The Rioni valley here creates conditions found nowhere else: specific soil composition, precise elevation, and microclimate influenced by surrounding peaks. Only in this small zone do Alexandrouli and Mujuretuli grapes develop the characteristics that produce authentic Khvanchkara naturally semi-sweet, ruby-red, with notes of raspberry and pomegranate, balanced acidity preventing cloying sweetness.

Soviet-era mass production and post-independence fraud damaged Khvanchkara’s reputation (many bottles sold as Khvanchkara contain cheaper blends), but quality producers maintain standards that earned this wine imperial favor. The micro-zone’s limited size means annual production stays small, and real Khvanchkara commands prices reflecting its scarcity.

Chateau Dio, where you’ll spend the evening and night, represents the new generation of Georgian winemaking, young vintners applying technical knowledge while respecting tradition. The estate’s location offers views over Khvanchkara vineyards, and dinner here pairs the estate’s wines with Rachian cuisine, known for being richer and heartier than other Georgian regions. Rachian ham, aged cheese, lobiani (bean-filled bread), and kubdari (meat-filled bread) provide substance for wine appreciation that continues into the evening.

Today ventures into Lechkhumi, a region so remote that even most Georgians know it only by reputation. Sandwiched between Racha, Imereti, and Svaneti, Lechkhumi developed wine traditions in isolation. The Rioni River, which flowed broad and gentle in lower valleys, here cuts a narrow gorge through mountains. Roads cling to cliffsides, villages perch on slopes, and tourism infrastructure remains minimal.

Khvamli Mountain dominates the western horizon a massive, mysterious presence that locals invest with spiritual significance. The mountain’s rocks and ridges create dramatic silhouettes, and its slopes shelter the vineyards you came to find.

Waterfalls become a theme of the day. Gvirishi and Nikordziri waterfalls demonstrate Lechkhumi’s water abundance this is some of Georgia’s wettest territory, where springs emerge from mountainsides and every ravine carries rushing water. The off-road drive to Mount Orkhvi tests vehicle and driver, but the ruins of St. George Church at the summit, with 360-degree mountain panoramas, justify the rough kilometers.

Tvishi village sits in a valley where Tsolikauri grapes have grown for centuries. The micro-zone’s specific conditions—elevation, humidity, mountain-protected climate—create grapes with natural sugar levels and acidity that produce Tvishi wine’s distinctive character. Your host winemaker walks you through vines, explaining cultivation challenges in this climate, showing how traditional Georgian viticulture adapts to steep slopes and heavy rain.

The barbecue prepared in your honor follows Georgian tradition: mtsvadi (grilled meat on vine branches), fresh vegetables, herbs picked that morning, and local cheese. Tvishi wine accompanies everything its delicate sweetness and floral notes balancing smoky meat and sharp cheese. This is wine tourism at its most authentic: no tasting room, no merchandise, just a winemaker sharing his craft in the place where it happens.

You return to Chateau Dio for the night, the mountain drive at dusk offering a different light and atmosphere than morning’s journey.

Tskhenistskali valley requires crossing Orbeli Pass, another mountain route where dramatic scenery distracts from the road’s challenges. The western slopes of Khvamli Mountain—the same peak you admired yesterday from the east hide Lechkhumi’s greatest wine secret.

Usakhelauri grapes grow in vineyards so small and conditions so specific that production barely reaches a few thousand bottles annually. The variety demands intensive care: late ripening, susceptible to disease in a humid climate, and low yields even in good years. Attempts to cultivate Usakhelauri in other regions, even within Lechkhumi, have failed. These particular slopes, these specific soils, this microclimate only here does the grape express its full potential.

The resulting wine justifies its reputation and price. Deep garnet color, intense aromatics of dark berries and mountain herbs, natural sweetness balanced by surprising acidity, finish that lingers. Wine critics compare Usakhelauri to great Sauternes or vintage Port, but the comparison fails; this wine tastes like nowhere else. Scarcity keeps it largely within Georgia, where collectors pay premium prices and restaurants feature it as their crown jewel.

Visiting the vineyard, meeting the winemaker, understanding the viticulture challenges, and tasting Usakhelauri at its source creates the kind of wine experience that even seasoned enthusiasts rarely encounter. Lunch accompanies the tasting with simple food that doesn’t compete with the wine but provides necessary balance.

The afternoon brings you back to Imereti, the western region with perhaps the longest documented winemaking history. Kinchkha village produces Aladasturi, another rare grape variety, making semi-dry red wine with characteristics between Kakheti’s bold Saperavi and Racha’s sweet Khvanchkara.

Kinchkha waterfall, dropping 70 meters in multiple cascades through mossy forest, ranks among Georgia’s most impressive natural sights. The nearby Lomina waterfall offers a different character, wider, more powerful; the sound is audible from hundreds of meters away. You’ll overnight in Kinchkha, another winery accommodation, where evening flows into wine conversation and traditional food.

The final morning takes you back toward Kutaisi, but one last natural wonder awaits. Okatse Canyon cuts a dramatic gorge through limestone, creating walls up to 50 meters high. A suspended metal walkway allows you to walk above the canyon floor, the Okatse River rushing below, ferns and moss covering vertical walls, and waterfalls appearing around bends.

The canyon serves as an appropriate finale a reminder that Western Georgia’s appeal extends beyond wine to encompass landscape diversity that ranges from subtropical lowlands to mountain peaks, humid gorges to limestone canyons.

Your wine tour concludes in Kutaisi, where the journey began five days earlier. The wines you’ve tasted, the winemakers you’ve met, the roads you’ve traveled, and the mountain landscapes you’ve crossed have revealed a side of Georgia that remains unknown even to many who’ve visited Kakheti’s famous wineries.

What’s Included

✓ Professional guide throughout the tour (English-speaking, with deep wine and regional knowledge)
✓ Private transportation in comfortable 4WD vehicle suitable for mountain roads
✓ 4 nights accommodation at wineries and guesthouses (double/twin rooms with private bathrooms)
✓ All meals: 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners
✓ Wine tastings at all visited wineries (approximately 15-20 different wines over 5 days)
✓ Entrance fees to all cultural sites (Bagrati Cathedral, Gelati Monastery, Nikortsminda Church)
✓ Off-road excursions to Mount Orkhvi and Usakhelauri vineyards
✓ Waterfall visits and Okatse Canyon entrance

What’s Not Included

✗ Transportation to/from Kutaisi (can be arranged separately from Tbilisi or Batumi)
✗ Wine purchases beyond included tastings
✗ Personal expenses and additional alcohol
✗ Travel insurance (recommended)
✗ Tips for guide and driver (optional but appreciated)

Duration: 5 days, 4 nights
Start/End: Kutaisi
Group Size: Small groups (4-8 people) or private arrangements available
Difficulty: Moderate—requires comfort with mountain roads, some uneven terrain, and rural accommodations
Best Season: May-October for optimal weather; September-October for harvest season
Language: English (Russian, German available on request)
Suitable For: Wine enthusiasts, adventure travelers, photographers, cultural explorers

Physical Requirements: No hiking required, but expect walking on uneven ground at wineries and waterfalls. Mountain driving doesn’t suit those with severe motion sickness. Accommodations are comfortable but rural—not luxury hotels.

What to Bring: Comfortable walking shoes, light rain jacket (Western Georgia is humid), layers for temperature variation, camera, sunscreen, personal medications, and enthusiasm for rare wines.

Wine Purchases: Most wineries sell bottles directly, though some rare wines (especially Usakhelauri) have limited availability. Prices range from 25-300 GEL per bottle depending on wine. Guide assists with purchases and shipping arrangements if needed.

Why This Tour is Special

Most Georgia wine tours follow well-worn paths through Kakheti’s Alazani valley, visiting the same wineries that accommodate buses daily. This tour goes where buses can’t follow, to regions producing wines that rarely leave their home valleys, meeting winemakers who work outside commercial tourism.

You’ll taste wines that cost €200 per bottle in fine restaurants, made in quantities so small that export remains impossible. You’ll understand why Western Georgia’s climate produces naturally sweet wines that predate European traditions by millennia. You’ll drive roads that test vehicles and drivers, cross passes that reveal Georgia’s mountain geography, and eat meals at family tables where hospitality remains genuine rather than performative.

This is wine tourism for those who measure success not in number of wineries visited but in depth of understanding gained, who value authenticity over comfort, and who seek experiences that can’t be replicated anywhere else.

How is this different from Kakheti wine tours?

Western Georgia produces completely different wines than Kakheti. While Kakheti is famous for dry qvevri wines like Saperavi and Rkatsiteli, Western Georgia specializes in naturally semi-sweet wines that result from the region’s humid, subtropical climate. You’ll taste wines like Khvanchkara (Stalin’s favorite), Usakhelauri (Georgia’s most expensive wine at €100-180 per bottle), and Tvishi—varieties that rarely leave their home regions and are virtually unknown internationally. The tour also ventures into remote mountain areas with dramatic scenery that Kakheti’s valleys can’t match.

This tour is rated moderate difficulty. You’ll cross mountain passes up to 1,500 meters and drive on unpaved roads to reach remote vineyards—including an off-road excursion to Mount Orkhvi. All driving is done by experienced drivers in appropriate 4WD vehicles. Walking is minimal (mostly around wineries and to viewpoints), but you should be comfortable with mountain driving and winding roads. Not recommended for those with severe motion sickness or mobility issues. The adventure aspect is part of what makes these rare wines accessible—they’re remote because the regions remain undeveloped for mass tourism.

You’ll stay at family-run wineries and guesthouses in rural areas—not luxury hotels, but comfortable, clean accommodations with private bathrooms, hot water, and heating. Rooms are simple but well-maintained, and the hospitality is genuinely warm. You’re staying where winemakers actually live and work, which creates authentic experiences you won’t find in polished hotels. Expect rural charm over urban amenities—this is part of the tour’s appeal. If you require luxury accommodations, this tour may not suit your expectations.

Yes, most wineries sell bottles directly at significantly lower prices than you’d pay in Tbilisi restaurants. Expect to pay 25-80 GEL (€8-25) for most Western Georgian wines. Usakhelauri is the exception—when available, it costs 250-400 GEL (€80-130) per bottle due to extreme scarcity. Production is tiny, so availability isn’t guaranteed. Your guide can help arrange purchases and shipping if you’re buying multiple bottles. Cash is preferred at most wineries, though some accept cards.

May through October offers the best weather for mountain travel. September and early October are ideal—harvest season (rtveli) means you might see grape picking and early winemaking stages, plus autumn colors in the mountains are spectacular. July-August can be hot in lower elevations but pleasant in mountains. November-April brings unpredictable weather, potential road closures at higher passes, and some wineries reduce operations. Spring (May-June) offers wildflowers and green landscapes but occasional rain.

Kutaisi has an international airport (David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport) with flights from many European cities, often cheaper than flying to Tbilisi. From Tbilisi, you can take a marshrutka (minibus, 3-4 hours, about 10 GEL), train (comfortable night train available), or arrange private transfer (we can organize this for approximately €80-100). Kutaisi is also 2.5 hours from Batumi if you’re arriving from the Black Sea coast. We recommend arriving the day before the tour starts to account for any travel delays.

Yes, Western Georgian cuisine has excellent vegetarian dishes—pkhali (vegetable patés), lobio (bean stew), various khachapuri (cheese bread), seasonal vegetables, and salads. Inform us of dietary restrictions when booking, and we’ll ensure winemakers and restaurants accommodate you. Vegan options are possible but more limited in rural areas. Gluten-free travelers should note that Georgian cuisine features a lot of bread, though meat, cheese, and vegetable dishes are naturally gluten-free.

Absolutely—Western Georgia wines are so different from Kakheti that it’s almost like visiting a different wine country. If you’ve experienced Kakheti’s dry qvevri wines and famous appellations, Western Georgia offers the opposite: naturally semi-sweet wines, completely different grape varieties, mountain scenery instead of broad valleys, and far fewer tourists. Wine professionals and serious enthusiasts particularly appreciate tasting varieties like Usakhelauri and authentic Khvanchkara that are nearly impossible to find outside Georgia. The adventure elements (mountain passes, off-road driving, remote villages) also create a different experience from Kakheti’s more accessible routes.

Ready to discover Georgia’s rarest wines? Contact us to check availability and reserve your Western Georgia wine adventure.

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