13 editor-picked estates growing Kisi in Kakheti.
Where to taste Kisi in Kakheti: the estates that grow it, how the region expresses the grape, and how to book a visit.
Kisiskhevi estate drawing on vineyards in the Napareuli, Tsinandali and Kindzmarauli zones, with tank-fermented wines alongside a qvevri range, plus a hotel and spa on site.
Tip: Tasting, restaurant and hotel share one site at Kisiskhevi, so a visit can run from cellar to table without moving.
Kisiskhevi cellar bottling under the Orgo and Dilao labels. Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Mtsvane and Saperavi ferment in qvevri, with a reserve Saperavi and a qvevri-fermented sparkling.
Telavi winery on the Tbilisi highway, with the Teliani Valley, Glekhuri and Teluri ranges covering dry red and white, amber qvevri wine, sparkling, chacha and brandy.
Small Telavi winery on Giorgi Leonidze Street bottling Saperavi, Kisi, Mtsvane and Rkatsiteli, with tastings and a tour of the cellar by arrangement.
Kvareli producer whose tunnel cellar, cut into the Caucasus rock and opened in 1962, runs 7.7 km and holds the bottle library where tastings take place.
Tip: The tunnel holds a steady 12 to 16 degrees all year, so take a layer even in August.
Shilda estate in Kvareli municipality bottling Kindzmarauli, Tsinandali and Mukuzani alongside qvevri Saperavi, Kisi and Rkatsiteli and an oak-aged qvevri Saperavi.
Kvareli producer on Matikashvili Street with Alazani Valley, Tsinandali, Kindzmarauli and Pirosmani bottlings alongside Rkatsiteli and a qvevri Kisi.
Estate at Vazisubani with 35 hectares of vineyard planted to Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Khikhvi and Mtsvane, fermenting in qvevri, with a hotel and restaurant on the grounds.
Akhmeta winery at Zemo Khodasheni producing qvevri, red, white and sparkling wine plus chacha, and the partner behind the restored Alaverdi Monastery cellar.
Sighnaghi winery on Baratashvili Street working in qvevri, with a restaurant attached to the cellar and a second room, Crazy Pomegranate, in town.
Tip: The restaurant pours back vintages and cellar-only cuvees that are not sold anywhere else in Sighnaghi.
Estate tasting room at Schuchmann's Kisiskhevi winery, pouring the Vinoterra qvevri range and the classic Schuchmann label. Hotel, restaurant and wine spa sit on the same site.
A natural qvevri producer founded in 2014 at Akhmeta, a member of the Natural Wine Association Georgia, working skin-contact whites macerated for six months and bottled unfiltered.
Why locals love it: Akhmeta is the municipality most visitors only cross on the way to Alaverdi, and the wine house is a small natural producer rather than a coach stop.
Tip: Their amber range is small and sells through, so check stock on the online shop before making the drive up to Akhmeta.
A Vachnadziani cellar working five dry qvevri wines by the Kakhetian method, with two fortified wines and three chachas, one of them eight years in oak.
Why locals love it: Vachnadziani is off the Telavi to Sighnaghi run, and Ibero's fortified wines and long-aged chacha are a corner of Kakheti most tasting menus skip.
Tip: Tastings are priced and published: a five-variety qvevri flight, a choose-your-own and a full estate flight, with lunch and a Georgian table booked separately.