Day-by-day estate-visit plans for Kakheti: weekend, first-timer and deep-cellar editions.

Day-by-day plans

Telavi first weekend ★ 4.5

First trip to Kakheti2 days

The shortest honest introduction to Kakheti: one estate working in steel, one working in qvevri, and the house that put Georgian wine in bottles.

  1. Day 1: Telavi and Kisiskhevi

    Morning
    Start in Telavi with King Erekle II's palace museum on the central square and the old plane tree beside it, then walk out to Sesikeli Winery on Giorgi Leonidze Street for a short cellar tasting.
    Afternoon
    Drive the few kilometres to Kisiskhevi for Schuchmann Wines. Taste the Vinoterra qvevri range against the tank-fermented Schuchmann labels, the clearest side-by-side of the two Kakhetian methods you will get.
    Evening
    Stay at the Schuchmann chateau and eat on site, or finish in the cigar bar built around clay pots and a buried wine library.

  2. Day 2: Tsinandali

    Morning
    Tsinandali Estate: the Chavchavadze house museum, the garden and the cellar the family built in the 1830s.
    Afternoon
    Book the oenotheque, where the bottle library runs from 1814, then taste at the estate's own tasting rooms.
    Evening
    Dinner at Natella on the estate, open until 23:00, or a glass at the Gaumarjos wine bar before it closes at 21:00.

Qvevri route, Telavi to Sighnaghi ★ 4.7

Qvevri and amber wine3 days

Three days following the buried jar from the monastery cellar at Alaverdi to the qvevri museum at Napareuli and the Sighnaghi cellar that uses nothing else.

  1. Day 1: Akhmeta and Alaverdi

    Morning
    Alaverdi Monastery: the 11th century cathedral of Saint George and the marani the monks brought back into use in 2006, bottling under the Since 1011 label.
    Afternoon
    Akhmeta Wine House in the town for natural qvevri wine, six months of skin contact and unfiltered bottling, from a member of the Natural Wine Association Georgia.
    Evening
    Back to Telavi for the night.

  2. Day 2: Napareuli

    Morning
    Twins Wine House at Napareuli, where the qvevri and qvevri wine museum sits beside the working cellar and the twins keep 3 hectares of bio vineyards.
    Afternoon
    Book one of the Twins masterclasses, then eat in their restaurant, where the list runs red, white, rose, dry, semi-sweet, branded and organic alongside chacha and brandy.
    Evening
    Move on to Lopota by the lake. If it is July or August and a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the jazz club opens at 21:00.

  3. Day 3: Sighnaghi

    Morning
    Drive south to Sighnaghi, founded by Heraclius II in 1762 and still inside its 18th century walls, and walk down to Bodbe Monastery 2 km away.
    Afternoon
    Pheasant's Tears on Baratashvili Street. Every wine there is fermented and aged in qvevri, with the ripest stems added to skins, juice and pits, and maceration running from three weeks to six months.
    Evening
    Stay at the Pheasant's Tears table; the room runs to 23:00 and the kitchen stops at 22:00.

Kvareli and the northern Alazani ★ 4.5

Cellars, castles and the Caucasus wall2 days

Two days under the Greater Caucasus, taking in a tunnel cellar, a royal citadel, a 4th century winery and the Shilda estates behind them.

  1. Day 1: The tunnel and the citadel

    Morning
    Winery Khareba's Kvareli Wine Cave: 7.7 km of galleries at 12 to 16 degrees, open 10:00 to 20:00, with a tasting that can run to 50 wines.
    Afternoon
    Gremi, King Levan's capital, with the Church of the Archangels of 1565 to 1577 and the bell tower museum above it.
    Evening
    Eat at the Khareba restaurant by the cave, open until 22:00.

  2. Day 2: Nekresi and Shilda

    Morning
    Nekresi, for the monastery and the excavated winery below it, five presses and two cisterns under a 20 by 20 metre roof dated to the 4th to 5th century.
    Afternoon
    Chelti at Shilda for Kindzmarauli, Tsinandali, Mukuzani and the qvevri Saperavi and Kisi, then Koncho & Co on Erekle II Street in Kvareli for a Saperavi-led list with older vintages held back.
    Evening
    Back down the valley to Telavi, or on to Lagodekhi if the trails are the next morning's plan.

Rtveli week ★ 4.6

Harvest visitors5 days

Five days built around the harvest, which in eastern Georgia falls in late September and runs on into October. Fix the dates with the estate, not with the calendar.

  1. Day 1: Arrive at Telavi

    Morning
    Telavi, the region's base since the 17th century, and an afternoon to work out where picking has actually started.
    Afternoon
    Teliani Valley on the Tbilisi highway for the Kisi Qvevri and the Mukuzani, a useful baseline before the small cellars.
    Evening
    Dinner in Telavi.

  2. Day 2: Pick

    Morning
    Out with a picking crew. Work starts early; estates across Kakheti take visitors on for rtveli and the day ends at a table.
    Afternoon
    Back at the cellar for the satsnakheli and the filling of the qvevri.
    Evening
    The supra that closes a picking day, with vintage songs.

  3. Day 3: Alaverdi and Akhmeta

    Morning
    Alaverdoba peaks on 28 September, the day of Saint Joseph of Alaverdi. If the dates match, this is the morning for it.
    Afternoon
    Akhmeta Wine House, then Badagoni at Zemo Khodasheni, the partner behind the restored monastery cellar.
    Evening
    Return to Telavi or stay near Napareuli.

  4. Day 4: Gurjaani

    Morning
    Gurjaani municipality, where nine of Georgia's registered appellations are made. Vazisubani Estate has 35 hectares under Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Khikhvi and Mtsvane, all fermented in qvevri.
    Afternoon
    Chateau Zegaani at Zegaani for Saperavi alone, farmed organically across 17 hectares on the Tsiv-Gombori slope, then Ibero at Vachnadziani for the fortified wines and the oak-aged chacha.
    Evening
    If it is the October Saturday of the Gurjaani Wine Festival, Akhtala Park is the evening.

  5. Day 5: Sighnaghi

    Morning
    Sighnaghi and Bodbe, then the drive down to the Alazani viewpoints on the town wall.
    Afternoon
    Pheasant's Tears, where the 2009 bottlings brought several old varietals back after more than a hundred years.
    Evening
    Last table in Sighnaghi before the road back to Tbilisi, about two hours from Telavi.

Itineraries in Kakheti, FAQ

When is the best time to visit Kakheti for wine?

Peak wine-travel season in Kakheti is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.

Do I need an appointment to taste at Kakheti estates?

classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.

What hours do Kakheti cellars and tasting rooms keep?

most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.

How does tipping work at Kakheti tastings?

tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.

What is the one wine to try in Kakheti?

Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Kakheti rewards trust.

← Back to Kakheti wine guide