Wine Festivals in Kakheti

Gurjaani Wine Festival ★ 4.6

Kakheti's autumn wine fair in Akhtala Park at Gurjaani, held every year since 2017 apart from 2020 and 2021. The 2024 edition counted more than 400 participants and over 30,000 visitors.

Host: Gurjaani Wine Festival

Pours: Gurjaani, Mukuzani, Akhasheni, Kardenakhi, Vazisubani

Tip: Nine of Georgia's registered appellations come from Gurjaani municipality, so the pouring tables are the fastest way to taste the zone side by side.

Rtveli, the Kakheti harvest ★ 4.7

The Georgian grape harvest, kept as a festival. Picking starts early and each day closes with a table and vintage songs. Kakheti is eastern Georgia, where rtveli falls in late September.

Host: Individual estates and villages across Kakheti

Tip: Rtveli moves with the fruit and no two years match, so fix the dates with the estate you want to pick with rather than with a calendar.

Alaverdoba ★ 4.4

A religious and folk gathering at Alaverdi Monastery with its roots in a harvest festival. It runs over several days and peaks on 28 September, and an agricultural fair joined it in the 19th century.

Host: Alaverdi Monastery

Tip: The monastery works an eleventh century qvevri cellar of its own, brought back into use in 2006, so the marani is part of the visit and not a sideshow.

Tsinandali Festival ★ 4.3

A classical music festival in the park of the Tsinandali Estate, opened on 8 September 2019. It is not a wine fair, but it books out the estate and its cellar tours every September.

Host: Tsinandali Festival, a Georgian non-profit foundation

Tip: Rooms at the estate go early in festival month, so hold accommodation in Telavi or Kisiskhevi before you buy concert tickets.