The hook
The heartland of Georgian wine, where people have been making it in buried clay vessels for some eight thousand years, among the oldest winemaking traditions known anywhere, in a landscape of vineyards, hill towns, and old monasteries under the Caucasus.
01Why it's worth it
Georgia has a strong claim to be the cradle of wine: archaeologists have found evidence of winemaking here going back roughly eight thousand years, among the oldest known in the world, and the traditional method survives, fermenting the whole grape in a qvevri, a large egg-shaped clay jar buried in the ground, which gives the famous amber or "orange" wines their colour and grip. Kakheti is where most of it happens, a warm eastern region of rolling vineyards backed by the snow line of the Caucasus. Its set piece is Sighnaghi, a small walled hill town of balconied houses with sweeping views over the Alazani valley, and around it are working cellars, from tiny family qvevri makers to grand old monastery wineries like Alaverdi. Tasting eight-thousand-year-old technique where it was born is the draw.
02How to experience it
Base in Sighnaghi and drive the region visiting cellars, from small family qvevri producers to the monastery wineries; taste the amber wines made the ancient way. Time it for the September harvest if you can, when villages press grapes. Pair it easily with Tbilisi to the west.