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Although growing in reputation & size, the wine industry in Georgia is particularly notable for its small, high-quality producers. Boutique winemakers have been producing natural wine using traditional Georgian methods in increasing numbers. One of the most famous is Iago’s Winery, located just outside of Tbilisi in Chardakhi.
About Iago’s Winery
Many Georgian families make their own wine, but in the late 1990s, Iago Bitarishvili decided to expand beyond personal production to build a winery near Tbilisi.
In 2003, he bottled the first vintage from Iago’s Winery (website), having planted vineyards five years prior. He was one of the first natural winemakers in Georgia.
Two years later, in 2005, the winery was the first in Georgia to earn a Bio Certificate.
In the ensuing years, Iago started exporting his wine to Italy, becoming the first Georgian winery to do so. First, small amounts of wine were exported and then exports gradually spread around the world to 12 different countries as of 2024.
This expansion was helped by a Russian ban on the import of Georgian wine starting in 2006. Their loss is the rest of the world’s gain. Although wine imports have resumed, further conflict, including in the nearby Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, has not warmed relations. Red-roofed Internal displacement housing can be seen along the highway right near Iago’s Winery.
In 2015, Iago’s wine was the first Georgian wine to be poured at the Ritz-Carlton in London.
Further distribution is limited by the winery’s production capability of just 10,000 bottles per year. Since Iago only uses his own vineyards, production is limited by the annual harvest, which, of course, varies.
While this all sounds recent, it was forever ago in the world of wine. Iago Bitarishvili was considered crazy by many back then. Natural wines weren’t much of a thing twenty or so years ago. Nor was Georgian wine. Iago’s Winery helped put both on the map.
Winemaking at Iago’s Winery
We arrived at Iago’s Winery on a chilly January morning. There was no green on the vines, and we had to avoid some ice on the patio.
However, we were warmly welcomed by Iago Bitarishvili’s wife, Marina, who is also a vital part of the winery. While his educational background is in winemaking, hers is in biology. We would get to try one of her wines later. Iago himself was off at a wine festival in France, so she was conducting the tour. Each May, they themselves host a wine festival called Sherekilebi, usually around the same time as other prominent Georgian wine festivals, Zero Compromise & New Wine Festival.
We started off in the small production area of Iago’s wine. The walls have been signed by visitors to the winery. As we stood above the qvevri (traditional Georgian winemaking vessels) buried in the ground, Marina told us about their winemaking process.
Iago is dedicated to working with one Georgian grape: Chinuri. The indigenous white grapes are showcased in all of their wines.
The chinuri grapes are picked in October. Everything then goes into the underground qvevri, including the skins, stems, and seeds along with the juice, to produce amber wine. Part of the qvevri is left empty because everything expands during fermentation. The top of the qvevri is left open with no covering, except sometimes cheesecloth to keep insects out.
Active fermentation starts within 2 days. It occurs only with natural yeast; nothing else is added.
During fermentation, the mixture is punched down with sticks. Otherwise, the solids harden up, preventing oxygen from reaching the rest for fermentation. This process can be seen in the brand logo, which is a graphic of Iago punching down with the stick to support active fermentation.
The fermentation time depends on the year, temperature, and natural yeast. It can be anywhere from two to four weeks.
At that point, grape juice is taken from one qvevri to fill the rest completely. They are then sealed with sand on top to keep the air out. The qvevri remain sealed for 6 months, still retaining skins and stems, until they are opened in March or April.
The wine is then ready! It is pumped out of the qvevri into storage tanks, then later bottled without filtering. This method produces stable wines with a long life & complex flavor profiles.
The remaining solids are taken out by hand and then used to distill the Georgian spirit known as chacha.
Iago’s Winery also makes Pét-nat (sparkling natural wine). We saw racks inside where the bottles rest while occasionally being rotated.
The process from harvest to shipment takes a little over a year, with each year’s vintage generally exported the following November.
Wine Tasting at Iago’s Winery
After learning about the natural winemaking process, it was finally time for some wine tasting.
We headed back outside for the dramatic opening of a bottle Pét-nat, laughing as the bottle popped, spraying wine into the cold winter air.
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Iago’s rosé Pét-nat is made from two cofermented grapes, one red and one white. The blend is 30% Tavkveri (only juice & skins – no stems) and 70% Chinuri skin contact, first fermented in qvevri, and then moved into stainless steel.
Once the bottles were opened, we headed back inside to the warm tasting room with a roaring wood fireplace.
Plates of Georgian food awaited us, including cheese, fresh & dried fruit, olives, nuts, yogurt with mint, pepper jam, and bread. There was also the Georgian sweet known as churchkhela.
The second wine we tasted was the variety of Iago’s Chinuri made without skin contact. This wine was paler & sweeter than the next wine, which we would compare it to.
This other wine was also Chinuri, of course, but it was a skin contact amber wine. This is their biggest seller. It’s more golden and complex than the other Chinuri.
Finally, we tasted Marina’s own label, Marina, which was also delicious.
After that, there was one more thing to do. We couldn’t leave without a taste of their chacha. It’s the perfect thing for warming up on a cold morning.
If you’re looking for a good introduction to natural wines in Georgia, Iago’s Winery is a great place to start.
For more Georgian wine experiences, I recommend taking a day trip to Kakheti from Tbilisi. Also, you can visit the many wine bars in Tbilisi.
If wine isn’t your thing, Tbilisi also has excellent cocktail bars & craft beer bars & breweries. Be sure to try the local spirit known as chacha!
Here are some other great Tbilisi tours & activities.
Need a place to stay? Check out these Tbilisi hotel options. I enjoyed my stay at the Moxy Tbilisi, and the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel is another excellent option.
