Kvareli

ყვარელი

A wine town at the foot of the Caucasus, famous for the Kindzmarauli semi-sweet red and lakeside resorts. It offers cellar tours, tunnel wine cellars carved into rock, and easy access to mountain scenery.

Things to do

• Khareba Tunnel Wine Cellar — Explore the 8-kilometer network of tunnels carved into rock where thousands of bottles age at constant temperature, with tastings of Kindzmarauli and other Kakhetian wines.
• Kindzmarauli Corporation Cellar Tour — Visit the famous winery that gives its name to the region's beloved semi-sweet red and sample it at the source.
• Kvareli Lake Resort — Relax at this scenic lakeside resort with swimming, boating, and views of the Caucasus reflected in the water.
• Nekresi Monastery — Climb to this 4th-century hilltop monastery complex offering panoramic views over the Alazani Valley and vineyards below.
• Ilia Chavchavadze House-Museum — Tour the estate and museum dedicated to the 19th-century Georgian writer and national hero born in Kvareli.
• Gremi Citadel — Discover the royal town and church complex of the former Kakhetian kingdom, a striking brick fortress a short drive away.
• Caucasus Foothills Hiking — Set out from town into the wooded slopes of the Greater Caucasus for waterfalls and mountain scenery.

Food to try

• Kindzmarauli wine — The town's signature naturally semi-sweet red made from Saperavi grapes grown on the Kvareli microzone slopes.
• Khachapuri — Cheese-filled bread served here in the Imeruli round style, best eaten hot from a village bakery or guesthouse.
• Mtsvadi — Georgian pork or veal skewers grilled over grapevine cuttings, a staple of Kakhetian feasts.
• Churchkhela — String of nuts dipped in thickened grape juice, sold roadside and made fresh during the autumn harvest.
• Qvevri wine tasting — Sample amber and red wines fermented in traditional clay vessels buried underground, a UNESCO-listed Kakhetian method.
• Khinkali — Juicy twisted dumplings filled with spiced meat, eaten by hand and washed down with local wine.

Local customs & good to know

• Respect the supra ritual — At a Georgian feast a tamada (toastmaster) leads toasts, and it is polite to wait for him before drinking your wine.
• Visit during Rtveli harvest — The September–October grape harvest is the liveliest time, when families press wine and welcome visitors to help.
• Dress modestly at monasteries — Cover shoulders and knees at Nekresi and Gremi, and women should carry a headscarf for entering churches.
• Cash is handy in villages — While wineries take cards, small guesthouses and roadside vendors of churchkhela often prefer Georgian lari in cash.

Nearby

• Nekresi Monastery — 7 km
• Gremi — 17 km
• Tsinandali Estate — 21 km
• Telavi — 28 km