In Georgia, wine isn't just a drink but part of the calendar. In spring qvevri are opened and the new wine tasted; in autumn grapes are harvested; and in between come fairs, city festivals and tastings. If you want to plan a trip around wine, this guide will help you choose the timing and not miss the highlights.
The New Wine Festival (spring)
The New Wine Festival is one of Tbilisi's most popular wine events. It usually takes place in spring, most often in May, when the previous year's wine is ready for its first tasting.
What to expect:
- dozens, sometimes hundreds, of producers — from big estates to family maranis;
- young wine made in qvevri and by European methods;
- Georgian food, cheese and bread from the tone oven;
- folk music and dancing.
Visitors usually buy an entry ticket and receive a tasting glass. The venue and format can change from year to year, so check current information closer to the date.
Tip: come early in the day — it gets crowded by evening, with queues at popular stands.
Rtveli — the grape harvest (September–October)
Rtveli isn't a single day but a season, roughly from mid-September to late October depending on region, variety and weather. The main wine region is Kakheti, but grapes are also harvested in Kartli, Imereti, Racha and elsewhere.
What you can do:
- pick grapes with a family in their vineyard;
- tread grapes in a wooden trough called a satsnakheli;
- watch the must being poured into qvevri;
- taste churchkhela made from fresh grape juice (badagi);
- see chacha being distilled from the pomace;
- join the feast after the work.
Many wineries and guesthouses offer rtveli tours, from day trips to multi-day stays. Book early: September and October are high season in Kakheti.
Tbilisoba (October)
Tbilisoba, the city's festival, usually takes place over a weekend in October. Expect fairs with wine, cheese, honey and fruit from the regions, concerts and folk ensembles. Producers set up stalls in the old town and squares where you can taste and buy wine.
It's a handy way to combine Tbilisi with a rtveli trip to Kakheti.
Natural wine fairs
In recent years Tbilisi has regularly hosted natural and qvevri wine fairs, bringing together small producers who work without chemicals and with minimal intervention. They're the best way to discover Georgia's "new wave" winemaking, amber wines and rare local grapes.
Dates and formats vary — follow announcements from Tbilisi wine bars and travel sites.
Celebrations in Kakheti
Towns and villages in Kakheti — Telavi, Sighnaghi, Kvareli, Napareuli — hold local celebrations with wine, music and fairs during harvest and on holidays. They're often not widely advertised, so ask your guesthouse hosts.
Alaverdoba in September at Alaverdi Monastery was historically one of Kakheti's great festivals, linked to the church feast of Saint Joseph of Alaverdi.
New Year and Christmas
Wine flows especially freely at winter feasts. It's not a festival in the classic sense, but if you're invited to a New Year supra, it'll be the best "tasting" of your life.
Year-round tastings
Even outside festival season, you can always taste wine in Georgia:
- Tbilisi wine bars — tasting flights of 4–6 wines, including amber wines and rare varieties.
- Kakhetian wineries — marani tours and tastings, many open year-round.
- Museums and cellars — such as historic estates with wine cellars in Kakheti.
- Restaurants — sommeliers can help pair wine with food.
Planning a wine trip
| If you want | When to go |
|---|---|
| New wine and the festival | May |
| The harvest and grape treading | mid-September to October |
| The city festival and fairs | October (Tbilisoba) |
| Quiet tastings without crowds | November to April (outside holidays) |
Tips
- Don't drive after tastings — hire a driver or join a tour.
- Drink water and eat between tastings.
- Spit — it's normal at professional tastings and lets you try more wines.
- Buy from producers — you support family estates and get better value.
- Taking wine home — check your destination's limits and pack bottles well.
In short
Georgia's main wine events are the spring New Wine Festival in Tbilisi, the rtveli season in September–October, Tbilisoba in October and natural wine fairs. But tastings are available year-round in Tbilisi wine bars and Kakhetian maranis. Pick your season, hire a driver and get ready for the best of Georgian hospitality — the kind that starts with a glass of wine.