Dry plain · 300–700 m
Wine of Kartli
Higher, cooler and quieter than Kakheti, and it shows in the wine.
Kartli sits on the plateau either side of the Mtkvari, a few hundred metres higher than Kakheti and noticeably cooler at night. The wines keep their acidity: Chinuri and Goruli Mtsvane are sharp, mineral and often made as sparkling wine, which almost nowhere else in Georgia does. The Ateni gorge south of Gori has been making wine this way since the sixth century, and the families there are used to visitors arriving with no Georgian at all.
Grapes to look for
- Chinuri
- Goruli Mtsvane
- Tavkveri
- Shavkapito
Families here
Ateni 1 family
Gogoladze of the Ateni Gorge
The Ateni gorge has been making wine since the sixth century and the Gogoladze family have been in this particular village for at least six generations, which by local standards is unremarkable.