Table of Contents
Production volumes are dwarfed by those of Kakheti province, its neigbor to the east. But old vineyards are being taken over by new quality-driven producers, and many new wineries are appearing. The region is also benefitting from international expertise and investment.
Curiously, the region was known to authors of the Classical period as Iberia, like the Spanish-Portuguese peninsula. Its modern name derives from the ancient Karts tribe.
Grape Varieties
A wide selection of grapes are grown, mostly Georgian but with small amounts of international varieties such as Aligoté. As elsewhere in the country Saperavi is tthe highest profile red variety.
Interest is being revived in existing local varieties such as Chinuri, Takveri and Shavkapito. Varieties from Western Georgia are also being introduced, inluding Ojaleshi, Tsolikouri and Krakhuna.
Subregions and appellations
The province of Kartli is divided into three regions; Kvemo (Lower) Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Shida (Inner) Kartli. Vineyard areas are located in all three. There are currently only two PDOs (the equivalent of a French AOP or Italian DOC).
There are no vineyards within the boundaries of Tblisi city itself. Howver, there are a few wineries, and many wine companies are headquartered in the capital and a number of vineyards are found in the surrounding hills and countryside. Moreover vines grow around the city as ivy would in other locations.
Across the province, soils are genrally loose sandstone non carbonate sandstones. There are pockets of other soil types such as calcareous sandstone, calcareous clays and loams.
Kvemo Kartli and Bolnisi PDO (south of Tblisi)
The town of Bolnisi was founded as Katharinenfeld by immigrant families from Swabia. After the Bolsheviks renamed it Luxembourg (after Rosa, not the country), it gained its current name in 1944.
Many of the Swabian families were winegrowers, and they quickly benefitted from policies of Tsarist Russia designed to encourage wine production across the empire. By the 1840s the area was recognized for quality wine from both international and Georgian grape varieties.
After all but disappearing during the Gorbachev area, the wine region has undergone a very recent transformation. In 2015 there were just two small producers; by 2018 there were around two dozen. New production regulations came in that year, and the Protected Designation of Origin was ratified in 2019.
The zone covers Bolnisi and 22 neighboring villages. The wines can be red, white, amber or rosé, but all must be dry. Saperavi dominates reds while Rkatsiteli is among the principal white grape varieties.
Vineyards are located on both sides of the Masahvera river, between 500 and 800 meters altitude (1650 to 2600ft) Plots are oriented to all points of the compass, and soils vary considerably according to proximity to the river.
Asureti is another area with potential, though Gotsa Wines is one of the only well-mainted properties here. It is a tough, undevloped area of scrub. Generally vineyards have to be carefully sited at 500m or more on slopes as cold air settles further down. Soils are also very dry and drip irrigation can be needed to establish vineyards and occasionally to save a crop (at the cost of desclassification).
Mtskheta-Mtsianeti (north of Tblisi)
In the Soviet era this region was home to many high-yielding vineyards producing sweetish still and sparkling wines of very moderate quality. A few of these sites are now being heavily pruned for quality and dry-farmed. Cool breezes moderate the warm climate here.
Varieties which were once maligned are now showing great promise; Chinuri in particular. That variety also does well in Tserovani, where there are a number of vineyards on clay-loam soils though wines are made elsewhere, and in Chardakhi.
Shida Kartli (northwest of Tblisi)
Okami is one center, just ten kilometers from Tserovani but considerably hillier. It was once was home to a Soviet-era collective winery. The higher hillside plots are considered superior to vineyards on the flatter plains closer to the Ksani River. Again most vineyards are dry-farmed.
Other subregions here include the hamlet of Samtavisi and Mukhrani . The latter had a considerable reputation for sparkling wine in the 19th century, until phylloxera struck. After a period of chaos following the fall of the Soviet Union, there are now aroun 100 hectares (250 acres) of vineyards and several quality producers.
Ateni (Atenuri) PDO
Ateni was a medieval fortfied town, now divided into the villages of Did Ateni and Patara Ateni. The PDO applies to one particular wine style, a naturally sparkling wine similar to methode ancestrale. The hilly region has a suitably cool climate. Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane and Aligoté are permitted grape varieties.
