Kakheti in two days: what to fit in, and in what order
Kakheti is two and a half hours from Tbilisi and roughly eighty per cent of Georgian wine. You can do a lot in two days, as long as you don't try to do everything.
The drive, and when to leave
Tbilisi to Telavi is about 120 kilometres over the Gombori pass — two to two and a half hours. The road is beautiful and it winds. If anyone in the car gets travel sick, put them in the front and keep them off their phone.
There is no point leaving at eight in the morning. Family wineries — marani — open around eleven, and before that you will simply be standing at a closed gate. Ten o'clock, after coffee, is the sensible start.
Day one: the pass, wine, Sighnaghi
The order that works: drive over the pass, stop at the viewpoint, reach the first winery by midday, eat, then carry on to Sighnaghi and stay the night.
- Gombori pass. Twenty minutes. On a clear day you can see the Caucasus ridge.
- First marani. An hour and a half: the owner opens a qvevri, pours three or four wines, talks about his vines.
- Lunch in the yard. In Kakheti lunch is ninety minutes, not forty. Plan for it honestly.
- Sighnaghi by evening. The fortress wall, the Alazani valley, sunset. This is the view people come for.
Day two: slowly
Early morning in Sighnaghi is the best hour of the trip: the day-trip coaches haven't arrived and the town is empty. Walk the wall, have coffee on the square, go down to Bodbe monastery.
Head back to Tbilisi after lunch with one stop. Put the second winery here rather than on day one — by now you know what you like, and the tasting actually means something.
What not to try to fit in
- David Gareja in the same weekend. Different direction, and it costs you a whole day.
- Four wineries. See above.
- Telavi, Sighnaghi, Kvareli and Napareuli at once. An hour of driving between each — you'll spend the weekend in the car.
What it costs
A tasting at a family marani usually runs 30 to 60 lari a head, often with food. Lunch in a courtyard, 40 to 70 lari. A night in a Sighnaghi guesthouse, from 100 lari for two. Prices move, so check when you book.
All in, with a car and driver, a Kakheti weekend for two comes to about what one good dinner in Tbilisi costs.
Where to actually stay
Two sensible options: Sighnaghi or somewhere near Telavi. Sighnaghi is a small town on a hill — you can walk all of it in an hour, it goes quiet in the evening, and before the buses arrive in the morning it is almost empty. Telavi is bigger and more lived-in, and closer to the wineries around Kvareli and Napareuli, but you won't get the valley view from your balcony.
A guesthouse beats a hotel here almost every time. The difference isn't comfort, it's that the owner pours your coffee in the morning and tells you which neighbour to visit for wine. Half the good marani are found that way rather than through reviews.
What to wear and bring
- Shoes. Cobblestones in Sighnaghi, earth floors and cellar steps in the marani. Trainers, not heels.
- A layer. Even in August the hill is cool after dark, and a cellar sits at about fifteen degrees year-round.
- Cash. Family wineries don't all have card terminals. Lari, in small notes.
- Room in the boot. You will leave with wine. This happens to everyone, including people who had no such plan.
When to come
September and early October is rtveli, the grape harvest. The wineries are working rather than performing: you may be handed a basket, put to work, and fed whatever the family is eating. It is the best time to come and also the busiest — arrange beds in advance.
May and June give you a green valley, mild weather and few people. July and August are hot, above thirty, so sightseeing belongs to the morning and evening. Winter is grey and quiet, but the cellars work and prices drop.
The part nobody plans for
The usual mistake is treating Kakheti as a list of places. Almost everything worth remembering happens at a table: the owner brings out the wine he doesn't sell, his wife carries bread in from the oven, and forty planned minutes become two hours.
So a workable two-day plan is two or three stops a day with honest slack built in. If you leave feeling you saw less than you meant to but were twice fed like a relative, the trip worked.
FAQ
Can you do Kakheti without a car?
You can, but it's awkward. Minibuses run to Telavi and Sighnaghi; between the wineries they don't. Either taxis on the spot, or a trip with a driver.
How much wine can I take home?
It depends on where you're flying and the rules change. Check your airline and your own customs allowance before you travel.
What if I don't drink?
Kakheti works without wine: monasteries, Sighnaghi, the valley, the long table. Tastings usually have juice for anyone who isn't drinking.
Come and see it yourself
Small groups, our own driver, wineries we know. Next departures are on the home page.
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