Kakheti Viticulture Today and It’s Outlook

Abstract

Kakheti has traditionally become the main region of Georgian winemaking since the second half of the 19^th century and has maintained its leadership to this day. Before this period, about 2.5 times more ordinary wines were produced in the Samegrelo region in West Georgia.

The vineyards producing the best quality wines are currently located in Kakheti, more precisely in the Alazani and Iori basins, at an altitude of 400-700 meters above sea level, where the cultivation of vineyards on humus-carbonate, black soil and alluvial soils continues to this day. According to 2022 data, Georgian vineyards in Georgia occupy 45,313 hectares, employing more than 36 thousand winegrowers in their 127,122 vineyard farms. The leading red grape varieties here are: Saperavi, Alexandroupoli, Isabella, Cabernet Sauvignon and others, while the white grape varieties are Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Kisi, Khikhvi and others [Baratashvili. 2022].

Of the 25 registered wine designations of origin in Georgia, 19 are produced in Kakheti like: Tsinandali, Gurjaani, Vazisubani, Manavi, Kardenakhi, Tibaani, Kakheti, Kotekhi, Napareuli, Mukuzani, Teliani, Kindzmarauli, Akhasheni, Kvareli, Akhmeta Mtsvane, Khashmi, Tsarafi, Akhoebi and Maghraani Kisi. Among the local and cultivated varieties of Kakheti, the following are noteworthy: Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, Mtsvane Kakhuri, Kisi, Khikhvi, Budeshuri Tsetili, Kakhuri Mtsvivani, Safena, Kumsi Tsetili, Cabernet Sauvignon (French variety), Tavkveri, Ikalto Tsetili and others. High-quality wines, both European and Kakheti, are made from grapes grown in Kakheti (Ketskhoveli, Ramishvili 2012).