Wine Ambassadors Event at Sheraton Metekhi Tbilisi (on Sun May 3rd 2026) was a well curated tasting event which featured maybe 80+ producers, back for it’s 3rd year in the new and slightly larger location, the overall standard is very high. I managed to taste 112 wines (inc. 1 brandy) from 33 producers.
Women in Wine (Sat 26th Apr 2026) is hosted by the Sadzvele Wine Bar at Wine Factory in Vera – located in the amazing old 19th-century cellar area at the Wine Factory Tbilisi. This is a smaller event with about 40 producers, focused entirely on wineries that are female-led or female winemakers. I managed to taste 57 wines (inc. 2 ciders) from 22 producers.
So, a total of 169 wines (inc 2 ciders & 1 brandy), from 55 producers over 2 days.
Of the many wines tasted, the majority were rated “good” or “acceptable”. And by this, I mean wines that we can objectively say to have merit, and some enjoyable characteristics that make them successful. These didn’t make the list, below are the wines I considered to be a step above.
I should be clear, that “good” really is pretty decent. These are wines you’d enjoy drinking. Getting a higher rating than “good” means producing a wine that stands out against all other wines tasted, with better balance and relevant characteristics. “Acceptable” being an everyday wine that is fine but you won’t be getting excited about.
Not too many wines were rated “poor” or “faulty”. These are wines that would not be recommended at all (poor wines) or had suffered from wine faults such as volatile acidity, TCA (cork taint), volatile sulfur compounds, etc. at a level to make the wines unpalatable.
Though we try to be as objective as possible in these assessments, some things should be taken into account:
- Blind tasting was not possible, so small biases may exist inadvertently.
- I do often tell producers to “show me the best 2 wines” or something similar, so I am probably getting a better experience than someone who just says “saperavi, please”.
- The tasting environment of a busy event is not ideal and some factors affect the tasting:
- Environmental odors – from people walking around with coffee to strong perfume etc.
- Full rinsing of glasses between every tasting was impractical, though we tried as best as possible.
We only tasted the majority of producers across 2 days of events, but definitely not all.
We did not taste every wine from each vendor we tried.
So, we definitely will have missed some excellent wines. But from what we did taste, we hope you will enjoy discovering some of the below which we gave upper category ratings.
Ratings are based on Balance / Length / Intensity / Complexity and Style (ie. how they fit within the category of the style/intention of the wine). A “very good” rating would be made when 3 to 4 of these criteria have been met successfully. Some consideration is given to young wines that have the potential to arrive at this level in an expected timeframe of aging.
There are many more wine festivals coming soon, and we will publish our favorites for those too. Check out reviews from Zero Compromise (1st/2nd May 2026) which happened the first weekend of May.
Wine Ambassadors Sheraton Metekhi Tbilisi (Sun 3rd May 2026)
112 wines (inc. 1 brandy) from 33 wineries tasted.
In order of which i did the tastings, not in order of preference. It should be noted that after I finished recording information about wines I tasted, I went through three more wineries because the event actually ended a bit later than expected, and I didn’t write any notes. Sorry to Unari winery and others who are not on the list below because I did not record the information.
Most wines below achieved “very good” or better. But I’ve also Included a few that were on the cusp from good to very good and also deserved a mention. My “personal top picks” are wines I felt were the best, but also wines I personally liked to my preferred taste.
- Tkeshelashvili – Alexandrouli
- Baaduri
- Tsolikouri / Tsitska / Kvishkhuri 2025
- Tsolikouri / Tsitska 2025
- Kvishkhuri 2022
- Iveritas
- Kisi 2024
- Shavkapito (40%) / Kisi / Chinuri / Saperavi (3%) 2024
- Khikhvi 2024
- Shavkapito 2024 (3 weeks oak chips)
- Saperavi (90%) / Shavkapito 2024
- Adronkikashvili
- Rkatsiteli Qvevri 2017
- Saperavi Qvevri 2016
- Marienfeld – Saperavi Budeshuri Qvevri 2021
- Lonidzis
- Ojaleshi 2020 – Personal Top Pick
- White port Rkatsiteli 2020 – Personal Top Pick
- Ruby Port Saperavi 2020
- (Honorable mention VSOP Brandy 7 years aged – Great! Not a wine of course)
- Ghvinobistve
- Tsarapi qvevri 2024
- Saperavi qvevri 2023
- Alexander Manabde – Rkatsiteli Euro 2024
- Zodi Winery
- Tsolikouri qvevri cold maceration 2025
- Dzelshavi Semi-Dry Rose 2025
- Tsolikouri Semi-Sweet 2025
- Dolidze
- Tsolikouri 2025
- Chkhaveri (chqepi) Tsitska 2021.
- Imeretian Winehouse – Tsolikouri 2024
- Amashukali
- Tsitska 2024
- Tsitska Tsolikouri 2024
- Tsitska 2025
- Satsera – Saperavi 2025
- Dzmebis Marani (Bolnisi)
- Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc 2025
- Tavkveri 2022
- Rkatsiteli / Saperavi Rosé “Bovi” 2022
- Asuretuli Shala 2022
- Gavazi Estate
- Kisi Khikhvi qvevri 2024.
- Saperavi Rosé 2020
- Saperavi qvevri 2023
- ChuriChinebuli
- Krakhuna 2025 – Personal top pick
- Aladasturi 2025, (Method)
- Krakhuna Ojaleshi Rose 2024 – personal top pick
- Tsolikouri Tsitska Krakhuna 2025 Semi-Sweet
- Chinovani
- Tsolikouri qvevri 2024
- Vani Chkhaveri Rosé 2025
- Zedasheli – Muscat Shavkapito Rosé 2024
- Nino’s Marani – Krakhuna 2022
- Qvevriseuli – Rkatsiteli Saperavi Rose 2024
45 wines, from 20 wineries in the upper category!
Women in Wine Sadzvele (Wine Factory, Vera) Tbilisi (Sat 26th Apr 2026)
57 wines (inc. 2 ciders) from 22 producers tasted.
In order of which i did the tastings, not in order of preference.
Most wines below achieved “very good” or better. But I’ve also Included a few that were on the cusp from good to very good and also deserved a mention.
- Kate Wine – Rkatsiteli qvevri 2020
- Ia’s Wine – Saperavi Rosé 2022
- Bostogana
- Mtsvane qvevri 2023
- Kisi Qvevri 2023
- Ambokhi
- Rkatsiteli 2024
- Ojaleshi Salkhino 2024
- Argvani – Tsitska 2025
- Mogzavri
- Mtsvivani, Akhmeta 2025 – Personal Top Pick (Cultured Yeast Enhanced Tropical may not be for everyone, though)
- Goruli Mtsvane 2025
- Exponati
- Rkatsiteli semi-dry 2024
- Alexandruoli Mujuretuli Semi-Sweet Rosé 2024
- Alexandruoli Mujuretuli Dry Red 2023
- Pearl of Imereti
- Tsitska Semi-Dry 2024
- Tsolikouri 2022
- Sister’s Wine – Khikhvi qvevri 2024 – Personal Top Pick
- Anato
- Apple Cider (Zakara Brand)
- Tavkveri Rosé 2023
- Saperavi 2023 (6 months oak barrel)
- Zinobiani – Saperavi qvevri 2024
- Chvina
- Rkatsiteli Qvevri 2024
- Saperavi 2024
- Tamarini – Saperavi qvevri 2020
- Simonica
- Tsitska Tsolikouri 2025
- Otskhanuri Sapere 2019 – Personal Top Pick
24 wines, from 14 wineries in the upper category!
Thanks to The Amazing Winemakers!
TOTAL: 69 Wines from 34 wineries in the upper category across the 2 days.
Congratulations to all the amazing wineries that made it into our upper category ratings. As well as all the other amazing winemakers who continue to make the Georgian wines scene one of the most interesting in the world!
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