Wine Explorers: Specialist, One-Off Wine Adventures

Exploring the hidden fringes of Georgia’s food & wine culture

Wine Explorers Tours

Our most off-track and unique itineraries are only for those looking to venture way off the tourist trail and discover small batch wines that you will never have tasted and likely never taste again.

What Is Wine Explorers?

Specialist, small group trips (5 to 12 guests). Get way off the tourist trail.
Rare wines & grapes, micro producers, artisan cuisine, off-path destinations.
Hosted by company founder, Tommo, in English. Tommo has already visited 200+ wineries across Georgia, since 2016.
One-off, unique itineraries. Each itinerary only runs once, ever.

Who Are These Trips For?

Ready to step outside your food & wine comfort zone.
Excited about immersion in Georgian culture.
Flexible that the unexpected may happen and that’s exactly why you signed up.

All our wine explorer trips visit locations our regular tours do not, often heading to places that wine tourism has barely reached. It is not uncommon for some of our hosts to be hosting English speaking guests for the very first time.

Each trip is hosted by Tommo (tour company founder) as well as a local Georgian guide. You’ll get the local and expat perspective on life, travel and wine in Georgia. Each of these trips is entirely unique, has never been run before and never will be again. Like a rare vintage, explorer tours exist in ultimate finitude.

Inspiring and surprising cuisine, amazing hospitality and one-of-a-kind wine experiences all await you in the least touristy corners of the oldest wine producing country on Earth.

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See Explorer Tour Options

Dates & Options

Upcoming Planned Wine Explorer & One Off Tours

Join Tommo on one of our specialist tours. Places are very limited, with normally a maximum of 5 to 12 guests. We typically only run explorers tours once a month, or less. In addition, we have a few special one-off annual tours that we run every year.

The approximate itineraries / regions are listed below. On the whole, these are more like mystery tours, so we don’t reveal every detail in advance. We promise it will be an adventure. and there will be a lot of food and wine!

Group Size: 5 to 12 guests per trip
1, 2, 3 & 4 Day trips
Expected dates listed below. If you can't do the exact date, submit a request anyway as we adjust the dates based on first come first served.
Once dates are locked in, you will be notified and you can pay a deposit to secure your spot.
Approx pricing: 300 to 400 GEL per person per day, depending on group size. All inclusive, indulgent amounts of food and wine. Accommodation not included.

1 Day Tour

One Off Annual: Easter Supra & Qvevri Opening

270 to 330 GEL. Per person, all-inclusive

April 16th 2023 (11am to 10pm)

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About This Tour

Orthodox Easter Sunday is a tradition observed by many Georgian families. This is celebrated with a variety of activities (details in the drop-down below). And, of course, followed by a traditional feast (supra). We will also be opening a qvevri (amphora) of the new season wine.

We will join a local family in wine country to be part of this special occasion. You will try wine pulled directly from the qvevri.

Spaces: 12

Details Of The Activities

Authentic Family Orthodox Easter Supra & Wine Tour

We visit a Georgian artisan winemaker and their family in wine country (near Gori) on Orthodox Easter Sunday (16th Apr 2023) to share in the most important Easter traditions. As well as these traditions we will also get to partake in another springtime tradition: Opening the qvevri (amphora) and celebrating the new season wine, drinking direct from the qvevri.

Included:

Full supra (feast) & wine tasting (5 wines, including 1 direct from the qvevri). Interactive experience with the Tamada (toastmaster).
Qvevri opening and tasting of rare red wine “danakharuli”. Including the blessing of the new wine.
The most traditional easter main course: Chakapuli (a herbal meat stew, mushroom version available for vegetarians). Pick herbs from their garden and see how chakapuli is made.
Take the wine from the qvevri opening to the local cemetery where local families celebrate the lives of the ancestors by toasting the wines. (Georgians are typically happy for foreigners to be present during this time, this will not be an awkward experience). Learn how these visits are an essential tradition observed annually.
Experience the tradition of the “red eggs” and learn the game that is played with them.
After the supra, eat the traditional “paska” easter cake, made by the winemaker’s aunt.
Continue the celebration of life with the Tamada with more wines and a chance to taste homemade liqueurs. If the Tamada has enough drinks, there will almost certainly be some Georgian dancing too!

This is a specialist, all-inclusive tour with indulgent amounts of food and wine.

All transport, food, wine, cooking demo, and other activities are included.

Tips (optional) and purchase of wine/foods to take away is not included.

11am to 10 pm.

Depart and pickup at Rose Revolution Square, Tbilisi

2 Day Tour: South of Tbilisi

Wine Explorers: Bolnisi

PRICE TBC. Per person (all-inclusive)

Expected Date: 19th+20 May 2023

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About This Tour?

Visit the valley which is the birthplace of wine (8000 year old archaeological evidence) and is also the oldest know habitat of hominid life in Europe (1.8M years, Homo Erectus).

It’s also Georgia’s newest Microzone (Bolnisi), as of 2022, and has a very interesting history of German settlements and winemaking, fused with Georgian.

Spaces: 12

Itinerary

Day 1:

Gadchrili Gora – Archaeological site where 8000 year old evidence of winemaking was discovered
Bolnisi – Old German Town / New Microzone For Local Wines
Dmanisi – Visit The historic site
Visit 2 local wineries to explore regional wines and food

Day 2:

Zedashe – panoramic views of the valley
Visit 1 more winery in the Bolnisi Microzone
Samshvilde Fortress / Canyon
Homemade cuisine and wines in Tetriskaro
Asureti restored German village and wine tasting

2 Day Tour: East Kakheti

Wine Explorers: Special Microzones North/East Of Signagi

PRICE TBC. Per person (all-inclusive)

Expected Dates: 9th to 10th June 2023

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About This Tour:

Visit 3 Microzones: Akhoebi, Tibaani, Kardenakhi.
Taste the Microzone specific wines, meet the winemakers (small batch production) and enjoy homemade cuisine.

Many tourists make it to Signagi, but very few explore the surrounding Microzones to the north and east.

Spaces: 12

Itinerary

Approximate Itinerary.

Day 1:

Visit 3 artisan wineries, with food.
We’ll also make a quick stop in Signagi town (for those who have not visited before)
Overnight near Signagi.

Day 2:

Optional short morning hike. Or sleep in.
Visit 3 more artisan wineries, with food.

3 Day Tour: South Georgia

Wine Explorers: Meskheti & The Highest Altitude Wines of Georgia

PRICE TBC. Per person (all-inclusive)

Expected Dates: 21st to 23rd July 2023

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About This Tour:

Discover Georgia’s little known high altitude wine growing region, near Aspindza in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region (historically Meskheti region). The wines here are grown from 900m to 1,700m elevation, not just some of the highest in Georiga, but in the world. On terraces that were lost centuries ago and now rediscovered.

Explore specialist regional cuisine that is rarely found outside the area, such as apotkha khinkali.

Spaces: 12

Itinerary

Approximate Itinerary.

Day 1:
Borjomi.
Meskhetian wine and cuisine in the valley towards Rabati fortress.
Rabati fortress, Akhaltsikhe.
Meet the winemaker at his meskhetian restaurant, and learn more about the region.
Overnight in Akhaltsikhe.

Day 2:
Aspindza high altitude wine terraces.
Vardzia bronze age cave town.
Visit a qvevri beer brewery (Amphora Beer). They also have a beer spa!
Overnight in Aspindza.

Day 3:
Travel across the 2000m plateau to Paravani lake, and the cheese making Poka nunnery.
Visit a small Armenian restaurant for lunch.
Dashbashi Canyon
Manglisi
Dinner/winery in Kiketi in the mountains above Tbilisi

4 Day Tour: West Georgia, From Tbilisi

Wine Explorers: Samegrelo & Lechkhumi/Racha

PRICE TBC. Per person (all-inclusive)

Expected Dates: 17th to 20th August 2023

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About This Tour:

This is a massive adventure through 5 wine regions in 4 days.

Discover one of the rarest and finest wines in the world: Usakhelauri. A complex semi-sweet wine made from grapes that can only be grown in a few small villages in Lechkhumi region, west Georgia.

On either side of this very special location, we’ll take in numerous other wineries and wine regions as we loop from Tbilisi, through Kartli, to Racha, through the mountain valley to Lechkhumi, then to Tskaltubo (famous for it’s abandoned Soviet spa complexes) to the edge of Samegrelo (warmer climate wines, famous for Ojaleshi) and back towards Tbilisi through Imereti (famous for high acid white wines).

Spaces: 12

Itinerary

Day 1: Kintsvisi/Ortubani Monastery + Qvevri makers of Tkemlovani. Overnight in Ambrolauri.

Day 2: Lower Racha Wine Valley + Usakhelauri (Lechkhumi) Wine Villages. Overnight Tskaltubo

Day 3: Tskaltubo Abandoned Spa Complex + Wineries of Martvili (Samagrelo). Overnight Gelati/Kutaisi overnight (Korena’s ethno house)

Day 4: Wines of Zestafoni / Terjola to Kartli. Return to Tbilisi.

Looking For Something Different?

We specialize in small group, food & wine itineraries (with a good dose of history, sightseeing and culture thrown in). But we can provide anything from fully custom, multi day itineraries that will take to across of of Georgia, down to private walking tours in Tbilisi.

From personal two person honeymoon wine adventures, to 30+ guest wine country parties/festivals. We have wine, food and fun waiting for you!

Submit a custom quote request and we can build you an itinerary and get you a quote.

Get A Custom Tour Quote