Georgian wine regions span the country of Georgia in the South Caucasus, from Kakheti and Kartli in the east to Imereti, Racha, Lechkhumi, Guria, Samegrelo, and Adjara in the west, plus Meskheti in the south. Their wines range from dry whites and reds to amber, sparkling, and naturally semisweet styles.
How to use this article: Start with the map’s regional groupings, scan grapes and styles by region, compare qvevri methods, or check protected names on wine labels.
Georgian Wine Regions on the Map
The subject here is the South Caucasus country, rather than the U.S. state of Georgia. Kakheti lies east of Tbilisi; Kartli occupies much of the central and eastern interior. Imereti lies farther west, Racha and Lechkhumi rise to its north, and Samegrelo, Guria, and Adjara occupy the Black Sea side. Meskheti is in the southern interior.
Why regional lists differ
Article 7 of Georgia’s Law on Vine and Wine lists ten viticulture zones: Kakheti, Kartli, Meskheti, Imereti, Racha, Lechkhumi, Guria, Samegrelo, Abkhazia, and Adjara. The National Wine Agency’s regional overview groups Racha with Lechkhumi and combines Guria, Samegrelo, Abkhazia, and Adjara under a Black Sea coastal heading.
These are different levels of description. The comparison below separates nine areas to make their grapes and landscapes easier to understand. It does not claim that nine is the statutory national total or that every part of each region is planted with vines.
Territorial scope: Abkhazia is also a historical wine-growing area and a statutory zone. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders but outside the Georgian government’s effective control. This comparison does not assess present wine production in those territories; the map’s internal dashed lines are not international borders.
For wider geographic context, see where Georgia sits between Europe and Asia.
Compare Georgia’s Wine Regions
Locations, grapes, styles, and growing conditions
The grapes below are representative associations, not exclusive growing ranges. “Typical styles” means useful examples to recognize, rather than rules applying to every producer. On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways.
| Region | Location | Representative grapes | Typical styles | Distinguishing conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kakheti | East; Alazani and Iori basins | Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, Mtsvane Kakhuri, Kisi | Dry reds and whites; structured amber wines; semisweet reds | Warm valleys and foothills; varied alluvial and carbonate-bearing soils |
| 2. Kartli | Central and eastern interior; Mtkvari and tributaries | Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, Tavkveri, Shavkapito | Dry whites; sparkling wines; reds and rosés | Inland basins and foothills; strong local variation in elevation and exposure |
| 3. Imereti | West; around Kutaisi and the Rioni–Kvirila system | Tsitska, Tsolikouri, Krakhuna, Otskhanuri Sapere | Fresh dry whites; lighter skin-contact wines; deeply colored reds | Black Sea moisture meets rolling hills and interior valleys |
| 4. Racha | North of Imereti; Rioni valley near Ambrolauri | Aleksandrouli, Mujuretuli, Rachuli Tetra | Naturally semisweet reds, including Khvanchkara; dry wines too | Mountain slopes and sheltered valley sites |
| 5. Lechkhumi | Northwest of Imereti; around Tsageri, Tvishi, and Okureshi | Tsolikouri, Usakhelouri | Semisweet Tvishi white; dry and semisweet regional wines | Small mountain-valley growing areas with distinct exposures |
| 6. Guria | Southwestern foothills inland from the Black Sea | Chkhaveri, Jani, Sakmiela | Chkhaveri rosés and light-colored wines; local whites and reds | Humid conditions and long growing seasons |
| 7. Samegrelo | West; including the Martvili and Senaki areas | Ojaleshi, Chvitiluri | Dry and semisweet Ojaleshi reds; local white wines | Humid lowlands and foothills; late-ripening grapes |
| 8. Adjara | Southwest; inland valleys and slopes behind Batumi | Chkhaveri, Tsolikouri, Brola | Chkhaveri rosés and pale wines; Tsolikouri whites | Wet maritime setting with substantial inland and elevation differences |
| 9. Meskheti | South; upper Mtkvari country around Akhaltsikhe and Aspindza | Meskhuri Mtsvane, Meskhuri Tsiteli | Local white and red wines from revived varieties | High terraces; relatively dry interior climate and cold winters |
Kakheti is the main commercial center, but it is not a summary of the whole country. Kartli has a distinct sparkling-wine tradition, while Imereti is especially useful for comparing white grapes and less heavily extracted clay-vessel wines. Racha and Lechkhumi deserve separate attention: Khvanchkara is associated chiefly with Racha, whereas Tvishi and Usakhelouri point toward Lechkhumi.
Guria and Adjara share Chkhaveri, while Ojaleshi is a key Samegrelo association. Meskheti introduces a different landscape of high, terraced vineyards. For grape-by-grape detail, use the separate guide to Georgian grape varieties.
How Geography Shapes the Wines
The broad east–west climate contrast
Western Georgia is more directly exposed to moist Black Sea air. Eastern Georgia has a more continental influence and ranges from moderately humid to dry. That is a broad pattern, not a rule that every western vineyard is cool or every eastern vineyard is dry.
The Greater Caucasus Mountains help obstruct cold air from the north. Other ridges, valley openings, and slope directions redistribute rainfall and sunlight locally. In the humid west, ventilation and the timing of rain matter; in drier interior sites, water availability becomes a stronger constraint.
River valleys and elevation change the picture
The Alazani and Iori organize much of Kakheti’s vineyard geography. The Mtkvari and its tributaries connect Kartli’s growing areas, while the Rioni and Kvirila help locate Imereti and the mountain valleys farther north. A river basin identifies a landscape, but vineyards on its floor and adjoining slopes need not share the same soil, drainage, or frost exposure.
Meskheti is a useful counterexample to equating western location with maritime conditions. Its southern interior vineyards include terraces at roughly 2,950–5,580 feet (900–1,700 meters), according to the National Wine Agency’s regional description. Elevation and an inland setting make this a highland comparison to the Black Sea coast.
Qvevri, Amber Wine, and Skin Contact
A qvevri is an earthenware vessel used for making, aging, and storing wine, usually buried in the ground. UNESCO inscribed the ancient Georgian traditional qvevri wine-making method in 2013. That recognition concerns a living cultural practice, not a guarantee about every bottle made in a clay vessel.
Skin contact, or maceration, is the time juice or wine spends with grape skins. With white grapes, it can produce deeper color, texture, and tannin—the drying sensation also familiar from strong tea. Wines made this way are commonly called amber or orange wines.
Kakhetian and Imeretian methods
In a traditional Kakhetian approach, white-grape juice remains with substantial grape solids, sometimes including stems, for months, often until spring. This helps explain the firm structure of many Kakhetian amber wines. It does not mean that alcoholic fermentation continues for the entire maturation period.
Traditional Imeretian practice commonly uses a smaller proportion of grape solids and a shorter period of contact. The vessel is also called churi in western Georgia. The resulting white wines can be lighter in color and tannin than a strongly extracted Kakhetian example.
These are regional traditions, not universal recipes. Producers vary stem use, contact time, pressing, and aging, and some make clay-vessel wines without skin contact. Qvevri identifies the vessel and method; amber identifies a wine style. Georgia also produces conventional dry whites, reds, rosés, and sparkling wines in other vessels.
Wine Regions and Protected Appellations
Three different maps can sit behind a wine name: historical geography, present administration, and legally regulated wine origin. Their boundaries and purposes do not necessarily match.
- Historical regions describe places and identities such as Kartli, Meskheti, Racha, or Samegrelo.
- Administrative regions organize government. Names such as Samtskhe-Javakheti or Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti should not be treated as proof that their entire territories are wine-growing zones.
- Viticulture zones are the broad zones established in Georgian wine law.
- Protected designations of origin, or PDOs, have individual specifications governing geographic origin, grapes, wine characteristics, and production requirements.
Five protected names placed within their regions
The following examples connect familiar labels to the map. They are not a complete appellation list or a substitute for the registered specifications.
- Mukuzani — Kakheti: dry red wine from Saperavi grown in the defined Mukuzani microzone on the Alazani’s right-bank side.
- Ateni, also called Atenuri — Kartli: white dry, sparkling, and slightly sparkling styles from a defined area in the Tana gorge south of Gori; its permitted varieties include Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, and Aligoté.
- Sviri — Imereti: dry white wine associated with a defined area on the Kvirila’s left bank; the specification names Tsolikouri, Tsitska, and Krakhuna.
- Khvanchkara — chiefly Lower Racha: naturally semisweet red wine from Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli. Its registered area also includes specified villages in neighboring Lechkhumi, illustrating why legal boundaries deserve a closer look.
- Tvishi — Lechkhumi: best known for semisweet white wine from Tsolikouri in the defined Rioni-side microzone around Tvishi and Alpana.
A grape name alone does not establish a PDO. Saperavi can be grown and made into wine outside Mukuzani, and Tsolikouri is found beyond Tvishi. Conversely, a broad regional name may also have a separately registered protected use: Kakheti/Kakhuri is one example. Read the protected name in its legal context rather than assuming every place name means the same thing.
Choose a Region by Wine Interest
A useful starting point is the style you want to understand. These pairings reflect regional grapes and traditions, rather than winery rankings.
- Structured amber wine and Saperavi reds: start with Kakheti, then compare producers’ skin-contact choices.
- Dry whites and sparkling wine: begin with Kartli’s Chinuri and Goruli Mtsvane; compare Imereti’s Tsitska, Tsolikouri, and Krakhuna.
- Contrasting clay-vessel traditions: compare a Kakhetian amber with an Imeretian white made using less grape material.
- Naturally semisweet styles: compare Khvanchkara from the Racha-centered zone with Tvishi from Lechkhumi, checking the individual wine’s sweetness.
- Coastal and foothill grapes: look toward Guria and Adjara for Chkhaveri, and Samegrelo for Ojaleshi.
- Highland terraces and local grape revival: focus on Meskheti.
Region is a useful first filter. The grape, vineyard site, vintage, and producer’s method explain the individual bottle more precisely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a winery’s address tell me where its grapes were grown?
Not necessarily. A cellar’s location and a vineyard’s origin can differ. Look for the declared grape origin or protected name; each PDO specification determines where grapes must originate and where particular production stages may take place.
Are Goruli Mtsvane and Mtsvane Kakhuri the same grape?
No. They are distinct varieties. Goruli Mtsvane is strongly associated with Kartli, while Mtsvane Kakhuri, also written Kakhuri Mtsvane, is associated with Kakheti. The shared word in their names should not make them interchangeable on a wine list.
What does “8,000 years of Georgian winemaking” actually mean?
A 2017 study reported evidence for grape wine in pottery from Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris Gora in present-day Georgia, dated to about 6000–5800 BCE. This supports an approximately 8,000-year archaeological history. It does not establish an uninterrupted annual production record or prove that today’s qvevri methods remained unchanged throughout that period.
What Did We Learn Today?
Georgia’s wine geography is best read at several scales: broad growing regions, individual valley and hillside sites, and legally defined appellations. Eastern valleys, humid western foothills, and southern highland terraces support different grapes and traditions. Qvevri wines also vary by region and producer, so a vessel, a color, a grape name, and a protected place of origin each tell a different part of the story.
Sources & Data Notes
Regional classifications and the selected appellation specifications were checked October 31, 2026. Nine growing areas are compared separately; Abkhazia is acknowledged in the scope note. Grapes and styles are representative, and map shading indicates approximate growing areas rather than legal boundaries. The National Wine Agency’s regional pages contain older appellation totals, which are not used here; registered specifications, rather than those totals, support the protected-name examples.
- Legislative Herald of Georgia: Law on Vine and Wine — Article 7 and wine-origin terminology.
- National Wine Agency: Viticulture and Winemaking Regions — regional groupings, grapes, landscapes, and traditional methods.
- Wines of Georgia: Geography and Grape Varieties — climate and representative regional grape associations.
- Wines of Georgia: Winemaking Tradition and Georgia: The Cradle of Wine — variations in vessels, grape solids, and skin contact.
- Georgian National Tourism Administration: Georgian Wine — regional wine and Meskhetian grape examples.
- Sakpatenti: Appellations of Origin registered in Georgia — protected names and registration records.
- Sakpatenti’s registered specifications for Mukuzani, Ateni/Atenuri, Sviri, Khvanchkara, and Tvishi — the selected geographic, grape, and style provisions.
- UNESCO: Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method — the vessel, cultural practice, and 2013 inscription.
- McGovern and colleagues, Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus, PNAS, 2017 — archaeological evidence and dating.
- EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia: Mandate — territorial coverage and access limitations.
