09 Jul 2022
This wine tour was a gift from family upon arrival in Georgia to myself and my wife. After easy and direct contact with the organization, we were picked up by Vaska (one of the company founders) in Udabno, a city which is at least 60 minutes off the initial tour route. As this stop was slightly unusual regarding the normal itinerary, the organization decided to adjust the route and vineyard stops to best match the Udabno pick up. Hence we joined Vaska in his airconditioned Toyota (although we actually used open windows instead to better consume the countryside). Vaska is fluent in English, extremely passionate about wine and agriculture, but also in Georgia(n history). Consequently, the wine tour was actually also a crash course in cultural education, in addition to laughing a lot. The first stop was after 1.5hr drive at Okros in Sighnagi, which has a magnificent lunch, wine tasting and view from the terras. Slightly tipsy we continued our trip via Mosmieri (more luxurious place, short stop) to Kondoli wine cellar, for sure the summum of the trip. The winemaker is a 48 year old man, who lives by himself as his wife and kids are in Western Europe for a professional sports carreer. We learned the proces of making natural wines from A to Z (including the lovely Georgian chants that accompany the manufacturing), with Vaska vastly translation every single word. Eventually, he insisted on staying until all bottles (which were opened for tasting) were finished. After having also tried his two different Cha-chas and learned about it impressive personal history, it was time to hit back for the two hour drive to Tbilisi, were we arrived after 9pm (through impressive nature, see sunset pics). Vaska drove us the entire ride (luckily, because we certainly were no longer allowed to drive) while we DJ'ed from the backseats. However, although this ended up being a tasting + drinking experience, I'm convinced that Vaska (or colleagues) feel the vibe of their guests and make sure that your tour matches you personal wishes.