Kakheti Wine Day Trip
A day in Kakheti's vineyards: Bodbe Monastery, a walk on Sighnaghi's walls, lunch and qvevri wines in a family cellar, and the Tsinandali estate.
Bodbe MonasteryPhoto: Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0East of Tbilisi, Kakheti produces most of Georgia's grapes, and nearly every village household makes its own wine. This private trip combines the region's best-known sights with its deep-rooted wine traditions. First comes Bodbe Monastery, the resting place of St Nino, then Sighnaghi, a hilltop town ringed by 18th-century walls that gazes across the Alazani Valley toward the Greater Caucasus. You lunch with a family of winemakers who ferment in qvevri, clay vessels set into the ground, a technique that is on UNESCO's heritage list. The last stop is Tsinandali, the estate of the poet Alexander Chavchavadze.
The day lasts around ten hours, including about five hours of driving on a loop that goes out via Sagarejo and returns over the mountains. The cellar tasting covers four or five wines with home cooking, and since your driver does not drink, you are free to. Trips run all year, and between mid-September and mid-October you may catch the grape harvest in progress.
Highlights
- St Nino's grave at Bodbe Monastery
- Walking a stretch of Sighnaghi's 18th-century walls
- Wide views over the vineyards of the Alazani Valley to the Caucasus peaks
- Lunch and a qvevri tasting at a winemaking family's home
- Tsinandali, with its house museum and landscaped park
Tour facts
You can be driven almost to the door at Bodbe, in central Sighnaghi and at the Tsinandali park. The town walls have steep, narrow steps, the cobbles are uneven, and some family cellars have a step down, so let us know and we choose an easier host.
Places on this tour
4 places · tap any place to read its guide
- 1Kakheti in a day: Bodbe, Sighnaghi, a qvevri lunch and Tsinandali
Day by day
01Kakheti in a day: Bodbe, Sighnaghi, a qvevri lunch and Tsinandali
Leave Tbilisi around 9 am and head east via Sagarejo to Bodbe Monastery, which stands among cypresses above the Alazani Valley and holds the grave of St Nino, who converted Georgia to Christianity. Drive on to Sighnaghi to walk part of the walls that King Erekle II built in the 1760s. Lunch is in a nearby village with a family of winemakers: they show you their qvevri and pour amber Rkatsiteli and Kisi alongside red Saperavi, served with homemade bread, cheese and mtsvadi. In the afternoon, tour the Tsinandali estate, with its house museum, old wine cellar and park, before driving back to Tbilisi.
Prices
Price per person for a private tour, by the size of your group. Sample prices
| Group size | Per person | Whole group |
|---|---|---|
| Solo traveller | $260 | $260 |
| 2 travellers | $150 | $300 |
| 3-4 travellers | $110 | from $330 |
| 5-8 travellers | $75 | from $375 |
| 9-15 travellers | $55 | from $495 |
Room and children
- Children under 6 travel free; ages 6-11 pay 50%.
- Prices change with hotel level and season; your quote is final.
Popular add-ons
- Lunch at a family guesthouse$30
- Upgrade to a 4x4 for the whole day$40
What's included
- Pickup from and drop-off at your hotel in Tbilisi
- Private guide speaking English
- Private air-conditioned transport and driver
- Lunch hosted by a winemaking family
- Four or five qvevri wines to taste
- Admission to the Tsinandali estate
- Bottled water for the road
- Any drinks not mentioned above
- Tips for guide and driver (optional)
- Souvenirs and personal costs
- Your travel insurance policy
Good to know
Who it's for
- Wine drinkers who want to taste amber and red qvevri wine at a family cellar
- Travellers who like hilltop towns, town walls and long valley views
- Visitors in September or October hoping to see the grape harvest
- Food lovers who want a long home-cooked lunch rather than a restaurant
If you want several days of cellars, cooking and feasting rather than a single tasting, book Wine & Supra or, at harvest time, the Rtveli Grape Harvest.
What to bring
- A headscarf and covering for Bodbe Monastery, where the dress code is strictly kept
- Flat shoes for Sighnaghi's steep cobbled lanes and the walkway on the walls
- A water bottle and sun hat in summer, when the Alazani Valley is hot
- Space in your luggage, or bubble wrap, for bottles bought from the family
- A light jacket for the cool qvevri cellar and the mountain drive home
- The route back over the mountains depends on the Gombori Pass road. Check road status; if it is closed we return the way we came.
- Wine is poured generously. Pace yourself, and tell your hosts if you prefer to sip rather than toast.
- Vegetarian or other diets can be catered for at lunch if you tell us when booking.
- At Bodbe the path down to St Nino's spring is long and steep with many steps, and it is optional.
Guest reviews
Questions about this tour
How much wine is included?
With lunch at the family cellar you taste four to five wines, and your hosts are likely to refill your glass. If you want bottles to take home, you can buy them straight from the family.
Is Sighnaghi or Telavi better for a Kakheti day trip?
Sighnaghi wins for views and its town walls, while Telavi is the better base for monasteries like Alaverdi and Gremi. On this trip you see Sighnaghi and the Tsinandali estate, which is close to Telavi; if you prefer, we can replace a stop with Alaverdi or Gremi.
