📍 Meskheti

Meskheti is a historic region in southern Georgia, in today's Samtskhe-Javakheti. It is a high-altitude land with a cool climate, where vines once grew on terraces along the slopes of river gorges. Its centre is the town of Akhaltsikhe.

In the past Meskheti was an important wine area of the country. Later, during the period of Ottoman rule, winemaking here shrank greatly. Today the old terraced vineyards are being revived, together with the local grape varieties.

Meskhetian varieties include the reds Meskhuri Shavi and Kharistvala Meskhuri, and the whites Tskhenisdzudzu Tetri Meskhuri, Tita Meskhuri and Meskhuri Mtsvane. These names often appear only on labels of small wineries, because the varieties are rare and little studied.

Meskheti belongs to Georgian winemaking, which is known for old methods: wine is aged in clay vessels called qvevri. If you look for unusual Georgian wines from little-known grapes, this highland is worth remembering. Such wines are best sought from small Georgian winemakers who deliberately revive the Meskhetian varieties. The name Meskheti on a label shows that the grapes grew in this very area, which makes it easy to look for similar wines.