Wine, chacha and alcohol
Where to buy good wine and what it costs, what a qvevri and a drinking horn are, which brandy and chacha to take home and how much alcohol you can carry out.
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Which Georgian wine is best, and which should you take home?
The best Georgian wine depends on your taste, but the most popular to take home are dry reds from the Saperavi grape such as Mukuzani, dry whites like Tsinandali and Rkatsiteli, and semi-sweet Kindzmarauli and Khvanchkara.
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What do people drink in Georgia, and how do Georgians drink wine?
Wine is Georgia's main drink, enjoyed at the table with toasts led by the tamada, from glasses or, on special occasions, a horn.
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Where can you buy good wine in Tbilisi, and how much does it cost?
In Tbilisi, good wine is sold in specialist wine shops and wine bars in the Old Town and Sololaki, in winery brand stores and in large supermarkets.
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Where can you buy good wine in Batumi, and how much does it cost?
In Batumi, good wine is sold in specialist wine shops, winery brand stores and large supermarkets, where a decent bottle costs roughly 15 to 40 GEL.
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How much wine and alcohol can you take from Georgia to Russia?
You can take wine out of Georgia for personal use, but how much you can bring into Russia is set by Russian rules: an adult can bring up to 3 litres of alcohol duty-free.
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Which Georgian brandy should you bring home?
The most popular brandy to bring from Georgia comes from well-known Georgian producers, the oldest tracing its history to David Sarajishvili's distillery founded in the 19th century.
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What is the horn Georgians drink wine from called?
The drinking horn in Georgia is called a kantsi (ყანწი); it is made from the horn of a Caucasian tur or a domestic bull and is often decorated with silver.
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What is the Georgian wine vessel called, and what is a qvevri?
A qvevri is a large egg-shaped clay vessel buried in the ground, in which wine ferments and is stored.