What is Okureshis Usakhelouri wine?
Red from Usakhelouri, Tskhenistskali valley.
Short answer
Okureshis Usakhelouri is a protected designation of origin for red wine made only from Usakhelouri grapes from a micro-zone in the Tsageri municipality of Racha-Lechkhumi. Registration number 983, date in the file: 30/08/2022. The wine comes as dry, naturally semi-dry or naturally semi-sweet.
Why
- Other varieties are prohibited: the specification allows only Usakhelouri from the micro-zone.
- The micro-zone runs along the Tskhenistskali River and includes the villages Zubi, Isunderi, Okureshi, Opitara, Ladzgveria and Makhura, at 350–650 m.
- Production is tied to the zone: processing and winemaking happen inside the micro-zone, and bottling is allowed elsewhere in Georgia.
Details
The colour is dark cherry red, the taste has red plum and red currant, the acidity is lively and the tannins are soft and balanced. Alcohol is at least 13.5% in the dry wine and at least 11% in the semi-dry and semi-sweet. Residual sugar: dry up to 4 g/l, semi-dry 4–18 g/l, semi-sweet 18–45 g/l. What these words mean on a label: dry, semi-sweet and naturally semi-sweet.
On the grape itself see Usakhelauri. The specification sets no ageing requirement.
Tip
The name must appear in Georgian, Latin and Cyrillic script together with the PDO mark on the label, as the specification requires.
What may differ
The specification sets only limits: varieties, zone, minimum alcohol, maximum sugar. Wines from different producers differ within those limits, and the specification can be updated, so check the current version on wine.gov.ge.
Common misconception
Any wine made from Usakhelouri can be called Okureshis Usakhelouri.
What actually happens
No, the designation is protected: the grapes must come from the Okureshi micro-zone and be processed inside it.
People also ask
- What is Okureshis Usakhelouri wine?
Sources
18+. This page is about alcohol and is for reference only. Drinking alcohol harms health.
Georgian wine: Madloba articlesRelated questions
-
What is amber wine in Georgia?
The Georgian Law on Vine and Wine divides wines by colour into white, amber, rosé and red.
-
What is the horn Georgians drink wine from called?
The drinking horn in Georgia is called a kantsi; it is made of animal horn, and the richer ones are decorated with gold and silver.
-
How many Georgian wines have a protected designation of origin?
On 11 November 2026 Georgia has 33 protected designations of origin (PDO) for wine.
-
What is Bolnisi wine?
Bolnisi is a protected designation of origin for dry white, amber, red and rosé wines from the Bolnisi micro-zone in the south of Kvemo Kartli.