Alexander wan2ted EvsinThe grape harvest in Kakheti begins in the first weeks of September and ends in mid-October. Rtveli has no fixed date: an estate goes into the rows once the grapes have reached the sugar level it wants. Different varieties get there at different times, so neighbouring villages pick a week apart.
This article covers three routes through Kakheti, the estates that let guests join the harvest, what a day costs, and how to plan a tasting when you are the one driving.
Why the festival is not in the calendar
The harvest starts in the east of the country and finishes in the west. In Kakheti, where most of Georgia's grapes grow, picking usually begins in the first half of September; in Racha and Lechkhumi it starts closer to mid-October. The hotter the summer, the earlier the season.
Two varieties dominate: white Rkatsiteli and red Saperavi. Rkatsiteli in the Alazani Valley comes off the vine first and Saperavi later, so even a single estate works its rows over several weeks.
The date of the trip is set by a phone call to the estate a few days before you leave, not by a festival calendar. Getting in is easier than it looks — this is the answer an r/tbilisi user gave to the question of how to join a real rtveli:
In general if you ask around, many wineries will have some sort of an offer. They usually prefer groups but you can find something for individuals too. Not all places have someone speaking English, so keep that in mind. In Georgia most things are still advertised on Facebook so you need to search there.
u/TopNefariousness4603, r/tbilisi
You do not have to search blind, though: the routes below are built around estates that have already said they take guests for the harvest.
Route one: Sighnaghi and Velistsikhe in a day
Sighnaghi is 110 kilometres from Tbilisi along the Kakheti highway, about two hours' drive. It is the shortest of the three routes and works without an overnight stay.
An hour and a half is enough for Sighnaghi: a small town with a fortress wall and a view over the Alazani Valley. The vineyards start immediately beyond it. Bodbe Monastery stands next to the town — visit it before Sighnaghi or after.
In Velistsikhe, twenty minutes from Sighnaghi, the family estate Berika Winery takes guests for the harvest in September and by arrangement, according to the travel blog Wander-Lush. In Sighnaghi itself there is the Pheasant's Tears winery with a restaurant.
Organised tours out of Sighnaghi are hard to find. In the Georgian community on Reddit the question went unanswered for a whole year: between June 2024 and May 2025 four people turned up in the thread with the same complaint.
Hey I am having the same issue. Will be in Sighnaghi next week and can't find any tours. Did you end up doing one?
u/Upbeat-Ad-6989, r/Sakartvelo
With your own car you do not need a tour. Velistsikhe is twenty minutes from Sighnaghi by road, and you pick your own arrival time at the estate.
Route two: Telavi and Kisiskhevi with an overnight stay
Telavi is about 100 kilometres from Tbilisi over the Gombori Pass, roughly one hour fifty. The other way, through Sagarejo and Badiauri, is longer: about 150 kilometres and two and a half hours.
The road over the Gombori Pass is closed for repairs from time to time: in 2024 it was shut twice — 11 to 25 April and 15 July to 4 August — with contraflow traffic on the pass itself. Check the route before you set off: if the pass is closed, the detour through Sagarejo takes about an hour longer.
In Telavi itself the harvest is run by Rostomaant Marani at 11 Rcheulishvili Street. Guests are driven to a vineyard outside town, given a row to pick, and shown how the juice is pressed. A cooking class follows, and the day ends with dinner. The transfer from Telavi is included in the price.
Only Wander-Lush publishes the 2026 dates and price: the estate's own site has no rtveli programme. Confirm both by message, because the schedule depends on the weather and can shift.
In Kisiskhevi, twenty minutes from Telavi, two wineries take harvest guests. Château Mosmieri works with them every day throughout September. Schuchmann Wines takes guests on the days it picks its own fruit; those days are not announced in advance, so ask the estate for the date — across Kakheti the harvest runs from early September to mid-October. Both have a hotel and a restaurant, and this is where people stay when the trip runs to two days.
Route three: Kvareli, Shilda and Gremi
Kvareli is 128 kilometres from Tbilisi, about two hours along the same Kakheti highway with a turn north at Gurjaani. The route needs two days: the estates sit in different villages around Kvareli, and you cannot cover them and the drive from Tbilisi in one.
In the village of Akhalsopeli near Kvareli, Wine Yard N1 takes guests every day while the harvest lasts.
Ten kilometres from Kvareli, in the village of Shilda, Keti's House hosts the harvest at weekends. Further north, in Gremi, the TEMI community takes guests, but only groups of ten or more.
Nearby sights include the 16th-century Gremi fortress and Nekresi Monastery; in Kvareli itself there is the Khareba wine tunnel, some seven kilometres long, cut into the rock.
Gurjaani, which this route passes through, is worth keeping in mind when you pick the date: on 10 October 2026 the town park holds a wine festival. Entry is free, more than a hundred producers take part, and the tasting comes with music and mtsvadi. Gurjaani is about forty minutes from Kvareli, so the festival slots in at the start of the route.
What a day at the harvest looks like
Picking starts early, before the heat. The owner's whole family works the rows, full baskets stand between the vines, and from the vineyards in the Alazani Valley you can see the Caucasus range. By midday the grapes go off to be pressed, and in the evening a table is laid in the yard: mtsvadi, bread from the tone oven and wine from last year's vintage.
A guest gets secateurs and a row of their own, on the same terms as everyone else — that is what separates rtveli from a tasting. The work takes several hours in the sun, bent over. One participant described her experience in the same thread.
If you're going to help with the harvest, it's very tiring. I experienced this and had difficulty holding it for about 2 hours, it was very difficult and required a lot of strength.
u/Sophiko-Georgia, r/tbilisi
Bring simple clothes: grape juice does not wash out and it is dusty between the rows. Rubber shoes help too.
Commercial programmes give the picking itself about an hour; the rest of the day goes on pressing, a tour of the marani and the table.
What a day in the vineyard costs
There is no single price list for rtveli. Every estate sets its own and quotes it by message: they count the number of guests and what the day includes — lunch, dinner, a tour, a bed, a transfer.
One published price is known: Rostomaant Marani charges 350 lari per person. That covers the day in the vineyard and the transfer from Telavi, while getting to Telavi is on you. A ready-made tour leaving from Tbilisi costs 375–410 lari, with the drive from the city already in the price. With your own car you pay only for the day at the estate.
Schedules differ from estate to estate, and that matters more than the price: some pick every day, others only on set dates.
| Estate | Where | When they take guests |
|---|---|---|
| Rostomaant Marani | Telavi | 15, 19 and 25 September |
| Château Mosmieri | Kisiskhevi | daily in September |
| Wine Yard N1 | Akhalsopeli near Kvareli | every day while the harvest lasts |
| Keti's House | Shilda | weekends from 11 September to the end of October |
| Berika Winery | Velistsikhe | September, by arrangement |
| TEMI | Gremi | September, by arrangement, groups of ten and up |
Tasting and the wheel: who drives
A tasting is part of almost every rtveli programme, so who drives back is settled before you leave, not at the table.
The legal blood alcohol limit in Georgia is 0.3 promille. A first offence starts at 700 lari; a second reaches 2,500 lari and a six-month licence suspension.
If the day includes a tasting, the car is driven by whoever is not drinking, or by a hired driver. When a car makes more sense than a driver is worked through in a separate article.
Frequently asked
When does rtveli start in 2026? There is no single date. In Kakheti the harvest runs from the first days of September to mid-October; in Racha it starts in mid-October. The exact day comes from the estate a few days before the trip.
Do I have to arrange it with the estate in advance? Yes. Where picking runs every day, a call the day before is enough. Family maranis work to set dates, and places there go a few days ahead.
How long is the drive from Tbilisi? To Sighnaghi — about two hours; to Telavi — one hour fifty over the Gombori Pass; to Kvareli — about two hours.
Do I need an SUV for a harvest trip? No. Every road on these routes is paved and an ordinary car will do.
Can I take the car in Tbilisi and return it in another city? Yes, AutoHub arranges this on request. Delivery outside the city is charged by distance, the return leg is counted in the same quote, and the sum is agreed before you set off.
Rtveli is not scheduled in advance: the season runs from September to mid-October, and the estate picks the day. With your own car you can leave on the day you are invited.
A car from the fleet is delivered across Tbilisi in about half an hour, and for a day with a tasting you can add a driver. Message the AutoHub concierge on WhatsApp or Telegram at +995 557 437 034, or write to concierge@autohub.ge.
