Country book · Asia

Georgia

The cradle of wine, wedged between two seas

Georgia has been making wine for 8,000 years longer than almost anywhere on earth, buried in clay qvevri beneath the Caucasus Mountains. Ancient towers, polyphonic singing and a table feast called supra make it one of the most hospitable and least understood corners of the world.

Myths

What's true, what isn't

Actually true

Georgia is the birthplace of wine
Archaeological evidence shows winemaking here dates back roughly 8,000 years, the oldest known in the world.
The supra feast has real, elaborate rules
A toastmaster called the tamada leads dozens of ceremonial toasts covering everything from ancestors to peace.
Polyphonic singing is a genuine ancient art
Georgian multi-part harmony singing predates Christianity and is recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage.
Svaneti's defensive towers are real medieval structures
Stone towers built centuries ago for defense against invaders and blood feuds still stand in mountain villages.

Commonly believed, wrong

"Georgia is part of Russia"
It's an independent country in the Caucasus with its own unique script, language and Orthodox Christian history, and a fraught modern relationship with Russia.
"It's the same as the U.S. state of Georgia"
The country long predates the American state and has an entirely separate 3,000-year-plus history.
"It's a desert or arid region"
Georgia has subtropical Black Sea coastline, alpine peaks over 5,000 meters, and lush wine valleys.
"Everyone there is ethnically Russian or Slavic"
Georgians are a distinct ethnic group with their own unique alphabet unrelated to Cyrillic or Latin scripts.

Highlights

The best of Georgia

Svaneti's watchtowers

Medieval stone towers in the shadow of 5,000-meter Caucasus peaks.

Kakheti's wine valleys

Rolling vineyards where wine is still fermented in buried clay qvevri.

Tbilisi's old town

Sulfur bathhouses, balconied wooden houses and a hilltop fortress over the Mtkvari River.

The Georgian Military Highway

A dramatic mountain road past Gergeti Trinity Church beneath Mount Kazbek.

Culture

Cultural riches

Supra feasting rituals

Elaborate toasting traditions led by a tamada define every celebration.

Polyphonic choral singing

Multi-voiced harmonies older than written Georgian history, still sung today.

Qvevri winemaking

Wine fermented and aged in buried clay vessels, a UNESCO-listed 8,000-year tradition.

The Georgian alphabet

A unique 33-letter script unrelated to any other writing system, used since the 5th century.

Food

What to eat

Khachapuri

Cheese-filled bread, with the Adjarian version topped with a raw egg and butter.

Khinkali

Twisted dumplings filled with spiced meat broth, eaten by hand and never with a fork.

Churchkhela

Nuts dipped repeatedly in grape juice thickened with flour, sometimes called the original candy bar.

Pkhali

Vegetable pâtés of spinach, beet or bean mixed with walnut paste and spices.

Mtsvadi

Skewered grilled pork or beef, the centerpiece of any Georgian barbecue.

Music

World-famous voices

Katie Melua

Georgian-British global voice.

Rustavi Choir

UNESCO-listed polyphonic singing.

Nino Katamadze

Jazz voice of Georgia.

Mgzavrebi

Folk-rock favourites.

Tamada

Traditional supra songs, sung everywhere.

History

Important people in history

David IV (the Builder)

1073 — 1125

United Georgia and led it into its medieval golden age, expelling Seljuk invaders.

Queen Tamar

c. 1160 — 1213

Presided over Georgia's greatest territorial and cultural peak in the early 13th century.

Eduard Shevardnadze

1928 — 2014

Former Soviet foreign minister who later led independent Georgia through its turbulent 1990s.

Cities