Manavi
– Manavi, Georgia
Hailing from the birthplace of wine, winemaking started 8000 years ago here, Manavi Wines is one of Georgia’s rising stars.
Founded by Giorgi Aivazyan in 2021, Manavi Wines began when he transformed a traditional village house into a fully equipped winery with a newly constructed qvevri cellar.
Nestled in the Manavi microzone within the Kakheti region, Giorgi’s 6 hectares of vineyards are spread across various plots with the region’s characteristic sandstone and marl soils at an altitude of 750 meters. Manavi is known for its diverse grape varieties, including the native Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, and Kakhuri Mtsvane, with the latter being particularly revered.
Giorgi, originally from the coffee industry, began his winemaking journey just three years ago, leveraging his experience as the owner of Givino Wine Bar in Tbilisi. All of Giorgi’s wines are made in qvevri, traditional large clay vessels buried underground, used for fermenting, aging, and storing wine – a method practiced in Georgia for thousands of years.
Cultivation: 6 ha
Production: 20.000-30.000 bottles per year
Varieties: Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, and Kakhuri Mtsvane
Approach: example Natural, no machinery, wild yeast fermentations
Certifications: none
Sulfites added: Sometimes small quantities at bottling, up to maximum 30 mg/l
