Our Winemakers

Winemaker: John Wurdeman and Gela Patalishvili.
Location: Kakheti, Georgia.
Established: 2007.
Production: Around 60,000 bottles annually (from different regions).
Winemaking method: Use of traditional Georgian qvevri (clay vessels) for fermentation and aging, as well as steel tanks for certain cuvées.
Description: The winery is situated in Sighnaghi, a historic town in the Kakheti region, which is one of the most important wine-producing areas in Georgia. It was founded in 2007 by John Wurdeman, an American artist and winemaker, and Gela Patalishvili, a Georgian farmer and winemaker. Pheasant's Tears and John Wurdemann in particular has gained international recognition for his dedication to preserving and promoting Georgian wine culture, and its over 400 indigenous grape varieties. The winery has played a significant role in the global appreciation of Georgian wines and traditional winemaking techniques.

Winemakers: Guillaume Gouerou et Vincent Julien.
Location: Sagarejo, Eastern Georgia.
Established: 2015.
Production: About 8,000 bottles each year.
Winemaking method: Focuses on natural winemaking with the use of qvevri for both fermentation and ageing. Also produce Pet-Nat and certain cuvées with semi-carbonic maceration.
Description: Lapati Wines is born in 2015. Vincent Jullien and Guillaume Gouerou, both directors, met a few years before in the Art Villa Garikula thanks to Karaman Kutateladze. Vincent was there to realize his first experiments of natural sparkling wine with the grapes of the villa and Guillaume was there as an artist, invited within the framework of the international festival of contemporary art » Fest i nova » which takes place there every year in September. The sometimes over-subtle discussions slowly made their way towards a common desire to realize a long-lasting project. Mutualizing money and knowledges with the aim of making wine with local grape growers in a natural and environment-friendly way without putting aside the technical aspect of the art of making Qvevri wine, here in Georgia, the world’s cradle of wine. For quite a long time they have been looking for a place to start all around Georgia and it will be finally in Sagarejo, in Kakheti, that they will establish their Marani in a former house on the heights of the city in August, 2015.

Winemaker: Iago Bitarishvili.
Location: Chardakhi, Kartli, Georgia.
Established: 2003.
Production: Approximately 7,000 bottles each year.
Winemaking method: Uses qvevri for fermenting and aging wine, focusing on organic and natural methods.
Description: Iago's Winery is a small, family-owned winery located in the village of Chardakhi, in the Mukhrani region of central Georgia. Established in 2003 by Iago Bitarishvili, the winery is one of Georgia’s pioneers in the modern natural wine movement. Iago pursues an authentic, low-intervention approach that respects the natural characteristics of the grapes and the land.The winery specializes primarily in producing Chinuri, a unique white grape variety native to the region. Iago's Winery is certified organic, and Bitarishvili is deeply committed to sustainability and preserving Georgian winemaking traditions. Known for its high-quality, small-batch wines, Iago’s Winery has garnered international recognition, making it a favorite among natural wine enthusiasts worldwide.

Winemaker: Lasha Chkhaidze.
Location: Kakheti, Georgia.
Established: 2004.
Production: Around 10,000 bottles annually (from both Western and Eastern Georgia).
Winemaking method: Employs qvevri.
Description: Iberieli is a family winery run by Zurab Topuridze. The name Iberieli – which was chosen by Zurab’s children – is Georgian translation of the word « Iberian » and refers to the ancient people in the Caucasus who made wine several thousands of years ago; these people later became Georgians and are believed to be the inventors of winemaking. The family aims to maintain the authentic tradition of winemaking in Georgia, producing unique natural wines from native grapes and setting standards and real examples for their counterparts and friends. Iberieli makes its wine from a total of 2 ha vineyard in the Guria Region of West Georgia and 5.5 ha vineyard in the Kakheti Region of Eastern Georgia.

igavi wines; special vineyard sites in vani, imereti & tsageri, lechkhum. From a vineyard planted in 1954 in zeindari, imere.

Winemaker: Mamuka Kikvadze and Lako Teneishvili
Location: Kartli, Georgia.
Established:: 2015.
Production: Around 10,000 bottles annually.
Winemaking method: Uses qvevri and stainless steel containers, combining traditional and modern techniques.
Description: This vineyard is situated in the Samtavisi village in the Kartli region. It overlooks the Mtkvari river spreading east to Tbilisi. It is also located in between two mountain ranges, the Trialeti range towards the South and the High Caucasus to the north providing some cold wind. In 2017 local artists Mamuka Kikvadze and Lako Teneishvili bought a patch in this charming area that included a 100 years old house and a small vineyard of Chinuri grapes. The soil is mostly clay, with limestone and red granite. Treatments in the vineyard are kept to a minimum only using small doses of copper and sulphur. Winemaking is made in a hands off approach and the wines are bottled unfiltered. They currently grown four native Kartli varieties such as Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, Shavkapito and Buza.

Winemakers: Bastien and Nino Warskotte
Location: Igoeti village, Kartli
Established: 2017.
Production: 10.000 bottles.
Winemaking method: Ori Marani’s primary focus is the artisanal production of sparkling wines, and some still wines, in qvevri, steel tanks and oak barrels.
Description: Originally from Champagne, Bastien was raised in a winegrower’s family. Fascinated about wines he graduated from the University of Burgundy and then went to work in France and around the world gaining experience and knowledge in wineries located in Bordeaux, Provence, Australia, South Africa or Canada. In 2017, Bastien was finally able to fulfil both his professional and personal dreams by starting with his Georgian wife Nino their own winery Ori Marani, their own winery.

Winemaker: Aidan Raftery.
Location: Zeindari village, Imereti, Western Georgia.
Established: 2017 (TBC).
Production: Produces a smaller quantity of bottles, focusing on quality over quantity.
Winemaking method: qvevri.
Description: Igavi Wines is based in Imereti in Western Georgia and is focused on producing wine from indigenous grapes from special sites throughout the region. The home vineyard is located in a tiny village called Zeindari in the Vani municipality. It is 65 years old and is planted to mostly Tsolikouri with a couple of vines of both Tsitska and Vanis Chkhaveri interplanted. The soil is a combination of clay and limestone with some sandstone and quartz. It is farmed organically (not certified) and everything is done by hand including weeding. It is sprayed with compost tea, sulphur and soda but the spray program is very low as the vineyard site has a constant wind that runs through it as it sits in a valley between two distant mountain ranges. All the wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts, there is never any filtering or fining and sulphites are not added at any stage of vilification including bottling. The vision for Igavi Wines is to produce wines that are thrilling and transparent that highlight the special soils in Western Georgia and for the resulting wines to be gastronomic and age worthy.