Many people who visit Georgia spend most of their time in Tbilisi. Though there is a lot to see in the biggest city in the country, the real heart of Georgia lies in its wine region. It is not very far from Tbilisi, and there are tour companies that will take people on day trips for wine tastings and checking out the many monasteries, it is not the best way to get the most out of the region.
Sighnaghi is one of the towns that the tour companies will go to, but why spend the day on a bus and rush in and out of places, when you could just stay there and enjoy what the area has to offer at a more leisurely pace. First of all, Sighnaghi is a cute little town with a bunch of wineries in it. Some of them are big operations; whereas, a couple of them are just a family that has been making their wine in clay pots for generations. You can easily have a great bottle of wine at some of the local establishments, and the owner will be so proud of their wine that they will give you a tour of their operation.
This happened to me. We had gone to Traveler’s Inn for dinner on our first night there. When we were looking for a glass of wine, we chose from the family wine list thinking that it would give us a half liter. The price indicated that it should not have been for much more. We ended up with a bottle instead, and our waiter was so excited that we went with the family option that he motioned for me to go in the back room so I could see how it was being made.
Another advantage to staying in the town as opposed to doing a day trip is that you can get an earlier start to touring the other wineries in the region. We were able to hire a driver for the day from the home stay that we were staying at. He did not speak English very well, but he knew many of the people at the places we stopped at. It helped to give us a more personal experience at each of the wineries that we visited. It also got us out earlier than the tour groups that were coming from Tbilisi.
Winery Khareba is one of the more popular wineries in the region because its operation was built into the hillside in 1966 during the Soviet era. It is a long tunnel seven kilometers long, and the place is as much of a draw as the award winning wine is. When we were there, it was only us and another couple from South Africa. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and we got to know him a little bit because he did not have to keep track of a larger group. We were also the only ones in the long tunnel even though it could easily accommodate more people. When we were leaving, two large tour buses showed up from Tbilisi which packed the place, and changed the whole environment. If we were not able to sneak in there earlier than these crowds, it would have been a completely different experience.
It is not possible to escape the crowds that come to this region. We ran into them in Sighnaghi itself, and when we made it out to the monasteries. They were some of the biggest crowds I have seen since coming out to Georgia, but being able to avoid them during some of the sights made staying here worth the experience. Also, while they were getting on a bus to head back to Tbilisi, I was able to stay and enjoy the area while they were gone. It made for a better experience out here, and it is the way that I would recommend to come out here.
John Collings 