Kakheti Wine Tour: Cooking Class & Wine Tasting

Cook what you eat, taste what the region makes

A cooking and wine class in Kakheti region where you make traditional Georgian dishes at a local farmer's winery, then taste homemade wine and chacha. You'll prepare khinkali, khachapuri, and churchkhela with instruction, visit a wine tunnel at Khareba Winery to learn factory methods, and finish in Signagi with views over the Alazani Valley and Bodbe Monastery nearby.

Step-by-step itinerary

Wine tasting and cultural visits

• Enjoy views from 1800 meters altitude
• Visit archaeological site in Telavi
• Tour Tsinandali Village and farmer’s garden
• Taste homemade wine and chacha
• Cook traditional Georgian dishes
• Visit Winery Khareba and wine tunnel
• Taste factory-made wines
• Prepare Georgian cuisines and optional chacha making
• Explore Signagi city and valley views
• Visit Bodbe Monastery

The experience

The day starts at elevation: a coffeehouse at 1,800 meters above sea level opens onto views of the Caucasus, where you taste Georgian coffee before heading down to Tsinandali Village. There a local farmer walks you through his homemade winemaking process, then hands you the tools to make khinkali, khachapuri, and churchkhela from scratch. You taste four types of wine and four types of chacha, Georgian vodka, while you cook, so the flavors stick with what you've made. The farmer's garden holds a single grape tree that exists nowhere else in Eurasia, a detail that lands differently when you've spent the morning in his winery.

After lunch you move to Khareba Winery, where a tunnel carved into the earth holds aging wine. A guide walks you through the factory method, how the scale changes everything, and you taste three more wines straight from the cellar. Then you cook again: khinkali, bread, mtsvadi, churchkhela, and khachapuri, this time with the techniques of a larger operation in mind. The optional chacha-making adds another layer if you want it. By afternoon you've tasted eight wines and two vodkas, made four dishes, and learned two different ways to do the same thing.

The route ends in Signagi, the city known for love and art, where the Alazani Valley spreads below and the Caucasus rises beyond it. Bodbe Monastery sits two kilometers away, built in the ninth century and holding the burial of Saint Nino. A private vehicle and English- or Russian-speaking guide move you between stops over seven to eight hours, with bottled water and free homemade Georgian wine on board.

What’s included

• Private transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• English or Russian-speaking guide and driver.
• bottled water and free homemade Georgian wine on board.
• WiFi on board.
• instruction and ingredients for cooking khinkali, khachapuri, churchkhela and Georgian bread.
• wine and chacha tastings at both Tsinandali and Khareba Winery.
• entry to Khareba's wine tunnel and cellar.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 09:30

Book up to12h before

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish and Russian

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 2 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 6 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Georgian Paradise

Is this one for you?Choose the cooking and wine tasting option if you want to make the dishes yourself and taste eight wines across two different producers. Pick wine tasting only if you'd rather skip the cooking and spend the time on tastings and the winery tunnel instead. The cooking adds hands-on time at each stop and costs more, but it's what makes the flavors and methods stick.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Russian.

What exactly do I cook during this class?

You make khinkali (meat dumplings), khachapuri (cheese bread), churchkhela (grape juice and walnut candy), and Georgian bread. At Tsinandali you cook all four. At Khareba you repeat khinkali, bread, churchkhela, and khachapuri, and add mtsvadi (grilled meat) and optional chacha distilling.

How much wine do I actually taste?

You taste eight wines total: four homemade types at the farmer's house in Tsinandali, then three factory wines from Khareba's cellar. You also taste four types of chacha at Tsinandali and can add chacha-making at Khareba if you choose it.

What is the Khareba wine tunnel?

Khareba Winery's tunnel is carved into the earth and holds aging wine. A guide explains how factory-scale winemaking differs from the homemade process you learned in the morning, then you taste directly from the cellar.

Do I need to know how to cook to join?

No. The farmer and winery staff teach you step by step. You're making the dishes for the first time, so instruction is built in. The class suits all fitness levels and cooking backgrounds.

What are the views like from Signagi?

Signagi sits on a ridge overlooking the Alazani Valley with the Caucasus mountains visible across it. The town itself dates to the early eighteenth century and is known for its art and architecture as well as the views.