Best Places in Georgia
5 Complete Guides

8,000 Years of Wine, Christianity and Caucasus Culture

Georgia is the world's oldest wine-producing country — clay vessels (qvevri) used to ferment wine in the ancient Georgian tradition have been found dating to 6000 BC in the Kakheti region, making Georgian wine the product of the longest unbroken winemaking tradition on earth. The country also claims to be the birthplace of viticulture itself, with the wild grape ancestor of all domesticated wine grapes first cultivated in the South Caucasus mountains.

Georgia was one of the first countries to adopt Christianity (301 AD, predating most of Europe), and the medieval church-building tradition produced some of the most extraordinary religious architecture in the Caucasus — cave monasteries carved from cliff faces, hilltop churches overlooking glacier valleys and frescoed interiors that have been described as equalling the finest Byzantine painting in Constantinople. Combined with Old Tbilisi's distinctive architecture, the Ajaran coast and the renowned Georgian hospitality tradition (guests are described in Georgian culture as "gifts from God"), the country offers one of the most complete and underrated travel experiences in Europe.