For lovers of alcoholic drinks, the selection of products of different names gathered in one space is a great convenience. At the same time, it is always interesting to visit a place where Georgian wine is popularized, raised, and qualified advice is given. Such place can be found in Vake, Tbilisi, a few meters from the central track of the Vake-Saburtalo road.

The "Brand Wine" store, located at 4A Tamarashvili Street, is quite a large-scale space, where about 1500 names of alcoholic beverages are presented. Along with bottled wines, there are also draft wines: Khashmi Saperavi, Khikhvi, Chinese, Kvevri Rkatsiteli, Gori Green, Kisi and others. According to the decision of the owner and director of the store, Giorgi Chkhaidze, the store started operating on January 1, 2022.

This is a branch of "Brand Wine" (the address of the first one is: Mtskheti Street 48/50). Giorgi Chkhaidze plans to open a third branch in the future, which will be located in the territory of Old Tbilisi. Giorgi Chkhaidze: - As soon as I opened the first wine store, I had the idea of ​​setting up a branch, and as a result of a lot of hard work, we opened a new branch of "Brand Wine" on January 1 this year. Both in the first store and in the second (which is 200 square meters), there is a large selection of wine and the stock is constantly growing. We gradually increased the assortment and today we have more than 1500 types of wine on sale.

This includes both factory and small cellar products, vodka, liqueur, cognac. We have about 20 types of Kartli champagne in stock. Accordingly, the prices are diverse and affordable. In total, there are 450,000 GEL products in both stores, and the reporting form is also noted - we do not work on consignment, the goods are fully purchased by us. In addition to alcoholic beverages, the Tamarashvili branch offers wine-themed accessories, Georgian sweets, honey and other products. Our shop has the largest selection of wines from small cellars.

In fact, we are coverim the whole Georgia. It is a good thing that the number of wine cellars in Georgia is increasing and today it is equal to 1000, most of them are small type wine cellars. As you know, my family has been engaged in wine production since time immemorial. My grandfathers and great-grandfathers, Shio and Klimenti Kacharava, Varden Chkhaidze, Vladimer Morchiladze, in whose family inteligent society of Guria gathered themself in Kvemo Aketi. And Kliment was putting Kvevri wine, which was known for its best quality. He and Konstantine Gamsakhurdia were classmates, they were friends, and the writer was a frequent guest of our family.

Today, in Giorgi Chkhaidze's small family cellar, we produce 7 types of wine: Manavi Green, Tavkeri, Krakhuna, Rkatsiteli, Aladasturi, Chinese. This fall, for the first time, my father Akaki Chkhaidze and I pressed 3 tons of saperavi. Hopefully, an aromatic and pleasant drink will be produced, which will be ready in the near future. We attach great importance to holding tasting evenings in stores. During the tasting of the products of small wineries, the winemakers themselves introduce their products to the guests. I am also very happy for it, because more people are familiar with their natural wines. In addition to wine tasting evenings, this year we are planning whiskey tasting meetings from November, which will be led by my friend, sommelier, international expert and a good connoisseur of this field, Akaki Gwimradze.

Akaki Gwimradze: - At the tasting evenings, we talk about wine production and its features, as well as the temperature and storage conditions of this or that drink. We advise interested persons on what food and dish to use this or that wine. Choosing the right glass for wine is also one of the important issues, because the appropriate vessel, in addition to the aesthetic function, allows to correctly evaluate the color, taste and aroma of the wine. After all, wine is one of Georgia's calling cards, which foreign visitors are especially interested in. They want to see on the ground where and how the grapes for this drink are grown, and tours of the historic "wine cellar" give them the opportunity to do so.

So, through wine, visitors to Georgia get to know different corners, traditions and culture. Wine is a kind of "opening road" and a prerequisite for attracting tourists to our country and for their interest.

author: ana kalandadze