GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Shumi Winery

Where 8,000 years of wine still breathes

Shumi Winery

Why go

Shumi stands on the ancient right bank of the Alazani River in Telavi, heart of Kakheti's wine country. Founded in 2001, it built one of Georgia's most comprehensive museums of viticulture—tracing the qvevri tradition back to the 6th millennium BCE, now UNESCO-listed. The estate owns 700 hectares across microclimates, producing both European-method and amber wines fermented in buried clay vessels. The museum's collection includes archaeological finds, ethnographic tools, and Soviet-era labels. What justifies the trip is coherence: you walk from Neolithic qvevri fragments to living vineyards to a tasting room where the same techniques persist, uninterrupted. It is education without performance, history you can drink.

On the ground See

  • The Wine and Vine Museum's 8,000-year timeline of Georgian viticulture with original qvevri fragments
  • Guided tasting comparing European-style wines with qvevri amber wines from the same estate grapes
  • The estate vineyards showing distinct microclimates from the Alazani valley floor to hillside slopes

Practical Know before you go

Open year-round with English-speaking guides available by reservation; peak harvest visits September-October require booking two weeks ahead.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly