Makaridze Winery – Tsitska Tsolikouri 2020

Gogita’s family runs chemical-free viticulture in Terjola in the Imereti region.

The family winery was founded five generations ago, so they have been growing grapes for a very long time, although in the past mainly to sell cuttings, and wine was only made for their own consumption.

At the age of 23, Gogita realized that his dream was to continue the winemaking tradition. So he quit his job in the finance department of the local town hall and invested everything he had to plant one hectare of the Otskhanuri Sapere vine. He renovated and enlarged the family wine cellar and added more qvevris.The terroir is characterized by dark red clay and limestone.

The vineyards are all about 110m above sea level, the Tsitska and Tsolikouri vines are 40 years old, the Aladasturi vines are 28 years old, the Otskhanuri Sapere vines are 14 and 30 years old respectively. The Tsolikouri vine is the oldest and is over 80 years old. The wine cellar includes a total of 8 qvevris.

Gogita owns very old winemaking facilities, but also works with modern equipment, which was made available to him when he founded the Terjola wine cooperative in 2014, which also includes other winemakers in the region.