Iago Bitarishvili is one of the key figures behind the modern revival of Georgian natural wine. Working out of a tiny 2-hectare vineyard in Kartli, he was among the first producers to return to traditional qvevri winemaking in the early 2000s, at a time when most of the country had shifted toward industrial methods.
His focus is almost entirely on Chinuri, a native Georgian variety that thrives in the Mukhrani Valley. The vines are old and handled with minimal interference, but the defining element is the use of qvevri: large clay vessels buried underground where the wine ferments and ages.
Iago’s influence goes far beyond his small production. He was the first winemaker in Georgia to gain chemical-free certification in 2005 and has been a driving force in bringing qvevri wines back into both local and international focus.
The project is very much a family one. His wife, Marina Kurtanidze, makes her own wines alongside him, working mainly with Mtsvane, a variety that gives a more aromatic, fruit-driven expression compared to Iago’s more structured Chinuri.
