Iago's Wine

Iago started making wine at Chardakhi in Mtskheta in 2003, working from his grandfather’s methods and the family’s old Chinuri vines in the Mukhrani Valley. Kartli sits in central Georgia and behaves quite differently from Imereti in the west or Kakheti in the east: a continental climate and limestone-heavy soils that give Chinuri its freshness and its herbal edge.

In 2005 he became the first producer in Georgia certified chemical-free. In 2009 he wanted to find other Qvevri winemakers to taste with, organised a small tasting, and could only turn up four serious producers in the entire country. That tasting became the New Wine Festival in Tbilisi, which was hosting over eighty winemakers by 2017 and is now one of the fixed points in the natural wine year.

Without Iago the Georgian revival looks very different, and probably a lot slower.

Where is Iago's Wine based?

The village of Chardakhi in Mtskheta, in the Kartli region of central Georgia. Two hectares of 60-year-old Chinuri vines in the Mukhrani Valley, on limestone soils.

What is Chinuri?

An indigenous white grape and the signature variety of Kartli. It has high natural acidity and a herbal lift. Iago makes it as a deep amber skin contact wine with around six months on skins, and as a lighter version without the extended maceration.

Why are Iago's bottles numbered?

Because he never blends between his Qvevri. Each vessel is bottled and numbered on its own, so every bottle traces back to one specific vessel and vintage. He has twenty-two Qvevri, fourteen for fermentation and eight for ageing, and some are over 250 years old.

Do Iago's wines contain sulphites?

No sulphur goes in at any point, and neither does anything else. Small amounts of sulphites occur naturally in all wine as a by-product of fermentation, so no wine is ever truly sulphite-free.

What is the New Wine Festival?

An annual celebration of traditional Qvevri wine in Tbilisi. Iago founded it after trying to organise a tasting in 2009 and finding only four serious Qvevri producers in Georgia. It was hosting over eighty winemakers by 2017.

Who is Marina Kurtanidze?

Iago's wife, who makes her own wines in the same cellar. She works mainly with Mtsvane, which gives a more aromatic, fruit-driven wine than Iago's more structured Chinuri.