The Gaioz Sopromadze winery is in the Imereti region of western Georgia, sitting beside the flowing Khanistskali River in the mountains in the town of Baghdati. The winery was built in 1914, just before the... Read More

The Gaioz Sopromadze winery is in the Imereti region of western Georgia, sitting beside the flowing Khanistskali River in the mountains in the town of Baghdati. The winery was built in 1914, just before the Communist Revolution in Russia, by Gaioz’s father. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Gaioz established the winery as an emblem of natural and traditional Imeretian wines. These wines have always been great, but recently they’ve gotten even better as Gaioz’s sons, Lasha and Goga, have lent a hand in the winemaking. Gaioz is still very much in charge, but with the additional help and attention his wines have really begun to shine.

These wines are a window into the traditional Imeretian style. The Sopromadze marani ( the name for a traditional Georgian winery) is a completely outdoor operation. The small manual presses sit right next to the buried clay qvevri. Recently a simple roof was added to protect the area from the elements, though the sides remain completely open. Both white and red varieties are made with skin and stem inclusion and, of course, without any artificial or manufactured additions.

For those looking to commune with wine in its most natural state you really can’t get any closer than this. But for the broader range of wine lovers who don’t want to compromise an authentically natural experience for a wine that is clean, these wines work too. Often enjoying a natural wine and a consistently hygienic wine is an either/or-scenario, but not with wines made by Gaioz Sopromadze. With every bottle of these rare treasures you will effortlessly be transported to the dawn of winemaking, something that every true wine lover owes it to themselves to experience.