Andrias Gvino

Khashmi, Iori Valley, Georgia

The roots of Andrias Gvino trace back to a small family cellar in the village of Khashmi, 35km from Tbilisi. During the Soviet era, commercial winemaking was prohibited, but the family kept the flame alive, producing small batches of naturally-made wine for personal use in just three qvevris.

Following the passing of his father and grandfather, owner and winemaker George walked away from a career as a telecom CEO to protect the family’s land. What began as a duty of care in 2015 transformed into a dedicated mission to champion the boundary-pushing potential of Georgian natural farmins. Today, George works with 10 hectares in Akhmeta and a precious 0.5-hectare plot of pre-phylloxera Saperavi in Khashmi.

The Akhmeta vineyards sit at 700m altitude near the Alazani River, tucked close to the Caucasus Mountains. This location is defined by a high diurnal range; the nights are exceptionally cold, which preserves a vibrant acidity rarely found in other parts of Khakheti.

In the cellar, the approach is a blend of inherited wisdom and modern precision. While his father and grandfather always made wine naturally, George has refined the process to ensure the highest quality in every bottle. While founded on the traditional pillars of using qvevri for fermentation and ageing, and using no additives at any stage, George has put his PhD in Engineering to work to craft wines which stand alone in their style and precision. Rather than following a fixed recipe, George analyses each harvest to decide the skin-contact time - which tends to be vastly shorter than in traditional in Khakheti. He has introduced temperature control and remontage to carefully manage the fermentation and extraction, ensuring the wines remain elegant and focused. Every wine spends at least one full year aging in qvevri, and then a further year in bottle before release.

The label features a real photo of George’s son Andria (for whome the winery is named) foot-stomping grapes - a reminder that while the techniques may evolve, the heart of the operation remains firmly rooted in family and the soil.