Come for the Wine, Stay for the People

If the mountains are the crown of Georgia's superb landscape, then Kakheti is its glowing heart. Known almost exclusively for its vineyards and wineries, this wide and fertile valley presses up against the white topped Daghestan Caucasus to the north and the Azerbaijan wetlands to the south. Hot enough in summer to ripen any grape to perfection, the morning fog and the abundant rivers flowing down from the high Caucasus help fill them with bold flavour.

Touring this region for wine tasting is becoming evermore popular, and there are many different wineries you can visit to taste the wares. A new tourist center and museum have been built in Telavi, and there you can receive information and maps on all the wineries and vineyards and top-flight restaurants to visit.

The Alazani valley with its picturesque churches - like Gremi and Ikhalto - is cradle of not only Georgia's finest wines, but also viniculture as a whole. With the wines often named after the villages of their origin, one of the better known is Tsinandali, home to both to an excellent winery and also the home (now a museum) of one of Georgia's foremost poets, Alexander Chavachavadze.

Telavi, the friendly capital of Kakheti is the perfect base for any serious exploration of the origins of wine, rich in gardens and with streets lined with oak and mulberry trees it retains the charms of small city situated. Don't miss the Palace of Herekle II (Hercules II) built in a semi-Persian style with stained glass panels and low slung doorways, with ornately landscaped rose gardens.

The city of Signagi is enclosed by the second longest wall in the world, after only the Great Wall of China. Most of the wall still remains, as do all of its 29 towers. Situated on a hill in the middle of a vast wine growing plane it has spectacular vistas in all directions, and served as first outpost and warning of an invasion from Persia.

Kakheti is home to hundreds of historical and architectural monuments. Among these are the splendid Alaverdi Cathedral (11th Cent.), the Shuamta Monastery (7th Cent.), the Gremi Church (16th Cent.) and the medieval academy in Ikalto (13th Cent.), which was founded here to become a leading centre of enlightenment and scholarship in feudal Georgia. According to legend, Shota Rustaveli, the famous Georgian poet, studied here.

To the north, situated in the eastern part of the Great Caucasus Range, Tusheti province with its forested and snow-capped mountains, charming historic villages and original architecture is among the hikers seeking something different.