Khvanchkara is made only from two ancient Rachan grape varieties: Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli. No other variety is allowed, and the grapes must grow inside the Khvanchkara micro-zone. Sadmeli is on that micro-zone's official village list.
The harvest is in the second half of October, when the grapes are fully ripe. Fermentation is not taken to the end, so part of the grape's own sugar stays in the wine. That is where Khvanchkara's natural sweetness comes from.
Khvanchkara grapes can only come from a defined micro-zone in Racha, around Ambrolauri, on both banks of the Rioni river. It is not all of Racha. The official specification lists 30 villages; Sadmeli, where Qovalley is made, is one of them.
Map: OpenStreetMap. The pin marks Qovalley's vineyard in Racha (coordinates supplied by the producer).Open the larger map
The 30 villages of the micro-zone
Qovalley is made here — Sadmeli · სადმელი
The grapes must be grown, and the wine made, inside the micro-zone; only bottling may happen elsewhere in Georgia. Control rests with the National Wine Agency.
A guarded microzone
Khvanchkara is one of the few Georgian wines with a protected name of origin, and during the harvest the state actively guards it.
Checkpoints on the roads. In harvest season, control checkpoints stand at the entrances to the microzone (press reports say they are manned by police) so that grapes from other districts cannot enter Khvanchkara.
Ampelographers at every receiving point. Grape specialists check that only Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli grown inside the microzone are accepted.
A registered specification. Wine sold as “Khvanchkara” must match the registered specification: varieties, microzone, sugar, strength.
This describes the whole microzone, not Qovalley alone. Sources: the National Wine Agency, Eurasianet, DFWatch (2025).
The official documents of the appellation and the harvest rules are published by the National Wine Agency of Georgia.
Khvanchkara began as “Kipiani Wine”, known in Racha since the 1870s. The dates below come from the wine's official appellation specification.
1870s
“Kipiani Wine” is already known in Racha
1900
First medal, Batumi agricultural exhibition
1907
Grand Prix at the international exhibition in Belgium
1930
The wine is renamed “Khvanchkara”, after the village
1942
Stalin takes an interest in the wine's production technology, and its revival begins
1944
Khvanchkara is served at the Tehran Conference dinner; Roosevelt praises it
Today
Protected designation of origin, No. 1 in Georgia's register
Tradition holds that Khvanchkara was among Stalin's favourite wines. That is popular lore, not a documented fact: the official specification records only his interest in its production technology in 1942. It is the history of the appellation; Qovalley's own vintages are, of course, far more recent.
Source: official appellation specification “Khvanchkara”, National Wine Agency of Georgia (PDF). Episodes are given as stated in the specification.
Microclimate
A valley walled in by rock
The Khvanchkara micro-zone lies on the slopes above the Rioni river in Racha. The specification describes it as a hollow enclosed by rocks: stone and slopes soak up heat by day and cool down by night, so the grapes ripen slowly.
1 900–2 000hours of sunshine a year
21–22 °Caverage temperature, July–August
1 050–1 100mm of rain and snow a year
450–650metres above sea level
Early Novemberfirst frosts
Second half of Octoberharvest
The climate is humid, with moderately cold winters and hot, comparatively dry summers. There are more clear days here than in other West Georgian wine regions. In Sadmeli the soil is humus-carbonate with clays.
The full cycle takes about five months. Every stage runs its full course, with no shortcuts or acceleration — otherwise it simply becomes a different wine.
October≈ 5 monthsFebruary
Harvest
The second half of October — the grapes are picked in the vineyards of Sadmeli.
Slow fermentation
The wine ferments slowly. Nobody hurries it.
Cold
Fermentation is stopped with cold and the grape's own sugar stays in the wine — the principle of the Khvanchkara appellation.
Settling
The sediment settles naturally and the flavour gathers.
Bottling
Bottling happens only once the wine has stabilised on its own.
By the appellation rules, Khvanchkara reaches consumers only after 1 January of the year following the harvest — the 2026 vintage will not be sold before 1 January 2027.
The pictures are illustrations made with AI — not photos of the actual production.
Source: the producer's brand presentation; harvest timing and the sale rule — the official Khvanchkara specification.
Lot
Check your bottle
Every lot carries its own number. Enter the lot number of your bottle to see which harvest it belongs to and how many bottles were made.
Where to buy
Where to find it
Wine shops and restaurants that carry Qovalley Khvanchkara. The list is updated as new places join.
Restaurants, hotels and companies register once. After that you see corporate prices and place a request, and we invoice your legal entity and deliver the next day.
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