Kereselidze Wine Cellar

Dzirageuli, Racha

The Kereselidze family has been making wine in Racha for more than 200 years. Apolon Kereselidze, a viticulturist and wine maker, is following in his families footsteps and continuing his family winemaking tradition. Apolon Kereselidze has been protecting the rare indigenous grape varieties that his family has passed down to him: Rachuli Mtsvane and Rachuli Tetra. When ruled by the Soviet Union, Georgia, and in particular Racha, saw many of its indigenous grape varieties go extinct and replaced mostly by Tsolikouri. Tsolikouri, which is a great variety in its own right, had better yields causing it to be a Soviet favourite. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Racha, which is a poor region, saw many families leave to the capital Tbilisi to find work. Also many vineyards were lost and converted to industrial farming. In the late 2000's there was a large market demand for red varieties and many more vineyards were replanted to capitalize on the demand from the Russian market. Despite all this the Kereselidze family has stayed true to their roots and continued to protect their vineyards and grapes and now they are able to participate in the preservation of their history.

gotsawines.com