Menabde Wines

Sadmeli, Racha

Ilia’s journey into wine began when he was 5 years old when he used to help his grandfather working in his vineyard. Although they lived in Tbilisi the family used to spend 3 months each year in Racha. Ilia’s heart never left Racha and he began to think of ways that would enable him to have a permanent foot in his grandfathers village of Sadmeli. Winemaking seemed the logical choice. In 2015 he purchased an old vineyard and began reading and taking courses on winemaking and has never looked back, however he definitely thinks of himself more of a vine grower than a wine maker.

The vineyard is located in the village of Sadmeli in the Ambrolauri Municipality in Racha. The vineyard ranges from 540m to 570m above sea level and is planted to Mtsvane & Shavi Kabistoni (40 years old) with new plantings of Rachuli Tetra, Rtskhila, Aleksandrouli & Mujuretuli. The vineyard is 5000m2 and the soil is clay loam over limestone.