Keto Ninidze
Oda Family Winery
Orbeli, Lechkumi
Founded in 2015, Oda Family Winery seeks to revive rare local grape varieties and produce fine natural Georgian wine with traditional methods. The grapes are harvested organically and the family offers wine tasting and authentic Georgian cuisine to guests, providing family hospitality to welcome newcomers into the Georgian culture.
Winemaker Keto is a philologist (researcher of language and literature) by trade who has been bitten by the winemaking bug. Her family moved from Martvili to Tbilisi in the 1970’s and during the economic crisis in the 1990’s they removed all the grape vines at their property in Martvili to plant hazelnuts which was a much more popular and profitable at the time. But in 2015 it was time to return to the family home and reinvigorate the property by replanting old Megrelian grape varieties once again. In addition to winemaking, Keto continues to write as both a journalist and freelancer and has just recently published a book entitled “A Gently Fermenting Revolution” about female winemakers in Georgia, which has only recently become a ‘thing’ as historically women were forbidden to do so.
As Keto’s vineyards were only planted in 2016-2018 she currently works with small family farmers in the regions of Samegrelo, Racha & Lechkhumi. The first grower is in the village of Bandza in the Martvili municipality in Samegrelo. The vineyard is 25 years old and is planted to Ojaleshi in alluvial limestone soil. The second is in the village of Orbeli in the Tsageri municipality in Lechkhumi. There are two small vineyards, one is 30 years old and the other is 70 years old, both are planted to Orbeluri Ojaleshi in limestone. The last grower is in the village of Bostana in the Ambrolauri municipality in Racha. The vineyard is 65 years old and is planted to Dzelshavi in loamy limestone soil.