In the village of Artana, Telavi municipality, young winemaker Shalva Khutsishvili has been developing Elibos Marani for several years.
The small family winery, built with an investment of 100,000 GEL through a subsidized agro-loan, is closely tied to the winemaker’s family history.
Speaking to BM.GE, Khutsishvili says the winery is not just a production space, but a continuation of his family’s legacy:
“I grew up in my ancestral home, and when my grandfather gave this place to me, I decided to build a winery in her honor and start making wine. That’s how the story of Elibos Marani began,” he says.
Today, the small but fully equipped winery includes six clay vessels and two stainless steel tanks. Khutsishvili has already released his first 2024 vintage to the market: 500 bottles of Saperavi and 200 bottles of Kisi, produced entirely from grapes grown on his own 1.5-hectare vineyard.
According to him, production remains small-scale, about two tons of grapes processed annually. As a result, sales are currently limited to social media channels and local customers.
“I can’t enter supermarkets because the volume is too small, so I sell the product through social networks. At the moment, the price of 1 liter of wine is 15 GEL,” Khutsishvili says, adding that the winery is run solely by family members, with no hired employees.
As for future plans, Khutsishvili says his long-term goal is to enter export markets. He is currently studying international market entry strategies at college to prepare for this step.
“I see real potential to tackle the export direction in the future. I want our family-made wine from Artana to reach beyond the borders of Georgia,” the young winemaker says.
