Japharidze winery

"Japharidze Winery” was founded in 2018 by Irakli Japharidze, one of the youngest members of the Bolnisi Winemakers’ Association “Wine Bolnisi”. Irakli represents the fourth generation of Japaridzes who voluntarily settled in Ekaterinenfeld (now Bolnisi) from Racha: Great-grandfather Valerian Japharidze, after the migration of Swabian colonists, settled in one of the German houses, which, according to the Swabian tradition of that time, also had a cellar. The Japaridzes’ cellar is now 170 years old, has fully preserved its original appearance and is an ideal environment for winemaking. The Japaridze family, for years, has followed the tradition of viticulture and winemaking for personal consumption and preferred the Swabian method of winemaking (3-4-week fermentation in oak barrels). Irakli has been involved in these processes since childhood and, among the representatives of four generations, was the first to decide to choose viticulture and winemaking as a profession — to receive the appropriate education and turn the family tradition into a commercial activity. In 2019, he graduated from the Faculty of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering of the Georgian Technical University; in 2020-2021 — the course of viticulture and winemaking at the Agrarian University. “Japaridze Winery” as a brand was created in 2018: Irakli took over the family business and diversified the winemaking methods: today, “Japaridze Winery” produces 4 types of wine — Saperavi, Tavkveri, Rkatsiteli and Rosé, using 3 different technologies — classic, Swabian and traditional Georgian (qvevri). “Japaridze Winery” products have pronounced varietal aromas; they are characterized by light, velvety flavors and balanced acidity. Only varieties with a protected designation of origin — Saperavi, Tavkveri and Rkatsiteli, which are grown in the Kvemo Bolnisi terroir, are used in production. In 2022, the National Wine Guild awarded the gold medal to the Saperavi made using the traditional Georgian (qvevri) method of the Japaridze Winery at the competition “Bolnisi, the Golden City of Wine”, and the bronze medal to the Rkatsiteli made using the Swabian method. It has participated in many competitions, where it has won gold and bronze medals.