Mukhiguli 1770

The winery "Mukhiguli 1770" was founded by Ioseb Mukhigulashvili in 2019 and today offers the local and international market Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, Asuretuli Rosé, Riesling, Muscat, and Kakhet Mtsvane, made using traditional Georgian, classical, and Swabian technologies.The winery's name was inspired by the historical surname of Ioseb Mukhigulashvili: "Oak Heart" was given to Ioseb's ancestor, Giorgi Zhuzhunadze, by Erekle II: In 1770, in the Battle of Aspindza, when King Erekle liberated the territory of Meskheti from the Ottomans, Giorgi participated with his 7 sons and showed exceptional bravery.The king awarded him the title of Aznauri for his dedication, along with lands, a vineyard, a wine cellar and a house in the Kaspi region. Giorgi moved from Meskheti to Kaspi and started wine production. Years later, in 1860, Ioseb Mukhigulashvili's great-grandfather, Abram Mukhigulashvili, settled in the Swabian German settlement of Ekaterinenfeld (now Bolnisi) in Kvemo Kartli; he married a woman in the nearby village of Kveshi and began to develop the village: he brought water and built an innovative mill for that time.Ioseb Mukhigulashvili, like his ancestors, was born in Bolnisi. He was involved in winemaking processes from childhood, following a family tradition. However, he is an economist by profession and at the beginning of his career, he worked in the construction and automotive industries.When a new style of winemaking began to develop in Georgia, he became interested in this activity and in 2018, he decided to turn the family tradition of winemaking into a profession: at that time, the association "Wine Bolnisi" was founded in Bolnisi and Iose, along with his winemaking friends, became actively involved in the development of wines with a protected designation of origin:"We used to make wine in our family using traditional methods, but I became interested in learning how wine is bottled, how to use modern winemaking technologies/equipment, etc. I set a goal to expand my knowledge in this direction and I continue to learn and develop to this day."He took the first steps in winemaking in his own home; at the next stage, with a grant won at a competition from the Ministry of Agriculture, he purchased the necessary equipment for production; and with the help of an agricultural loan, he built the house and cellar of the winery "Mukhiguli 1770", in the architectural style characteristic of the Swabian heritage of Bolnisi - the 19th century.Today, Ioseb Mukhigulashvili runs the wine production with his wife, Mariam Devnozashvili, and is gradually expanding it; in the future, he also plans to turn the winery into a tourist attraction: “The rich cultural heritage of Bolnisi, including churches dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries and the Swabian era, allows us to develop not only wine production, but also wine tourism in the region.”