We’re taking you to the incredible country of Georgia, one of the most underrated countries in the world where wine, history, and culture come together in the most magical way in the main city of Tbilisi and beyond. We explore historic spas, wine baths, local nightlife, cultural sites, natural wonders in the Caucasus Mountains.

We also dive deep into our experience at WINECAST, a five-day festival celebrating cinema, wine, and Georgian culture with film screenings, wine tastings and masterclasses, live music, and more!

Highlights of Georgia:

• The rich history of Georgia as the birthplace of wine 🍇
• Exploring Tbilisi’s  food, art, nightlife, and vibrant energy
• Day trip to Mtskheta: Jvari Monastery & Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
• Georgia’s Balneological Spa – sulfur and wine bath experiences
• The magic of WINECAST Festival – wine, cinema, and culture
• Supra dining traditions & the role of the Tamada (toastmaster)
• Visiting Kazbeggi & Gergeti Trinity Church in the Caucasus Mountains
• Supra feast with a local winemaker and a once-in-a-lifetime wine tasting

If you want a great overview of Georgia, check out Dr. Matthew Horkey’s premier film about the country and its culture here: A journey through GEORGIA ‘The Cradle of WINE’

Hotels in Tbilisi, Georgia we recommend are the Radisson Blu Tbilisi (we stayed here and loved it!) or Mercure Tbilisi Old Town. If those are booked you can search Tbilisi hotels on Trip Advisor.

Check out the Tbilisi Activities & Tours on Viator we recommend for all day trips, wine tastings, city tours, and airport transfers.

Find a great flight deal to Tbilisi by signing up for Thrifty Traveler Premium and get flight deals sent straight to your inbox. Use our promo code TSP to get $20 off your first year subscription.

Contains affiliate links, thanks for supporting Travel Squad Podcast!

Georgia Wine Trip – Episode Transcript

0:35

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad podcast. Today we are taking you to the country of Georgia for a week of exploring the country, mainly the city of Tbilisi, the outside area of Makrani and the mountainous region of Kasbegi.

0:58

We’re going to be eating and drinking wine every step of the way and enjoying the five day Wine Cast festival.

I’m so excited to hear about this because Georgia has been on my bucket list for a while while now.

I hear it’s a really beautiful place to go hiking and I’ve seen all the pictures of the mountains around it looks beautiful.

1:17

But what I never really considered was that it’s also a wine region and it looked like all of the food you were eating and all of the wine you were drinking was absolutely amazing.

So I can’t wait to dive into this episode with you.

And if you weren’t able to tell by the way Brittany was talking, of course, Kim went on this trip alone.

1:34

And this was a whole wine expedition for you.

So I’m really, really excited.

Yeah.

You explored the country, But Brittany said she didn’t really know that it was a wine country or region.

And I know you’re going to get into this a little bit later, but Georgia is known as the birth place of wine, So it has a storied history in that, too.

1:53

Did you know that, Jamal?

Because I’m shocked that you didn’t, Brittany.

I didn’t know specifically Georgia, but I knew it was in the area around the Black Sea in the Caucus Mountain region where really wine cultivation and grape harvesting really took place in ancient civilizations.

But I did not know specifically Georgia.

2:10

Yes, it’s a huge, huge part of the Georgian culture.

And you know, I don’t blame you because Georgia is not the most talked about country here in the USAI hope that this podcast can change that because it is an amazing country to visit.

The people are amazing, the food is so good, the wine is so unique and almost everybody that at least that I came into contact with on this trip, they have some hand in wine.

2:36

And of course, the Caucus Mountains are beautiful.

It’s great for hiking.

But it is a country that really should be on everyone’s radar.

And it’s about to be.

And I’ll tell you why in just a second, but Georgia hasn’t been on my bucket list like it was for you, Brittany.

I knew very little about it.

I was invited to attend through our friend Doctor Matthew Horkey.

2:56

He’s a very amazing wine expert and he’s in love with Georgia.

He really sold Georgia for me.

If you aren’t familiar with Doctor Matthew Horkey, go check out his YouTube channel.

He’s got a ton of really great content on Georgia wine, Georgia as a country, and a lot of other European destinations and and across the world.

3:14

You’ll hear a lot more about him in the episode to come.

So we were guests of the Georgia Tourism Authority and the Wine Cast Festival.

I’ll tell you a little bit about what Wine Cast is.

And shockingly, this was the second year of Wine Cast.

It was a pretty big festival, I thought for just being in its second year.

3:32

Wine Cast is an innovative cultural festival.

It really married the art of cinema with the heritage of Georgian wine and culture and it blended it so well together.

Being that 2025 was only its second year, I was really shocked at how big it was.

3:47

It took place over 5 days across several different venues, mainly the Tibilisi Wine Museum and the Chateau Makrani, but it did have some other activities as well and it was the best way to experience Georgian culture along with the other stuff that we did here.

4:04

The festival really was designed to celebrate storytelling through film, the shared delight of wine.

Wine was a very big part of the event.

Every one of those days.

My cast had several days of featured curated film screenings, guided wine tastings, master classes, different discussions about wine, music, gastronomy.

4:24

There was a big food element of things and you were really fully immersed into Georgian culture or something.

That sounds amazing.

I feel like the best way to dive into a culture is through its food and drink, and this just really they lended itself to that experience.

4:40

And through the locals, right?

We always say that.

Yes, absolutely.

I was watching your Instagram videos, but tell me a little bit about the film and the screenings that you watched.

Where was it based off of like the wine industry or how did it relate?

There was a lot of wine influence in the films, but not all of them had it.

4:59

And it was an International Film Festival.

So there were films from people from Iran, people from France, other parts of in the US.

Georgia, of course, had many films there.

Some of them were about wine or wine making or different aspects of wine and lifestyle.

5:16

Many of them were not.

And there were short films, which were my favorite things that were 5 to 30 minutes long.

And then there were full length feature films that you would expect the typical hour and a half ish.

They had film screenings at Winecast inside the Chateau.

And then they had a big open air filming outside with like bean bags and lounge chairs.

5:36

And it was a huge sprawling event.

Kind of how it went down was so five days, right?

There was an opening day, another day of the wine competition.

The next day was more film screenings and wine tastings.

And then the weekend, Saturday and Sunday were the big wine events at the Chateau Mcronny, where there was tastings and master classes and lots of film screenings and a full day of events.

6:00

And how many people would you say attended this event?

It’s hard to say.

Saturday was definitely the biggest day, and I was surprised at how many international people were actually there.

I met a lot of Americans, Australians, Georgians, of course, people from across Europe.

I would say on Saturday, I don’t know.

6:16

I’m not really good at judging crowd sizes.

I would say maybe 1000, maybe even more.

Just wow.

Yeah, based on how many seats were set out, Sunday was a little a little bit quieter.

I know, at least for myself, I was struggling a little bit on Sunday, so maybe some other people were too.

Well, Speaking of the amount of people that were there, that kind of leads to the question that I had.

6:38

I know you mentioned that you are a guest of the Georgia Tourism Authority and of course Wine Cast throwing on this event.

But is this something that anybody can just buy tickets to and go?

Or is it something that Wine Cast has to invite you?

Because I know there’s, you know, tastings, judgings, things like that, but can just the general public attend this if they wanted to?

6:58

Yes, to attend the festival.

It is open to the public.

You can buy tickets.

I believe they were selling them on Eventbrite so they made it very easy to get tickets.

Very nice.

Well, this looks like something that maybe Brittany and I might have to time our trip to Georgia to do because this seems really fun.

7:14

And even when we were just watching your Instagram stories, I got like really excited because I’m telling you this, Kim.

I mean, I know you’ve talked about how as you’ve gotten older, your travel, the Hell’s changed a little bit.

And I’m telling you, as I’m getting older too, my style is changing a little bit, kind of differing from Brittany’s here where she really wants to do go, go, go.

7:36

And one of my favorite things is just take it with ease, relax, immerse myself in the culture.

Again, Brittany said it though, best way through food and drink.

And this lends itself really well for that, I think, to visit Georgia this way.

We’ll probably tack on a few days of hiking and we’ll have to do that before Wine Fest starts because sounds like Sunday was a rough day for you, so we’ll have to get the hiking out before we do the drinking portion.

8:01

Well, I know you said you wanted to put Georgia on the map, so people are aware of it.

And again, the country, not the state.

I don’t think even a lot of Americans hate to say this, even know that there’s a country called Georgia.

So put it on the map.

Kim, tell us a little bit about Georgia.

So literally on the map it is in the Eastern Europe, West Asia area of the world.

8:21

It borders Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Black Sea.

Interestingly enough, it has a very modern history with the Soviet Union.

I learned a lot about the culture through our tourism board hosts that I’ll get to in just a second.

But actually, if you can believe it or not, it was 1991 where they finally became most recently independent from the Soviet Union.

8:43

That’s really not that long ago.

So they have a very storied history with the Soviet Union, but they are very much their own country and culture.

The landscape, as we’ve already alluded to with all the hiking talk, is known for its caucus mountains, very high, beautiful mountain ranges.

They also have beautiful valleys, of course, vineyards, ancient cave towns, which I did not get to see on this trip, but I would love to go back for.

9:06

And also the subtropical Black Sea coastline, which I would also love to go back for.

It looks amazing.

In addition to hiking, it is most well known for its wine.

It is widely considered by many to be one of the birth places of wine.

Although when I said that on my Instagram, we had some disagreement there.

9:24

But truly, archaeologists do refer to Georgia as the cradle of wine.

There is evidence dating back to 8000 years ago of wine making artifacts.

They’re called quaveries.

They’re these big barrels.

They’re not exactly barrels.

They’re more clay pots that have this very unique shape.

9:41

They’re buried underground.

They use beeswax to seal them.

They’re still used today.

Maybe not the ones that were originally from 8000 years ago, but they still use these mechanisms today to make wine in their own homes and in their production facility.

So wine is very much a part of their history and their current modern day life.

9:59

And then what’s also really interesting is I have in the last year or so, year or two, so really fall in love with orange wines.

They’re rare.

You don’t see them on menus a lot.

You don’t see them in even Bevmo or Total Wines very much.

And come to find out, Georgia is huge with amber or orange wines.

10:20

Almost 80% of its wine production is in this varietal.

They do 20% red and they do mostly dry wines, which is great and I tried so many of them and I was in orange wine heaven.

So as Jamal alluded to earlier, a lot of people don’t know about Georgia.

10:37

Would you say it’s still a developing nation or would you say it’s well developed and easy to get around?

How would you describe the area you were in?

I would say technically it is still a developing nation.

The main city of Tbilisi where you’re going to fly into most likely.

It’s very bustling, lively with energy and people buildings.

10:55

Plenty of places to eat, art installations around town.

There’s still parts of historical buildings and walls around town too which is cool.

So it’s a modern city?

Tbilisi is when you go farther out of the city.

Of course it’s still villages and developing nation.

11:10

I do believe some of it is connected to their history with the Soviet Union.

And since 1991 and separating officially, they’ve, you know, year after year just invested more into their country.

And you know, even Matt will say every time he goes back, it’s more lively.

11:26

It’s it’s more live, it’s more developed.

It’s got skyscrapers and Tibilisi now it, so it’s still getting there, but it has a little bit of both, which I think adds a lot of charm to it.

One of the things that I learned actually that I really think is going to help with tourism and really making Georgia give it the pop that it deserves is in 20-30, a new bigger airport is set to open.

11:48

So right now it’s very hard to get to Georgia.

I had to fly from Austin to Chicago to Vienna than Vienna to Tbilisi.

So it was a really, really long day of travel.

Once they build this bigger airport, there’s going to be a lot more flights.

The airport they currently have can’t take any more flights in it so that it makes it harder to get to right.

12:06

Once this bigger one opens, a lot more people are going to be able to come.

I really think Georgia is going to just explode at that time.

Their government’s also investing into the country more so.

Last year the government passed an initiative to mark Brittany over 800 miles of trails.

12:24

I’m.

Going to hike them all.

We’ll see you in a couple years enjoying those 800 miles.

But I know Matt has hiked some of these areas in years past and he said it was very rugged and not well marked and hard to navigate.

12:39

So this is going to be really good for people that do want to come and hike it.

And then just a couple of other fun facts.

I really fell in love with Georgia when I found out that seafood is not common here.

I can imagine.

So your least favorite cuisine?

So what did they have if not seafood?

12:56

Pork is very common, beef is pretty common.

And then of course there’s a lot of cheese, peas, there’s a lot of bread.

Oh my God, the Georgian bread is so good.

They like salt too.

Tomato salad, tomato and cucumber salads.

Oh my God with walnuts, like walnut paste.

13:11

And the food is good.

I have so much to say about the food.

The last couple things is it is a very orthodox Christian country and some just a weird fact about it is they actually celebrate Christmas on January 7th because they follow the Jordan calendar.

13:27

Interesting.

I would have never known that.

Yeah, the culture is very be strong, very, very, very interesting.

You know, I only know a handful of facts that I’m sharing with you, Squatty’s, but there’s so much more to Georgia.

Well, that was such a great introduction to Georgia, but why don’t we dive into some tips that you have for visiting the country?

13:47

A few quick tips is that many Georgians do speak English.

Pretty much everyone that I had a conversation with spoke English back to me.

This probably might not be true for the villages outside of Tbilisi, but it certainly was for me.

14:02

In Tibilisi you can drink the water.

It is a country where the citizens themselves do drink the tap water.

Tbilisi is built on springs, and then they get the rundown from the Caucus Mountains.

We always say for any tourists, maybe it’s not the safest to drink the water right away because you’re not used to the chemicals and minerals in it.

14:22

But the people who live there do drink it.

And then as far as being a modern culture, they do have Bolt, which is their version of Uber.

The interface looks exactly like Uber.

It’s very affordable to use.

They also have Bolt delivery, so you can get food delivery through Bolt.

14:37

So all those modern amenities that we have here.

And then we did use credit card at a lot of places, but it is a cash culture, especially when you get outside of Tbilisi.

There’s lots of words in Georgia that are really fun to say.

So Garma, Garma Joba is hello, Garma Joes is cheers.

14:56

You can see how closely tied those are.

Hello and cheers.

I know you always love to say and learn.

Cheers in a new language wherever you’re traveling and perfect for you considering this was a wine trip just as.

Well, there was lots of Garma Joes going on.

Madloba is thank you.

15:12

Supra is a buffet family style meal.

Supers are very tied to the culture here and they’re dinners that can go well into the night where you just eat and drink wine and have conversation and it’s fantastic.

A quavery.

I mentioned these before.

15:28

These are their traditional wine making clay pots.

I could teach you how to say the F word in Georgian, but I think I’ll skip that.

Dashla Armushla is to be continued.

This came up when we were having a Supra at the end of the night.

The tamada, which is has a storied history, but essentially today it’s the host of the party who gets everyone to drink more wine.

15:49

The tamada said Dashla are mushla and that means to be continued.

We’ve had a wonderful meal.

There’s always a chance to have more, maybe tomorrow.

That’s almost the way of saying, OK, we’re done for the night to be continued.

But it was fun while it lasted.

But in a more positive way, like we will have another.

16:06

No, of course I meant it in a positive way, but it’s nice that their culture even has a saying for be like, OK, we’re done, we enjoyed the time.

But yes, genuinely, let’s continue later.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Cha cha is a very strong liquor distilled from leftover wine remembrance and it is strong.

16:26

It is kind of like AI would say like a limoncello in Italy, but way more strong.

And then the last one is sudigogo which means bad girl or sudivici which is bad boy.

Who called you?

You a sudi?

Go, go, Ken.

16:42

The words were being thrown around.

Sudi V2, Sudi go go.

Yeah, it was real fun.

So you said you went on a 5 day trip, You were here.

Did that include travel?

Well, I left on Tuesday, so if you count that at 7:00, but six days actually in the country.

16:58

OK, and so you landed on a Wednesday.

Tell us what you did when you got to Georgia.

Got there around 4:00 PM.

We were picked up by our amazing host with the tourism board, Davide and Constantine, They’re with us most of the time.

Throughout this experience, there was Constantine who was doing all the driving.

17:17

Davide was one of our tour guides and our hosts, exploring the city, dining out.

They taught us so much about the Georgian culture, Georgian food, Georgian sites that we were seeing, history.

The fact that I shared about the trails and the airport learned that from them.

17:32

I was so happy to be with them for this time because you just learned so much more from a local.

We always say that if you have a chance to come to Georgia, I would do some type of a local tour, walking tour, maybe even a private driver.

That would really make your trip that much more special.

17:48

I know you got picked up, but real quick on a side note, in terms of if somebody’s going on their own easily available to get a taxi or one of those bolts from the airport, then to get into town.

Because I don’t imagine or I mean, maybe I shouldn’t speculate when I say don’t imagine, but I’m sure they don’t have metros leading from the airport into town.

18:07

So you probably have to take.

They do have metros, a very good metro system.

I don’t know if Bolt is available at the airport, like I didn’t test it.

I know sometimes they restrict airport rideshare, but there are plenty of taxis and the airport’s just about 15 minutes from like City Center 0.

18:23

Perfect.

So nice and close.

Yes, we checked into the Radisson Blue Tibilisi.

It’s a beautiful hotel.

I know we talked about the Radisson Blue in France before the one here in Georgia, 1000 times better.

It was amazing.

We didn’t really have a lot of time actually.

18:39

We just put our stuff down, kind of showered real quick, changed, and we went straight to the beautiful opening ceremony of Winecast.

And so this was in the city center on the street.

They had a beautiful little area set up.

The crowd gathered.

They were Georgian acapella singers.

18:56

That was really cool to see.

There was a ribbon cutting experience and then of course, some opening ceremony words to the crowd.

After that, we walked just a block or so over to the Tibilisi Wine Museum for the first kind of experiences of wine cast, the Tibilisi Wine Museum.

19:13

If you’re not going for wine cast, you should still bring yourself to this museum.

It’s really cool what they have in there, just ancient artifacts of wine making.

It’s a really, it’s in a big wine cellar underneath too.

That’s just gorgeous to be even in without the artifacts.

So definitely go check that out.

19:29

But for this event, there was plenty of different wine tastings.

I mean, there was no shortage of wine at any time during this entire trip.

There was a beautiful spread of hors d’oeuvres, some Georgian classic food, some others, and then there was a screening of a very classic Georgian film from the 60s called An Unusual Exhibition.

19:50

This was a long form like hour and a half ish movie.

Very interesting, very good introduction to Georgian culture and history.

As you go through your days, how much of your days would you say are focused on Winecast versus some downtime that you had?

Well, Winecast is also blended with tourism and so downtime personal time, I would say maybe 30%, OK.

20:13

So it’s almost like a Teabex because we just recently had our T backs episodes air where you’re going for an event, let’s just say Wine cast is this event for you.

But the event also hosts tours where they take you out to explore the region, the city, etcetera.

Is.

Would you say it’s similar to that?

20:29

So no, the tourism experiences were for invited guests, and I was one of those guests who as a part of the podcast, is going to be sharing more about the Georgian culture and wine cast.

Matt was a guest because he was one of the wine judges.

Lauren is a wine journalist.

20:45

She was also one of the wine judges.

Then there was Valerio.

He was one of the film judges.

And there was supposed to be another Lauren who was a film judge, but she couldn’t make it last minute.

She was ill.

So this group of us was hosted by the tourism board and wine cast.

21:00

Regular wine cast attendees were not taken out on tourism experiences.

Although that’s a great suggestion for your 3.

It would be, but that is good to know.

But nevertheless, lucky you that you got to experience it that way with the tourism board to really show you everything that’s great about Georgia and the region.

21:17

Absolutely, absolutely.

So end of Wednesday night, I was jet lagged, exhausted, we passed out.

And then Thursday.

So Thursday we had an idea of what the schedule might be before we came, but it got changed up a little bit so we actually did have some free time.

21:33

So Matt and I decided to do a Tibili Seat walking tour of the city.

You know I love my walking tours and my walking tour guides.

You sure do.

How was this?

One this one was great and so Matt’s been to Georgia many times.

He loves Georgia, so he was the perfect tour guide to walk around the city with.

21:50

Walk over the bridges, look at different buildings, point out different like restaurants and wine shop owners.

And then we sat down and we had another espresso and a little bit of water and just kind of relaxed ’cause it actually was really hot when we were there in August.

Then around 1:00 PM, we met the group of us, the invited guests, for lunch.

22:12

We went to a restaurant called Alu Bali, and it is a traditional Georgian food restaurant.

We of course had amber wine.

We ended the meal with cha cha and cappuccino.

And some of the Georgian food is pork, of course.

We had that tomato and cucumber salad with walnut paste and just a bunch of other little bites.

22:32

I think they had like an eggplant dish.

And there’s usually always sauteed vegetables like zucchini and bell Peppers.

Just really, really good.

But if you are a vegetarian or a vegan, you will get on just fine in Georgia and the food is all really good.

And then after lunch, Lauren and Matt needed to go to the wine competition to judge the wines.

22:50

There was 85 wines to judge, which is a lot of wines to judge in a short amount of time.

Since I wasn’t one of the wine judges, I did my own thing.

I actually went back to the Radisson Blu where we were staying.

And what do you think I did there?

You probably went to a spa because that’s your new favorite thing to do.

23:09

Yeah, for the last, I don’t know, year and a half, I’ve been obsessed with spas.

And Madison Blue had a spa that you could get treatments at, but you could also use the facilities as a guest.

They had a sauna, steam room.

They had these cool relaxation beds that faced out to the window that looked out at the city and the river.

23:28

They had a solarium, which I thought was this very fancy thing, but turns out it’s just kind of a little bit more of an old school tanning bed.

It’s like one of those relaxation beds and then above it there’s lights that tan you.

So I tried it all out.

There was also an indoor pool.

23:44

I went in there.

It was pretty cold, but it was, I think, up on the 18th story.

So it had a really nice view.

And then on this trip, I actually, for the first time really was attempting to travel in quite different time zones and still work remote.

24:00

I’m thinking about doing an episode on my learnings from this experience because I did learn some things.

But rather than go to dinner with everyone, I decided to stay home and get some work done in the hotel room.

So that was my day.

Thursday was almost all to ourselves, except for the lunch that we had as a group.

24:16

Sounds like a nice mellow day to just get yourself acclimated having got in on Wednesday.

Not too much but enough to just go out and do something and relax, especially with the spa.

And then of course, having to get to work for you too in the evening.

Yes, it was a good, good first day.

Second day?

24:31

Really.

Hey squaddies, before we continue onto Friday, I just want to remind you to go to our website travelsquadpodcast.com.

You will find a ton of resources there.

We have links to all of the itineraries in our shop, Travel Squad shop which has domestic and international itineraries, blog posts for every episode we’ve done, our Amazon shop has recommendations for all of our travel products, and a leak to sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date on everything travel.

24:59

Friday we had big plans to go out to Muscatta for a day tour.

Davide and Constantine picked us up.

We all got in the van and we drove out there.

The first stop we did was Javadi Monastery.

It was a 7th century monastery still standing in its building, a UNESCO World Heritage Center. 65% of that structure was still original, so it was really cool to see the outside building, the decor that was on the outside of it, and then the inside of it as well.

25:30

Then we went over to this Svetites Covelli Cathedral, which is a 17th century cathedral.

Up until 2004, it was the largest church in Georgia still being used.

Actually, we got to go inside this one and it was really, really cool to see all of the different things that they had inside.

25:48

So they had a tub from the 4th century AD that is still functioning today for baptisms.

That’s crazy, just the amount of history in this region.

How many people do you think were baptized in that tub?

Do they have an estimated number?

26:03

They didn’t share that number, but still today you can go and get baptized there.

They actually had tombstones inside this cathedral as well, and they had the headstones.

They weren’t really headstones sticking up.

They were flat on the ground.

You could walk on them, right?

26:19

Tombstones, you could walk over in this building.

And they do say to walk on them.

It’s good luck for them.

The tombstones were original from Georgian nobility.

In fact, here’s a really cool thing about this.

It’s one of the stories that is likely true, but maybe, maybe not.

26:35

They say that Jesus Christ robe, the original, the authentic Jesus Christ, His robe, is buried here.

Did they say where?

Not not exactly where, but there was someone who a woman who received his robe and then it was buried here.

26:52

Pretty cool.

Yeah.

Lots of Christian Orthodox history here, but what’s really interesting that caught my attention here, I love horoscopes and Zodiac and stuff like that.

And so inside there’s this huge painting on the wall depicting scenes from the Zodiac.

27:09

There is the whole Zodiac dial painted and other really weird things like a sheep with multiple heads.

These are not Christian symbols.

No one knows who painted it, no one knows who commissioned it, no one knows how it got here.

But it goes against Christian beliefs, and it’s in a Christian Church.

27:25

It’s interesting that they left it up then.

It is interesting.

But really cool to see.

Yes, very cool.

Then after all that, we went to a restaurant out there called Picnic and we had again traditional Georgian food, amazing Georgian bread and cheeses, the tomato, cucumber salad with walnut paste, pork, chicken in these like delicious sauces, wine, amber wine.

27:50

Of course at the end to order coffee.

I never got it, but Constantine kept getting this iced coffee or it was called cold coffee with ice cream.

Oh, that sounds so good.

It is kind of looked like.

An avogado.

But it was in a glass, so if an avogado was a drink, OK.

28:07

Yeah.

I never got to try it too.

It’s my biggest regret from Georgia.

Well, I’m a sucker for coffee, so that sounds actually really good.

But I want to just kind of back up just real quick.

Kim, I’ve known you for 18 years now.

You know, everyone who listens knows you don’t like seafood.

28:23

You alluded to it earlier, but I have watched your food tolerance and likes change over these 18 years.

I feel like it used to be really picky sometimes.

I will say you still kind of are picky, but for the most part, you like a lot of stuff.

But something that’s always been surprising is stuff like cheese, especially like stinky cheese, blue cheese, other stuff like you do like, which I would think, oh, Kim wouldn’t like this.

28:44

So tell me about these Georgian cheeses that you keep talking about.

Are they mild cheeses?

Are they strong and pungent?

What are we looking at here?

There actually were cheeses that were like matzo and then there were some that were a little bit softer or maybe like another white cheese.

29:03

Not not a soft creamy cheese. 1 You could still slice more mild.

But the day before when we were at lunch, there was a sheep cheese and it was strong and I ate it and it was one cheese that I had to really wash down with the amber one.

29:20

OK.

So that one was a little bit of a tough one for you.

I went and I wish I could tell you exactly what it was called.

I don’t remember.

It was a sheep cheese and it tasted like the farm to me.

OK, but for the most part mild cheeses then for people who don’t like strong pungent ones.

29:36

Yeah, and the last night we had a supra and I ate like a handful of cheese.

Like so much cheese.

She’s really, really good there, most of them.

And I mean, if you hear sheep cheese, just be a little careful.

After lunch, we drove back into Tbilisi because we had a planned spa experience.

29:55

Now, when I saw this on the schedule, I got so excited.

This was at the Balneological Spa right in Tbilisi, right where the springs are.

There’s a lot of spas over there actually, so you can really have your pick.

And this is where I actually had some feelings about this place.

Now, the spa experiences were fantastic, but when you go into this building, it’s a very large building, stone floors, like very sterile, almost like a hospital or an insane asylum.

30:23

And they have a lot of those old spa contraptions and things.

And it was actually giving me a lot of the vibes that we felt in Hot Springs, AR.

Yeah, I can see that.

I can.

I can definitely picture that in my mind.

But see, when we were in Hot Springs, AR though, the buildings were just so nice.

30:40

They had stained glass windows.

So you saw all those weird contraptions of the ancient spa, but it wasn’t as scary.

But if the way you describe the building, seeing all that too makes it seem like, oh wow, that’s a little daunting.

Yeah, yes, yes, yes.

And then, I mean, the hallways are long, all the doors look the same, and then there’s the Georgian ladies sitting on the benches waiting for someone to come to their room.

31:03

And none of them really spoke English.

So it felt even more like what am I getting myself into?

It was like, I think a little bit of the Soviet Union vibes were coming through in this place.

But we did have a really great massage and they had great robes and slippers.

31:22

And then the experience that we were set up with was about a 30 minute massage and then a 15 ish minute sulfur bath.

So I went and did this amazing massage and then I had the sulfur bath.

And I mean, I have been in a sulfur bath before at Glen Ivy Hot Springs, but this was my first time really being in a solo bath, stone bath, stone room.

31:47

There’s no like spa music playing in this place, right?

The windows open, I can hear the outside world, the water, the sulfur water was actually like a bright, almost like a lime green.

And it had all the natural materials still in it.

Did it smell?

It did?

Yeah.

32:02

Like sulfur?

Most importantly, how’d your skin feel afterwards though?

Very soft.

I I tried to ask them like what are the benefits of sulfur baths?

And the barrier was a little bit hard, but essentially it’s just soft skin.

Very nice.

Well, minus the uniqueness of it, you got a little bit of the history and then you did have a unique spa experience right up your alley it.

32:23

Was fantastic.

If a squatty was going to go and visit the spa, would you recommend it?

I would they have a lot of experiences here.

You could get Botox, you can do a wine bath.

There’s tons of different rooms.

They have like the name of the experience that it has in that particular room.

32:38

There was many, many different things that you could do, facials and treatments, and I would recommend it, yes.

Perfect.

So after the spa, I did go back to the hotel and I did a little bit of work and then I had a break for work and I got very tempted to go to dinner.

32:57

So I originally wasn’t going to go to dinner.

Dinner was at the Chateau de Verde and it was about a 15 or 20 minute drive out of the city up to the top of the hill.

So Tibilisi’s kind of in a valley and then there’s big hills around it.

33:13

There’s actually a gondola that you can take up to the top of the hill and then a beautiful restaurant up there.

So I would recommend doing that if you were coming on your own.

But for me, I was going to skip dinner until I saw what dinner was.

That was sending me texts of what was happening there.

33:30

And they had stations where you could make homemade King Kali and homemade Kachapuri.

So King Kali is essentially Georgian version, a little bit different, bigger than a Xiaolong Bao.

Oh.

A soup dumpling.

33:46

Yes, delicious, really good.

And then the Kachapuri is a bread boat that you filled with cheese, egg and butter.

And then you cook it and you mix it all up together and then it’s like a dip with the bread and the bread’s so good it.

Sounds delicious.

I’m I’m hungry already just here and you talk about it quite honestly.

34:05

As soon as you said dumplings I was already sold because I’m really in a food phase of really liking dumplings and Asian.

I had dumplings I.

Know this is kind of a little bit yeah, very nice.

See, I know this is a little bit different, but nevertheless, that sounds really good all around.

I would have been like, screw work, I’m going to go eat.

34:22

Dinner now and these stations, are they something that they always have at this restaurant or was it special to wine cast?

It was special for the dinner that we were having here.

There was probably 20 people at dinner, including wine cast, you know, founders, organizers, some of the sommeliers, the judges and their families.

34:41

And so this was a station that they built for just this event.

I really wanted to try King Kali.

Matt was just building up King Kali so much.

And I love dumplings, too, that I need to try.

We hadn’t had them yet.

They’re actually from the Kasbegi region, so you can get them in Tbilisi, of course, but they’re not at every Georgian meal commonly.

35:02

So I got to go there and in the station they already have the filly made and it’s like a beef, pork combination with a bunch of spices and it’s just so good.

And so I got to get my little wrap, put the dumpling stuff in it, pinch them around.

I was actually very good at pinching.

35:19

I’m a natural.

And then I made them.

And then I made one of the Kachapuri boats as well.

Not as good with that.

It was kind of hard to shape it the correct way.

He kept having to correct me.

But I did get a boat together and I was proud of it.

Well you should be more proud of those dumpling skills because I love to cook and even I have difficulty folding some.

35:40

Dumplings, I’ll have to show you.

Really hard, I know.

We’ll see.

Even with your nails.

I wonder if your nails help you a little bit, Kim, when you do it too.

Maybe.

Maybe that’s the trick.

Yeah.

So that was really fun.

And then we sat down for dinner.

And that’s not the only thing that was on this table.

It was again the tomato and cucumber salad with the walnut paste.

35:58

They also do a lot of really good little finger food.

So they’ll have red pepper wrapped up with that walnut paste inside.

They’ll have eggplant wrapped up with that walnut paste inside.

They have balls or they could be dips, but it’s like parsley and some kind of juicy thing that makes a ball.

36:14

They have a lot of pomegranate seeds, beets, little balls or dips, pork, chicken, fruit plate at the end.

Tons of food, like you need to come to Georgia hungry because you are going to eat.

It almost sounds like a Mesa in a source, yes.

36:32

I thought the same.

Georgian style of Mesa.

The delicious bread.

And I felt a lot of similarities to Lebanese culture.

Very warm, welcoming food, always on the table.

Like, always more food than you need.

Very, very friendly.

Yeah.

36:48

I think you’d actually both really, really like Georgia for just that reason alone.

I’m already sold.

I’m ready to go, but less hiking than what Brittany wants to do because I want to do more of what you did give.

Yeah, I mean, if you’re in Tbilisi, you can really, really enjoy the food.

And then when you go out and do the hiking and probably more of the Caucus Mountain region, then Brittany can have her time.

37:09

Yeah, we got to have a good balance, I guess.

So one of the funny things that happens at these superstyle meals is there’s a tomada and he’s the host of the party, getting everyone to drink and cheers.

Cheering is a very big thing.

You don’t just say Garma joes and cheers you, you cheers to something.

37:27

And so he has filled up these piatis.

You know what those are?

I think I saw you have it.

Those are like the little horns, right?

That you drink out of SO.

Or am I mistake Piatis?

Are these little bowls like something you might make in a clay spinning class?

37:42

They’re little bowls.

And so it starts with that.

He fills up a piati.

He calls on you.

You do it with someone else.

You twist your arms around each other like lovers.

And you drink your drink after you’ve already given your cheers, right?

37:58

Oh, you have to prove you drank it all by dumping it upside down.

And then everyone claps and cheers.

And then the Tom and dog picks two other people.

Like, people are like, I don’t want to, but you have to.

You can’t say no.

Then the horn comes out.

So sometimes they’ll actually fill up that whole Big Horn.

38:17

But at this dinner they were filling up the piatti and pouring it into the horn, so you knew you weren’t like drinking a ton more.

But the horn is so funny.

It’s like a Georgian beer bog.

It’s hilarious.

It’s.

A good analogy for it?

No, I saw you drinking out of it on some of your Instagram photos and posts and I thought that was pretty cool.

38:37

Yeah, it’s hilarious and it wasn’t just at this dinner.

It happens at a lot of these Georgian supras.

Like horns are very common to bring out.

So if you see the horn, just get ready.

But you know what’s crazy is I think it was table white wine.

I was not really that buzzed.

38:54

I probably did it like 4 times plus my own glass or two of wine.

I really wasn’t feeling it that much and maybe it’s not supposed to be super strong wine for that reason, but I thought after 4 piates and horns and thought I’d be rolling on the ground but no.

39:10

Well, that is good to know.

Maybe they’re putting, like you said, purposefully lighter spirits and wine in there so you don’t get too hammered for that.

Also helps that all of the food’s really good and you’re kind of soaking up all of this alcohol with all of the delicious Georgian food.

And that’s what they say too, is as long as you’re drinking, you keep eating.

39:29

And so there’s so much food on the table, you just keep eating, you keep drinking.

So we ended the night fairly early, I want to say maybe 10 or 11.

And then I went back to the hotel to do more work.

Typically a supra will go way late into the night, even like past 1:00 AM.

39:46

So this was just a intro.

And this is where I learned that to be continued phrasing, which is Dashla armushla, because at the end of the night, the Tamara had said it, he knew we had a big day ahead of us.

The next day, the next day is Saturday.

This is probably the main day of the Wine Cast Festival, just based on attendance.

40:04

From what I saw, it went from 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM and we got there at 12:00 PM.

So it was a long day.

Very long day and it was pretty warm too.

These two days of wine cast took place at the Chateau Makrani, which is an absolutely gorgeous Chateau.

40:20

Huge, beautiful wine property.

Very, very nice, large, and it was hot outside too.

So there were things that were happening in the wine Cellars, in the back restaurant and then in the outdoor areas.

And there’s a long walk between things.

40:35

There was gravel roads, but they laid out this raised red carpet so you can walk not on gravel, which was pretty cool and fun and kind of added to the cuteness of things.

So the first thing that we did this day was the wine and cheese pairing.

Master class took place down in the cellar.

40:52

There were some film screenings going on down there as well.

And the sommelier, the Georgian champion sommelier who was leading this one was Jabba.

Jabba was our Tomida from the night before.

Oh, that’s funny.

Which we knew, we knew he was, you know, part of wine cast in this festival.

41:10

But seeing him again first thing the next day and he’s he’s teaching people about wine.

And a lot of the programming was in Georgian, but also then translated into English and we got to try different wines with different cheeses.

I would say the most interesting cheese was this stringy cheese.

41:26

It almost looked like Angel hair pasta and it was very salty.

It was really good with the wine though.

So there were the full length wine screenings in this wine cellar, which in this wine cellar was really cool because you could see quaveries in the ground.

You don’t actually see them though.

41:41

You just see the glass lid on top of it and that it’s actually underground.

So it’s cool to actually see some in use in the ground because I’d only seen them above ground up until this point.

That’s really cool and interesting so that you could see them.

And so you said that they were sealed with like a beeswax.

41:58

Until the wines ready to be taken out and then a lot of times they’ll put it in the quavery for a shorter amount of time and then move it to a barrel.

Do they put it underground for like temperature control?

Yes.

So there were master classes going on in this area throughout the day.

42:14

So there was a French film screening and then a French wine master class, and then I think there was a Spanish one as well.

The next day there was a California one.

The master class here was a little bit wild.

You know, a lot of times you’re sitting down and you have an instructor.

This one was just everybody around tables and kind of just a group thing and so it got a little crazy in there.

42:34

We decided to head outside to explore more of the property and we saw the outside film screenings, which were short films.

I love the short films because my attention span is not the longest.

Well, especially if you’re drinking a lot in general too.

You don’t want to sit and watch a full blown movie or anything.

42:51

So the short screenings perfect.

Yes, and I actually loved all the short screenings.

They were all so well done.

Speaking of short films, on Thursday night, I forgot to mention this, but prior to me going back to the hotel to get some work done, we actually did have another short film screening at the Tbilisi Wine Museum.

43:12

There was probably 5 different short films ranging from 5:00-ish minutes to 30 minutes.

The last one was Doctor Matthew Horkey’s film about Georgia and it was about travel, food, culture, and wine of course, in Georgia.

43:28

And it’s a really, really good film.

We’ll actually link it in the show notes because it’s on his YouTube, YouTube channel.

And it was cool because at the end of the screening, his was last.

The whole crowd clapped for him.

They said the film producer is here and he got to talk to people.

So it’s really cool to see how much people appreciated his storytelling about Georgia.

43:47

So I do think it’d be cool for you all to check it out because it does a really good job selling the magic of Georgia’s food and wine.

I’m definitely going to have to check it out.

One thing since we’ve met Matt ourselves and of course like following him on YouTube and his Instagram, is he really is a great orator in terms of telling stories, let alone to the wine.

44:09

Because of course a lot of his stories are wine focused too.

So if he’s gone to Georgia so many times, I could only imagine what this video looks like.

So I’m excited to check it out just as well.

On Saturday we did sit outside for a while and watch these short films.

There was 2 girls from Iran who had two films in there that were really, really good.

44:26

One of them actually won an award at the end of Sunday.

So those were amazing.

We sat there for probably 3045 minutes drinking some wine and watching these films and just relaxing a little bit.

We got a little bit of lunch at the food station that they had there and then we went to the back restaurant area where they were having the big wine tasting.

44:48

So the wine tasting was supposed to start at 5:00 PM, five to 8:00 PM.

We went in there around 3 PM, 3:30 PM and started drinking wine because we had media passes and Matt is actually very well known in this space.

A lot of the wine makers knew he was coming and wanted to speak with him.

45:06

So we had early access to a lot of the stations and like we said, there were 85 wines in that competition.

So there’s a lot of wine here.

He warned me to spit or that he would be spitting because you can get drunk really fast.

And I’ve been to wine tastings before and I know this happens.

45:23

Brittany.

I know you know, too.

If we go back to our Napa episode.

Oh yeah, I’m very well aware.

OK, so we’re doing this, having fun, tasting a lot of really great amber quavery wines, pet Nets, some really, really good red wines too.

45:39

I started to feel really drunk because I didn’t spit.

I I haven’t really got myself to actually I have started spitting now since this trip started on this trip, but the way that you spit kind of creeps me out because they have a bucket on the wine tasters table and you have to kind of go up and spit into it.

45:58

I don’t know, I just don’t like it.

So I didn’t I didn’t spit.

Also I like the wine so I drank them.

Anyway.

By the time I started feeling really drunk I was like what time is it?

What time do you think it was?

I mean, you started at like 3:30, so it was probably like just getting started, maybe like 5530.

Yeah, it was 5:00.

46:15

The tasting had just started and I am pretty drunk at this point.

Hilarious.

But did I stop?

No, we kept drinking the wine.

It was actually so, so much fun just going around talking to people and drinking wines and making friends.

46:33

And of course, Matt knew some people that were there and was meeting and greeting with wine makers, and so it was cool to just tag along for that a little bit.

And then outside of this big back restaurant area, there’s also a huge screening of a movie going on.

46:48

So we kind of migrated out towards that way and sat and watched the movie for a bit.

Once the movie ended, probably around 9:00-ish, then a live band started.

So that was cool.

There was dancing, a live band, more wine.

We did leave early.

We didn’t stay till the end at 11.

47:05

I think we probably left around 10:00-ish.

It is a 45 minute drive from Shatu Makrani back to Tbilisi.

But do you think our night ended when we got home?

I don’t think so, not unless you had to work.

But I don’t think you could work if you were already drunk at 5:00.

It was Saturday so no working.

47:23

Oh, that’s right, it was a Saturday.

We did not.

So it was me, Matt, Valerio, and Lauren all in the van with David and Constantine.

And when they dropped us off at the Radisson Blue, we we wanted to go out.

I don’t know whose idea it was, it wasn’t mine, but I was for it.

47:40

So while we’re waiting like 10 minutes for people to go put stuff up in their room or whatever, I ran up to the spa because I wanted to do a wine bath.

I didn’t get a chance to do it at the Bowneological Spa, and I saw on the Radisson Blu spa that they had it.

47:56

I mean, when are you ever going to do a wine bath?

When you’re in Georgia, apparently.

Right.

Like I’ve never seen it on any spa.

I have seen beer baths.

I think there’s one in Portland area that does it.

Not that I would want to, but.

Doesn’t have the same ring as a wine bath though, does it?

48:13

So I ran up there and I booked a 30 minute massage and a wine bath and like truly the next day I didn’t even really know what I booked.

I just knew I booked the wine bath.

I guess I booked a massage too.

When you’ve said you’ve ran up there, I thought you were going to try to sneak one in.

48:29

Well, everyone’s getting ready, but you made it for the next day.

I understand now Got.

You because when I had been in that, the day that I did go to use the sauna and everything, they said we’re fully booked today.

So I knew you had to book a day in advance.

So I was like, oh, this is my chance.

So I did and so came back down and we all went over to a place called Vino Underground, which is a lower kind of go downstairs underground to a wine bar.

48:55

And we sat there and we talked, talked for a while.

More wine.

Yes, more wine.

That’s what I was going to say.

Like you’ve been drinking wine all day and now you go to a wine bar.

But when in Georgia?

Yeah, I was pretty toasty, but Matt said I didn’t drink my wine.

I don’t know that that’s even possible.

49:11

I’m sure I did.

I probably just drank it slower than everybody else.

OK, I have one funny memory of being at Vino Underground and talking to Valerio very seriously about how I have seen ghosts and just like really seriously like eye to eye like telling him my ghost stories.

49:35

And was he reciprocating your stories and be like, yeah, yeah.

Or was he thinking like oh man this ones crazy.

I don’t know it’s it’s probably more the latter.

But you know, it’s one of those things where you’re drinking enough, those type of conversations happen, you know, could have been a worse drunk conversation than that, if you want me to be honest.

49:53

So that’s at least pretty good.

Maybe the worst ones you don’t remember.

So at least that’s the one that you do remember.

We were, we were talking about all sorts of things, like private life stuff, but I was just like, why was I so seriously telling him?

I was like Valerio.

50:09

I have seen ghosts.

He’s like, oh God, this girl’s crazy.

Oh, so we had a really good time there and then for some reason, I have no idea whose idea this was.

It wasn’t mine, truly.

Someone wanted to go to a nightclub.

50:26

It wasn’t your idea.

I mean, you’re talking about ghosts.

But it wasn’t my idea.

I think it was Lauren’s idea.

She wanted to do hookah and go to a nightclub.

But I was of course interested and we all were.

And so we tried to get into a taxi.

And this is where things got a little bit weird.

There was a taxi there who was like, I’ll take you to A I know.

50:44

And Matt didn’t want us to, but we all did.

And when we got in, it was giving Russian vibes and the taxi didn’t want any money.

So we were like kind of worried that it could be one of those situations where they set you up and then they make you pay a lot of money.

And so anyway, we got out of there.

51:00

Yeah, you definitely don’t want to ride with a cabbie that tells you they don’t want any money.

I mean, I know a lot of cabs, certain places they’ll get a Commission if they take you somewhere, so maybe that’s why.

But still, in a place like that, I’m glad with all the drinking, you guys had the wits about you to just air on the side of.

51:16

Well, that was all, Matt, because that was all.

Matt.

OK, well, glad Matt kept it.

You know why he kept it?

Because he was spitting his wine.

That’s right.

That’s right.

That’s a.

Good lesson guys, spit your wine.

But we didn’t stop there, right?

That wasn’t the club that we wanted to go to.

We wanted to go to Left Bank.

51:31

So we did get into a bolt and go over to Left Bank and then right next to Left Bank there’s another one called case.

But here’s the weird thing.

When you go to these clubs, they don’t really have security.

You go up to, you know, get your ticket in.

But she was like, OK, stand on this line and look up at the camera.

51:48

So the four of us drunkies are standing on this line looking up at a camera.

And then they go, no, we’re like, no, what do you mean?

Looking at you and you’re like, will they fit in?

No.

No, they knew that they were one drink away from being sloppy and they’re like, we don’t want to deal with this mess over here.

52:06

So they were like, oh, not like I.

Don’t know.

I don’t know if that was the reason or not, but we tried I’m.

Just giving you a hard time, I’m joking.

We tried to go over to case.

I’m like, OK, we’ll go to the other one and see.

Same thing.

Stand in the line, look up at the camera.

No.

Interesting.

52:21

But here’s what it probably was.

Because me and Valerio then stood in the line.

They said yes.

Lauren stood in the line, they said yes.

Then poor Matt stands on the line.

They say no.

But what do you think Matt was wearing?

Maybe he was just wearing AT shirt, I don’t know, something more casual?

52:38

He was casual.

I he might have been wearing a polo and shorts though, and running shoes, so he looked pretty casual.

We think it was the shorts.

He thinks maybe they just didn’t like him, but there were other people that were also trying to get in without shorts that some were turned away and you don’t wear shorts to a nightclub, so that could be the reason.

52:58

So we’re not sure what it is, but if you are trying to get into a nightclub in Georgia, wear pants for your best chance of getting in.

Good to know.

Anyway, by the time we got the last note it was already like 3 in the morning so we just decided to go back to the hotel.

Sounds like a good plan.

53:13

I don’t know when the bars actually close because these clubs were still very much going at 3:00 AM.

Wow, so that sounds like what a night 3:00 AM didn’t get in club.

Clubs are still going, but you go back to the hotel and I’m sure you’re ready for some sleep.

53:28

So what did you do Sunday?

Yeah, I definitely passed out and so thankful we did not get into those clubs.

Sunday I woke up, my spa appointment was at 1:00 PM, massage and wine bath, which I was so excited to do.

So I probably woke up around 12/12/30 just to crawl up there.

53:47

I was really tired.

I mean, went to sleep at like, I don’t know, 3:30 in the morning, maybe 4 after we got back and woke up at noon.

So it’s not like I didn’t get any sleep.

But with that much wine, you need a little extra sleep.

Absolutely.

So scheduling a wine bath after drinking wine all day would not recommend it.

54:07

But I was still good.

I went up to the spa, I had my massage, was relaxing, and then the wine bath came and basically they just start a bath for you and pour 2 bottles of red wine into it.

They give you one glass out of those two bottles as well.

54:24

Are there benefits to a wine bath I.

Honestly don’t know, I think it’s just for funsies.

OK, and was it fun?

It was fun.

It was actually really fun because in the spa they’re floor to ceiling windows, so you have a beautiful view of the city.

This nice hot wine bath.

54:40

I didn’t drink the wine.

I tried to drink a couple sips.

I couldn’t really stomach it at this point.

My hangover was starting to set in.

I was pretty good up until this point, but I enjoyed the wine bath.

I took some really cute pictures in there.

It was very relaxing.

And then after that I went back down to the room and went back to sleep.

54:58

Even though the wine festival was going at noon again today, it was a lot of films.

So the wine, you know, master classes and whatnot.

I’m not sure why, but they said we’ll pick you up at 4:30 to leave for the festival.

So I was thankful for that, of course, but we missed a little bit of stuff that I would have liked to see, like films or some other stuff.

55:19

We got there probably around 5:30-ish with the drive.

And on this day we filmed, we filmed a video podcast for Matt’s YouTube channel, which will be out by the time this airs, and we’ll link it in the show notes for you.

So Matt and I went up to the Chateau Makrani and they’d set up this beautiful area with like cheese and bread and this nice table and the beautiful Chateau background.

55:43

And we took 3 bottles of wine from the tasting from three different wineries.

And we had a conversation on camera that was about my experience with Georgia, what I thought about it.

We talked about this podcast, Travel Squad podcast Shout Out.

Yeah.

And then we did a live tasting where I was trying to describe the smell and describe the taste.

56:03

And I don’t have any wine education.

I’ve learned a few things along my tasting journeys, but I don’t have any.

And in fact, I am going to do the West Set course.

I’m going to become a Level 1 in wine.

I am going to do this because I do want to understand more about what I’m drinking and where it comes from and how to describe it.

56:23

I’ve already looked into it.

It’s about a $400.00 course.

I’m not going to do it in September because I’m too busy, but I’m waiting for October schedules to come out here in Austin.

I am going to do it.

Nice, that’ll be really interesting.

Because I found myself struggling to like, describe what I was smelling like.

56:39

And Matt had so many words like mousy and grassy and like, OK, I can do better here.

I think I can enjoy wine more if I know a little bit more about it, but the recording was a really fun experience.

We were up there for probably about an hour or so and then we went downstairs to enjoy the festival.

56:58

The one thing that I did miss was a master Somalier from Napa named Sir, who was also one of the wine judges and guests of the event, and he was doing a master class on California wines, I believe California Reds.

57:14

We didn’t get the chance to go to it because we were doing the filming during this time, but this one was where you were sat down at round tables.

He was giving instruction and taking you through the class.

I really wish I could have did that.

He was such a character, like so poised, you know, beautiful clothing, like hair Gray.

57:32

I love the way he held his wine glass and twirled it.

I really perfected my twirl.

By the way, I’m like a pro twirler.

Love that.

And then there were more film screenings going on throughout the day here as well.

And we decided to eat dinner at this beautiful restaurant where the main tasting area was, they had half of that was still an active restaurant.

57:52

And we sat down for dinner here and we had of course that amazing tomato salad Ketchapuri, which is this really good cheese bread.

Ketchapuri is like like almost like a pizza bread, cheese bread and it’s so good.

Their cheese is very salty there.

58:09

And that was my favorite thing I ate.

They also have Cabdari, which is very similar, but instead of cheese in the middle, it’s meat.

So like almost like a ground pork or ground beef.

Really good flavor.

Amazing.

So I ate a bunch of food here.

We had good conversation.

58:25

We sat down with Constantine and Valario and then we attempted to do more tastings and I’m still a little bit struggling and this is getting to like 8:00 PM and I’m still like, I don’t know if I could do another round of tastings like I did the day before.

58:42

Oh, you’re like Jamal in Quebec City.

I was thinking the same thing when I had that night in Quebec City.

Then the next day, even though the alcohol was flowing and for free, I was like, I can’t do this.

But then the next day I was good.

Yeah, sometimes when you have enough, one night before, you know, you said he didn’t even drink the wine, wine that they gave you when you did your wine bath.

59:00

Sometimes the hair of the dog helps a little bit, but sometimes it definitely makes it worse.

Yeah.

And you know that wine bath was red wine so that that is not the hair of the dog that goes down the easiest.

Yeah, definitely.

Not I did drink some pet Nets, some lighter white wines, more of the slightly sweeter amber wines.

59:18

And I did drink wine.

I I did get more wine in me, but I didn’t get drunk on Sunday.

I did not have it in me to actually get drunk.

I didn’t spit, but I kept it real calm, cool and collected.

Nice.

After the tastings was the official award ceremony where they gave out the awards for short films and long films and the wines.

59:41

And so that was really cool to see how excited people got about winning their awards and the speeches that they gave when they gave the awards.

And that was both in Georgian and in English.

Just really cool to be a part of something so meaningful to so many people and the bringing together of so many cultures.

59:57

I know the French filmmaker won an award.

One of the Iranian film makers won an award.

Of course, some Georgian film makers and Georgian wine makers and I just loved it.

It was a beautiful ceremony to be a part of that ended probably around 9 thirtyish.

1:00:15

And then the DJ came on.

There was dancing, but it wasn’t like a crazy dance party.

There was families and kids and you know, the DJ and dancing.

But this night actually ended really beautifully because some of the film makers and the.

The festival organizers and small A’s wine makers were hanging around the tables.

1:00:35

And Georgia’s such a communitive culture that everyone’s sitting together and drinking wine together and talking and making friends and everyone’s, you know, hugging goodbye when we leave.

And they never, ever let your glass go empty either.

If your glass is empty, it’ll be filled up by someone sitting at the table.

1:00:53

And I love that.

Just like caring for each other.

So it was a beautiful, beautiful way to end, like a calm, calmer Sunday and left with some really, really great wine too.

That sounds like a really great time all together.

Just your experience in Georgia, The wine festival as a whole, all the sightseeing that you did, but you had one more day.

1:01:15

So if the wine Festival was over, tell me about your Monday, because this was your last day here in Georgia, correct?

Yes.

And the tourism board had actually arranged for us to go to lunch and dinner, but we told them no, we we have some plans that we’re doing this day.

1:01:31

And so I had said goodbye to them Sunday night.

And so Monday Matt had arranged for us to be driven out to Kasbegi.

This is where the towering caucus mountains are, these beautiful views.

And the Gergetti Trinity Church, it’s a 14th century church that’s right on the edge of a cliffside where you look down at a beautiful valley and these towering caucus mountains around it.

1:01:59

It was beautiful driving out there.

You’re going up the mountains, down the valley, back up the pass.

And so we stopped a couple places along the way and took pictures and saw these beautiful mountains.

When we finally we got up to the Griguetti Trinity Church, there was so much fog.

It was supposed to rain that day, or maybe it rained a little bit and so there was fog everywhere.

1:02:18

You couldn’t see the mountains at all or the valley below.

Could be a little disappointing, but did you try to wait it out and see if it would clear?

Sometimes you just have to wait and see what will happen with the weather.

Yeah, we did.

We waited about an hour and some of the fog cleared and we could see some of the towering mountains in the valley below.

1:02:35

It never cleared completely where we could see everything.

I think it was still really, really beautiful for the parts that we did see.

And then of course, the drive up there, we saw beautiful mountains and that was great too.

So this is reminiscent of Brittany and I’s recent trip to Switzerland when we went on a hike to Stowes, and it’s supposed to be one of the most beautiful hikes that there is.

1:02:56

You’re hiking a Ridge.

You did it on this trip, not obviously in Georgia, but you made your way to Switzerland on this trip after your time here in Georgia, right?

You did it.

You got the views when we didn’t, When we did it, we didn’t get the views.

But let me me tell you something.

Did you Google what it’s supposed to look like up here or this church to see anything, Kim?

1:03:15

Because as you were talking about it, I Googled it.

Yeah, and you could see the church.

We we walked through the church and everything.

And yes, Matt showed me pictures with that.

He’s been out there before and videos, so I could see it.

And then when the fog cleared, you could see enough of it to know how amazing it is.

1:03:30

But of course, without the fog, it’s just a it’s a sheer Cliff of tower and caucus mountains.

No, I know when I’m looking at the images, of course, are showing some in winter, the snow, of course, spring, and you could see the green of the hills and everything.

And it’s just really, really beautiful.

1:03:46

Actually, when I look at these photos, minus the fact of the way this church looks, I could guess that I was in Switzerland just with the coloration.

And yeah.

So yeah.

So we, we stayed for probably 2 hours and hung around and walked around a little bit and saw the sights there.

And then we decided to leave and go.

1:04:04

We wanted to get King Kali because this is where King Kali’s from.

And we tried to go to a restaurant that he knew of that he’d been at before, but it had been closed.

It was randomly closed.

It was supposed to be open, but it wasn’t so because Aleko, who was a friend of a friend of Matt’s, was driving us.

1:04:21

He’s a local Georgian.

Of course he’s calling around and finding another place for us to go.

We’re kind of go into a couple spots to see if they have King Kali.

The trick is we want it to be made fresh.

If they freeze it, it’s not as good.

So we went into a spot and they said, yeah, we made it this morning, but we froze it, so we left that spot.

1:04:38

He was like disgusted, why would they do that?

But we ended up going into Porsche Cacasia in Kasbeggi.

Beautiful restaurant, has a gorgeous outdoor terrace where we sat.

Amazing mountain views from the terrace.

1:04:54

Really good Kinkali.

They had a couple of different types, but we got the pork and beef blend and just the beef.

The pork and beef blend was the best and that is how you’re supposed to get it.

But they make it a little bit different here than they do in the city, where there’s not as much of the spice and the coriander.

1:05:11

So it’s still really good, but less flavorful than the ones we’d had the other night.

Friend of Matt’s work there.

And it was just a coincidence.

Hey, I’m in your spot.

And so that was like a fun little coincidence.

We weren’t supposed to be in this restaurant.

And then it ended up being a friend that was part of it.

1:05:27

So good coincidence that we ended up there.

While we were driving up there, we saw a gondola wasn’t running.

And I think maybe when that had been before, it wasn’t there.

It maybe it was a new thing, but our driver Lecko was like, hey, if this is running on the way back, I can drop you off here and then pick you up on the other side of it.

1:05:47

The gondola is about an hour long and it takes you through the Caucus Mountains, which you’re going to be a little bit higher than you are at Grigetti Trinity Church.

So the fog would not be there.

When we got back to that area, the gondola was running, so we did get on the gondola and we were able to see these gorgeous mountains.

1:06:05

And I know I’m going to Switzerland the next day and I’m already starting to feel like I’m in Switzerland too with the way these look and you’re in the gondola, there’s like hardly anybody out there.

And the weather was just perfect.

You could see everything.

It was really beautiful gondola ride and I want to say it might it was $30.00 or less for the price of it, so pretty affordable.

1:06:26

It’s a for people that don’t have a driver.

Is there a round trip ticket Because you said you got on at one point and then your driver came and picked you up at another.

Probably OK.

There are Viador tours that you can purchase to go out to this caucus Kazbegi region.

1:06:44

You can rent a car of your own.

Although the driving in Georgia is like driving in other countries that you would expect.

It’s a little crazy.

There’s cows in the road and the drivers just go around them.

Motorcycles, big trucks, you’re just kind of weaving in and out of the road and sharing it.

Like these cows are completely unbothered.

1:07:01

They’re just in the roads.

Would you drive?

No, absolutely not.

Do you think Jamal could drive?

I, I don’t think Jamal would enjoy driving there, no, simply because not just that the, the drivers are crazy, like a little bit of a crazy Rd. situation.

They’re weaving in and out.

You know, when you’re trying to pass a car on the road, there’s that that’s constantly happening on both sides.

1:07:21

And if that’s dangerous in and of itself, then there’s cows everywhere.

I really wouldn’t.

Jamal would have a freak out for Shore.

Good to know I won’t drive in Georgia.

No renting a car in Georgia for.

Us just not out to this region like in Tbilisi, maybe you’d be fine.

There’s no cows on the road there, but out here in these mountain roads where people are weaving in and out on both sides and there’s cows, I wouldn’t do it.

1:07:42

I didn’t even like one of the mountain roads we drove in Switzerland.

It was terrible.

So, you know, I can’t even imagine if we’re comparing Swiss roads to Georgian roads, not to make a negative connotation.

In any way, that’s the other thing, that the roads aren’t perfect.

They’re still developing a lot of these things and actually the Chinese are helping to build a lot of roads and tunnels.

1:08:00

Doesn’t surprise me.

When we’re in Uganda, we got the same story.

They’re building their highways and roads out there too.

Yeah, so maybe just take a tour or hire a private driver.

So when we got back into Tibilisi, we really didn’t have much time because Matt booked another situation.

1:08:17

For us being go, go, go can sometimes be exhausting.

And at this point I was kind of like, man, I wish he hadn’t booked this.

But I completely take that back because he had arranged for us to go have essentially A supra at his friend’s house.

1:08:33

His friend is Doctor Echo Glanti.

He is the winemaker behind Lagvanari, which is an organic winery in Georgia.

And it was probably the best experience that I had in Georgia.

It’s oh.

That’s so nice.

In his home, he well, he welcomes people for tastings.

1:08:51

In his home, he’s this really older gentleman, just a true Renaissance man who knows a lot about a lot of things, speaks different languages, very intelligent, and just can sit and talk and tell stories forever.

He prepared this beautiful dinner for us.

1:09:08

It was this like shredded pork that was really good.

Of course, this delicious bread and cheese, there was the tomato salad, There were sweet potatoes.

It was so good.

And like, just as soon as you go in, you’re just welcomed.

1:09:23

And there were two other wine makers there.

Nino.

She is the wine maker behind Lobster Pet Nat and Champagne.

And then there was a Rockley who he’s the wine maker behind Wet Dog Wines.

Matt, myself, Amina and Diana, two other Americans who just enjoy wine like me.

1:09:42

And then Anel and her mom, Anel is from Kazakhstan and she is a wine sommelier.

So it was a really good blend of wine industry people, average wine enthusiasts and just great conversation, really good food.

1:09:58

We probably got there on 7 thirtyish and we stayed for like like 4 hours and we were sat at that dinner table the whole time.

And what was really cool is that Echo has his own wine cellar where he has his own wine production as well as wines he’s been gifted over the years.

1:10:13

So this was just a true wine experience.

We tried the lobster petnat, we tried Butt Dog wines, many of them to like, they’re constantly opening bottles.

But we also got to go down into the cellar, pick out a different wine.

Try this one, try that one.

1:10:30

I was pouring some wines out and not, you know, drinking the full pour for everyone.

This is kind of now where I have learned my lesson.

You can dump wine.

I did get a little saucy tonight, though, so one really cool thing that we did that was the first time I’d ever done this was a vertical tasting.

1:10:50

Are you familiar with what this is?

I’ve heard of this but I am not super familiar because I know that there are ones that kind of like go from light to dark or by year so I’m sure it’s one of the two.

Yeah, a vertical tasting.

I’ve had never really heard of it either, but it’s essentially the same wine over different years.

1:11:08

So we started with a amber wine of Echoes in 2024 and then 23/22/20, 1:20 and then we jumped to 2013.

And so you can really taste the difference in the wines based on the weather, the condition of the grapes that year, how long it’s been in the bottle, right?

1:11:29

Because wines age. 2020 was a good year.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but 2020 was a good year.

Very interesting.

Yeah.

I feel like when we were in Napa, they had talked a little bit about vertical tastings.

This is before I got too sloppy and they were talking about just kind of the conditions that affect the wine each year and how it could be the same grapes grown in the same areas, but the rain and soil and other factors are going to contribute to the taste for that.

1:12:01

Year and you could really taste the difference based on the years.

So that was really cool to do.

I mean, All in all, throughout the night we probably opened 20 bottles of wine for the group of us and just had the best time.

And this was a great example of that experience where if you’re drinking, you’re eating.

1:12:18

We just kept eating the whole time and that concluded really the time in Georgia.

I had a early 5:00 AM flight so I basically didn’t sleep.

I just packed up my bags, got to the airport and I’m still just processing how amazing of a country Georgia is.

1:12:34

The people are so amazing, the food is delicious, the wine is incredible.

I highly recommend everyone put Georgia on their list.

It’s also an affordable country to visit and you will not be disappointed.

Thank you so much for tuning into this week’s episode.

1:12:52

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1:13:09

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