Sighnaghi: a guide
Sighnaghi and the Kakheti wine road: when, how and what it costs.
Sighnaghi is a small walled town in Kakheti, looking out over the Alazani valley, with a wine cellar on nearly every street. It is two hours from Tbilisi and one night is enough.
When to go
- ·September and October is the harvest, rtveli. The best time to come if wine is the point.
- ·May and June: everything in flower, good weather, fewer people.
- ·July and August are very hot down on the plain.
Getting there
- ·By marshrutka from Samgori, about 10 GEL, two hours.
- ·By taxi or on a day tour from Tbilisi, 150 to 250 GEL for the day.
What it costs
A night in a guesthouse70 to 150 GEL
A tasting at a cellar20 to 50 GEL
A meal out25 to 50 GEL
Rough figures. They move with the season and the place.
Worth doing
- ·Walk the town wall for the view over the Alazani valley.
- ·Bodbe monastery, two kilometres out of town.
- ·Family cellars in the villages: qvevri wine straight from the person who made it.
One thing worth knowing
Sighnaghi itself takes about two hours to see. It is worth having a car to get down onto the plain, where the serious cellars are.