white grape

Rkatsiteli

Continental Caucasian climate of Georgia and eastern Europe.

Known as: Rkatsiteli

Rkatsiteli is Georgia's principal white grape and arguably the most ancient continuously-cultivated variety in winemaking.

It is the heart of the traditional qvevri amber wine style — fermenting on skins in buried clay vessels to produce orange-hued, tannin-textured whites of remarkable character.

For the buyer, Rkatsiteli offers a genuinely different flavour world: try an amber style for something revelatory, or a conventionally made version for a crisp, herbal white.

Flavour & Aroma Profile

Aroma

quinceapplefloralhay

Flavour

quinceyellow applewhite flowersherbshoney

Food Pairing

· khachapuri
· grilled vegetables
· hard cheese
· pork skewers
· nutty salads

Notable Rkatsiteli Wines

All wines →

Curated top picks first, then other wines made from Rkatsiteli.

★ Top Pick

white

Shalvino Qvevri Amber Rkatsiteli

Kakheti · 2024 (representative vintage)

Shalvino Qvevri Amber Rkatsiteli is an white wine from Georgia, in the Kakheti region (Eastern Georgia, the country's principal wine region, between the Greater Caucasus mountains and the Alazani river.), made principally from Rkatsiteli. An 8,000-year-tradition amber wine fermented in clay qvevri — the ancestral skin-contact white.

$20–$30 est. retail

★ Top Pick

white

Kakheti Rkatsiteli

Kakheti · 2024 (representative vintage)

Kakheti Rkatsiteli is an white wine from Georgia, in the Kakheti region (Eastern Georgia, the country's principal wine region, between the Greater Caucasus mountains and the Alazani river.), made principally from Rkatsiteli. a house-style Kakheti rkatsiteli that showcases the grape in this region.

$12–$28 est. retail