Imereti

Western Georgia between the Likhi range and the Kolkheti lowland: the valleys of the Rioni and its tributaries — the Kvirila, the Dzirula, the Khanistskali — with vineyards from 50 to 500 m. It is wetter and cloudier than the east, the nights are cooler, and the grower's main concern is not heat but drainage and vine disease. The soils are varied: clay, marl, alluvium and hillside deposits. The varieties are mostly white — Tsolikouri, Tsitska, Krakhuna — with Otskhanuri Sapere, Argvetuli Sapere, Dzelshavi and Aladasturi among the reds. Qvevri are called churi here, and they are worked differently from Kakheti: less of the skins goes in, fermentation runs for about two months, and the wine is then racked off. The result is paler and softer than Kakhetian amber — high acidity without heavy tannin. There is a single appellation, Sviri, a dry white from Tsitska, Tsolikouri and Krakhuna. Salkhino Ojaleshi sits next to it in our reference: that micro-zone is administratively in Samegrelo, but no separate region exists in the reference yet, so it is attached to the nearest western one. The rest of Imeretian wine is sold under the name of the grape and the estate.