Factor XPTO: Natural winemaking is a part of the nature

“Making wine was always the lifestyle of my family and ancestors, my grandfather even allowed me to make my first wine independently when I was 13 years old. This was not unusual in Georgia, since winemaking used to be a lifestyle for the most of the Georgians.  Similarly, I was making wine for family and friends’ consumption for many years. My friends had been trying to inspire me to start selling wines and turn it into a business.  Finally, I founded LLC Iberieli and sold my first wine in 2012.”

Iberieli is a family company, managing 2 ha of production of young vineyards and a winery in Guria Region of West Georgia, and 5 ha of production of mixed aged vineyard and a winery in Kakheti Region of East Georgia.  Wine production since 2016 is on average 10 000 bottles annually, with a maximum historical quantity of 16 000 in the year 2019.

The name Iberieli was chosen by Zurab Topuridze’s children. It refers to the ancient people in Caucasus, ancestors of Georgians, who made wine over 8 000 years ago, and they are believed to be the inventers of winemaking.

The family’s aim is to maintain Georgian authentic tradition of winemaking, produce natural wines from native grapes, ferment and age them mostly in Kvevris (underground pottery vessel) and present unique wines to wine lovers.  There’s great effort putted into setting standards and true examples of natural winemaking for friends and counterparts – excited lovers of viticulture and winemaking.