Stories from Georgia

Georgia has quietly emerged as one of travel writing's favourite subjects over the past decade. The country's combination of improbable contrasts — Soviet concrete beside 6th-century frescoes, amber wine in qvevri alongside espresso bars, mountain villages accessible by dirt road on one side and low-cost flights from 30 European cities on the other — generates genuinely surprising stories. The Georgia Spirit blog covers the country's full spectrum: deep dives into the 525 grape varieties recognised by the Georgian Wine Agency, trail reports from the Transcaucasian Trail's 1,500-km Georgian section (the most technically complete segment of a future coast-to-coast Caucasus route), and neighbourhood guides to the Vera, Vake, and Saburtalo districts of Tbilisi that most short-stay visitors miss. Food stories explore churchkhela (walnut-and-grape-juice candy bars dried on strings), khinkali (soup dumplings from the mountains), and the art of the supra — Georgia's formal feast tradition where a tamada (toastmaster) delivers 15–20 improvised toasts across several hours. Cultural pieces trace the Mkhedruli alphabet, one of only 14 true alphabets in the world, and the polyphonic choral tradition that UNESCO inscribed in 2001. Practical updates track visa policy changes, new Tbilisi metro stations, the reopening of the Kazbegi military highway after spring rockfalls, and exchange rate fluctuations that affect budget planning. The blog also serves as a record of Georgia's rapid change: Tbilisi's tech and startup scene, the boutique hotel boom in Sighnaghi and Kakheti, and the growing international recognition of Georgian natural wine at fairs from Vinexpo to RAW.