2026-09-24 · Georgia News
Rtveli 2026 is under way: Saperavi is being bought at 1.50 lari a kilo, and sugar content sets the price
Kakheti had processed nearly 12,400 tonnes by mid-September, against a forecast of around 320,000 tonnes for the season. The published price grid drops to 0.30 lari a kilo for grapes below 17% sugar.
Where the harvest stands
Georgia Today, reporting National Wine Agency figures on 18 September 2026, said Kakheti had processed nearly 12,400 tonnes of grapes so far this season, with the full harvest forecast at approximately 320,000 tonnes. Close to 400 wineries were registered with the harvest coordination headquarters, and the state-owned Harvest Management Company buys fruit from individual growers under a published price schedule.
The price grid
For Saperavi the rate is 1.50 lari per kilogram at 21% sugar or above, 0.90 lari where sugar is between 17% and 21% or the fruit is partly damaged, and 0.30 lari below 17%. Other varieties are bought at 1.30 lari at 20% sugar or above, 0.80 lari between 17% and 20%, and 0.30 lari below that. The structure is the point: quality is measured, and the gap between a good and a poor year for a grower is a factor of five.
What it signals for Kakheti property
Vineyard land in Kakheti is priced off what the fruit earns, and a published state purchase grid gives that a visible floor in ordinary years. Anyone looking at land there should ask which varieties are planted, what sugar levels the plot has achieved in recent seasons and whether the vines are young or near replacement — three questions that separate a working vineyard from a field with vines on it.
And for anyone hosting guests now
These are the weeks when Kakheti is at its most photogenic and its most booked. Guests who want to take part in a harvest should be matched to a working cellar in advance, since the small family operations that make the experience worth having are the first to fill. Set expectations honestly: picking starts early, the day is hot, and the interesting part is the pressing, not the posing.
#rtveli #Kakheti #wine #harvest
Written by us from the source linked above, not investment, legal or tax advice. Figures and rules change — confirm anything that matters before acting on it.
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