Our Old House — JournalNotes on Telavi, Kakheti and Georgian wine from a four-room guest house on Rustaveli Avenue.https://ouroldhouse.ge/en-gbThu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old House, Telavi, GeorgiaKakheti in winter, when nobody comeshttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/kakheti-in-winter/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/kakheti-in-winter/January averages a high of about 4°C and the Caucasus is white across the valley. What is open, what is shut, and the three weeks of feasting in January.Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseKakhetiQvevri, and why the white wine here comes out orangehttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/qvevri-and-amber-wine/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/qvevri-and-amber-wine/What a qvevri actually is, why Kakhetian white wine is amber, what it tastes like, and what to ask for in a cellar fifteen minutes from this house.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseWineTaking Georgian wine home — the limits, and what survives the flighthttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/taking-georgian-wine-home/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/taking-georgian-wine-home/Georgia does not limit what you take out. Your own country does. The EU allows 4 litres, Great Britain 18, the US 1 — plus what to buy and how to pack it.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseWineTelavi or Sighnaghi — where to base yourself in Kakhetihttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/telavi-or-sighnaghi/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/telavi-or-sighnaghi/Both are two hours from Tbilisi and an hour from each other. Which one you sleep in depends on whether you came for the wine or for the view.Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseTelaviInside a family marani — what happens, and whether you payhttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/inside-a-family-marani/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/inside-a-family-marani/No tasting, no spittoon — a full glass, a table and three hours. What a family cellar visit involves, what to bring, and how to leave without offending.Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseWineAlaverdi, Ikalto, Nekresi — the churches around Telavi worth the drivehttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/monasteries-near-telavi/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/monasteries-near-telavi/Six monasteries within an hour of Telavi — what each one is, how old it really is, what to wear, and which to drive to if you only have a morning.Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseKakhetiTusheti from Telavi — the Abano pass, honestlyhttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/tusheti-from-telavi/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/tusheti-from-telavi/The road to Omalo is 70 km, takes half a day, needs a 4x4 and is open about three months a year. What it costs, when it opens, and whether to go.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseKakhetiWhat to eat in Kakheti after the khachapurihttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/what-to-eat-in-kakheti/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/what-to-eat-in-kakheti/Mtsvadi grilled over vine cuttings, chakapuli in April, khashlama at every supra — the dishes this region actually cooks, and when each is in season.Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseFoodHire car or driver in Kakheti — the honest arithmetichttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/car-or-driver-in-kakheti/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/car-or-driver-in-kakheti/What a car and a driver actually cost here, what the roads are really like, and the one number that decides it — Georgia's drink-drive limit is 0.03%.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseGetting hereThe supra, the tamada, and how to survive being toastedhttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/georgian-supra-and-tamada/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/georgian-supra-and-tamada/A Georgian feast has an elected toastmaster and a fixed order of toasts. What happens, what you will be asked to do, and how to be upright at the end.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseFoodEnough Georgian for three dayshttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/enough-georgian-for-three-days/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/enough-georgian-for-three-days/You will not learn Georgian. You can learn twelve words and read the alphabet in an afternoon, and here both go further than they would almost anywhere.Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseTelaviTwo days in Telavi, planned properlyhttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/two-days-in-telavi/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/two-days-in-telavi/An hour-by-hour two-day itinerary for Telavi and Kakheti — the palace, the plane tree, the market, which cellars to do on which day, and what to skip.Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseTelaviThe best time to visit Kakheti, month by monthhttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/best-time-to-visit-kakheti/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/best-time-to-visit-kakheti/What Georgia's wine region is like month by month — temperatures, crowds, what is open, what is in season, and the two windows worth planning around.Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseKakhetiA Georgian breakfast, explainedhttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/georgian-breakfast-explained/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/georgian-breakfast-explained/Khachapuri, shoti, mchadi, sulguni, churchkhela — what is on a Kakhetian breakfast table, what each one is, and why the bread matters more than you think.Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseFoodKakheti with children, which is easier than it lookshttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/kakheti-with-children/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/kakheti-with-children/A Georgian restaurant will take your baby off you. That, the food, and 30-minute drives make this an easy region with children — apart from the car seats.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseKakhetiWineries near Telavi that are actually worth the drivehttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/wineries-near-telavi/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/wineries-near-telavi/Tsinandali, Shumi, Alaverdi and the family cellars nobody lists — which wineries near Telavi to visit, what they cost, and why not to drive yourself.Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseWineThe Telavi market, and what to actually buyhttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/telavi-market/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/telavi-market/Go before ten, because the cheese comes in from the villages and then goes home. What is worth buying, how to tell good churchkhela, and what to ignore.Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseTelaviRtveli — what the Georgian grape harvest actually involveshttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/what-is-rtveli/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/what-is-rtveli/Mid-September to mid-October, all of Kakheti stops to pick grapes. What rtveli is, when it happens, what you do, and how to join one rather than watch.Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseWineKakheti without a car — what actually runs from Telavihttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/kakheti-without-a-car/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/kakheti-without-a-car/The vans leave from three different places in Telavi and none of them is signposted. Where each one goes, what it costs, and what you cannot reach at all.Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseGetting hereHow to get from Tbilisi to Telavihttps://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/tbilisi-to-telavi/https://ouroldhouse.ge/journal/tbilisi-to-telavi/Marshrutka, taxi, Bolt or your own car — every way to cover the 85 km to Telavi, with real prices, real times and the truth about the Gombori pass.Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOur Old HouseGetting here