Chacha is a second national drink of Georgia along with wine. It’s a clear pomace brandy with high alcohol percentage. The brandy is made from grape pomace, the grape residue that is left after winemaking, which Georgians call ‘chacha’; hence the name.
The traditional method of distilling the beverage is considered as Kakhetian, which means only one distillation in a machine locals call ‘zaod’, made of massive stone or tin and can be used for several days without pausing the process of chacha-making. Back in the day, Chacha was a homebrewed drink sold in repurposed plastic bottles, but today, it is commonly produced by professional distillers and winemakers. Therefore, the beverage and the bottling is much more sophisticated than it ever was.
Here, we present the best traditional chacha you need to try once in Georgia, because, despite the fact that they are made of traditional methods, they still are distinguished by taste, color, and the process itself. All of the beverages listed here can be purchased at Chacha Corner, the only Craft Chacha shop, at 11 Giga Lortkipanidze Street in Tbilisi.
Tsinandali Estate Chacha
Photo Source: Gastronome
When the historical Tsinandali Estate went through a recent reconstruction, Chacha production was prioritized by purchasing a brand new distilling equipment made by Barison Industry. It was the first time Georgian beverage market was introduced to the brandy made with Italian high-end machinery.
Chacha is made from six white and five red grape varieties. An uncommon mix of Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli, Kisi, Tsolikouri, Tetra, and Khikhvi makes the refined aromas of Tsinandali Estate Chacha Rkatsiteli, while Saperavi, Usakhelousi, Aleksandrouli, Mujuretuli, and a bit of Ojaleshi creates more delicate Tsinandali Estate Chacha Saperavi.
What distinguishes them from others is the high-quality standards and a limited number of bottles.
Armazi Distillery
Photo Source: Armaci Distillery
The company’s main focus compared to many others in this list, is Chacha itself and not the wine. All the energy goes to perfecting their brandy. Armazi Distillery is made with traditional methods and is fermented in 12-ton volume qvevri (clay jars buried underground). Their method of Chacha-making excludes grape seeds and stems and is distilled twice without other filtrations afterward. Besides the classical Chacha, they also have another brandy aged in oak barrels for six months, which has a slite oak taste.
It should be noted that the company is a family-run business who concentrates more on quality rather than quantity, therefore they slowly enlarge their volume of production and last year reached only 1500 bottles of Chacha.
Artana
Photo Source: Artana Wines
Artana is another wine producing company that makes Chacha from Saperavi and Rkatsiteli. They started to commercialize their wine in 2017 and decided to produce the brandy from the leftover chacha. The company owns a vineyard in Artana, Kakheti and makes Chacha with traditional methods, which are distilled twice on a wood fire, without additional filtration in order to have a subtle taste. They make sure that the brandy doesn’t have unnecessary essential oils and other particles. Artana produces two different Chacha – one classical and one aged in oak barrels for three months. Both of them are 100% natural without adding additional sugars.
Qilipa’s Chacha
Photo Source: Qilipa’s Chacha
Qilipa’s Chacha has been part of the Georgian market since 2010. The initial plan was to age the brandy in oak barrels for three years and only bottle it after seeing the desired results. The owner, Irakli Khiliphtari believes that Chacha is a tradition itself and the distillation itself is very individual. After many experiments, the company realized that without filtration, they won’t get such product they wanted to drink themselves. Therefore, Qilipa’s Chacha is filtered with coal, aged in oak barrels and during the aging process, they add one or two secret natural ingredients.
The Chacha is made from Rkatsiteli grapes and is distinguished by uncommon softness despite having 49% of alcohol, pleasant aromas, and is easy to drink.
Tanini
Photo Source: Tanini
Tanini started bottling their Chacha from 2017 but has been producing it since 2014. Their Chacha is made by traditional methods with natural, bio grapes, is distilled twice to make it softer with 48 degrees of alcohol. The Chacha is aged for one year in oak barrels which the company has imported from France. Soon, Tanini plans on having the beverage that has been aged for three years and producing a new Chacha which will be aged in the same oak barrel in which Saperavi has been aged. This will result in red-colored Chacha.
Tibaani 52 Degrees
Photo Source: Wines Georgia
Tibaani is a family-run business who started producing Chacha and wine since 2015. Their brandy is made from Rkatsiteli and Saperavi grapes, therefore are red and transparent in color. They have their own vineyards in Tbinaani, Kakheti and make their high alcoholic beverage in almost a century old Zaod with traditional methods.
Their Chacha is distilled twice according to the Italian method in order to exclude all the essential oil and unnecessary particles from the brandy. All of their drinks are distilled over an open wood fire and is aged for one year in mulberry barrels. Their label features the degrees of alcohol in bold big letters, while the bottle has a small part of a mulberry tree inside.
Didgory Valley
Photo Source: Didgori Valley
The main focus of Didgory Valley is producing wheat vodka, but due to the high demand on Georgian Chacha from tourists, the company decided to produce the brandy as well. Besides a unique bottling, their beverage doesn’t have specific aroma and taste of Chacha, because this specific characters of traditional Chacha are taken out during the second distillation on wheat alcohol equipment. The name of the company comes from the very important historical battle that has happened in the 12th century at Didgory Valley.
Chacha By Tamari
Photo Credit: Tamar Beruchashvili
Chacha by Tamari stands out by unique taste and aroma as it includes five different varieties of grapes – Khikhvi, Qisi, Saperavi, Mtsvane, Rkatsiteli. The beverage is made according to the traditional Kakhetian method. After the fermentation, the pomace and the last fraction of the pressing wine are double steam distilled, after which the grape Chacha is stored in stainless steel tanks before bottling. Tamari’s Chacha has intense floral aromas complemented by nutty and light honey notes.
Tamari also makes Chacha from the unique variety of grapes – Chardonnay, which is rare on the market and has distinctive creamy texture and fruity finish.
Chubini
Photo Source: Chubini Wine Cellar
Chubini Chubini Wine Cellar is a small family winery, which is located in the village of Shilda in Kakheti and produces both wine and Chacha. The high alcoholic beverage is made from Saperavi fermented in qvevri, while the grapes themselves are harvested in Kindzmarauli micro-zone. Before distillation, the grape skins are kept in qvevri together with the wine for six months. Wine and grape skins are separated without pressing, thus the drink is more aromatic, intense and has a complex taste.
Khirsi Monastery
Khirsi Monastery has started producing wine and chacha under the name of the religious site since 2016. The monastery has its own vineyards and produces a natural, high alcoholic beverage without any additives and is distilled twice. Made from Rkatsiteli grape, Chacha of Khirsi Monastery has a distinguished taste of raisins, due to the fact that they put raisins inside the bottle and let it age for a couple of months before distributing it on the market.
