Raphael joined our team of winemakers in 2005, bringing in his knowledge and working experience supported by years in France, Spain and Australia. Time of adaptation to the peculiarities of local varietals and wine styles was full of discoveries and shortly he became the creator of multiple innovations, even while making wine with traditional Qvevri.

“At Telavi Wine Cellar, every step on the way from vineyards to the winery and then to the bottle is under a very careful attention. The soil and vineyard management has definitely turned toward a sustainable policy; substantial parts of Kudigora vineyards are already on the way to Organic certification. Each year, we experiment with different techniques, grape maturity levels, temperatures of fermentation, periods of maceration and thus gradually improving overall wine quality, but still our best wines are crafted in the traditional clay jars, the Qvevri”.

Beqa Sozashvili started working at Telavi Wine Cellar right after completing the Secondary School. He practiced literally every position in the cellar, starting from cellar hand assistant and stepping up to the winery chief winemaker. He studied at the State Agriculture University, graduating with the Master's Degree in winemaking. 

“Growing up in Kakheti, one is grafted to love wine and everything related to it, so am I. Telavi Wine Cellar is gradually improving its winemaking practices and vineyard management systems and here, through close cooperation of these two directions, I foresee myself as a valuable contributor of the company for its successful future”.

Dito Badzoshvili joined TELAVI WINE CELLAR at the position of cellar hand in 1999. Grown up along with highly qualified staff, he showed himself, as an extremely smart and hard-working professional, capable of tackling multiple tasks, related to the technical management of sophisticated and up-to-date equipment, as much as to in-cellar job organization.

“I’m proud and happy to work in this winery, where the winemakers and viticulturists are working hand in hand and are united with one dominant target: wine quality. Each new vintage brings different challenges and accepting them within a team is a fun, especially when eventually, you are awarded with great wine.“  

After graduation from the University, Tamara was recruited at Telavi Wine Cellar to share her passion for winemaking and vineyards, derived from her family, which have been making wine for more than a century in their in-house wine cellar.

“Wine is the most traditional product for Georgia and Georgians, inherited from times immemorial. Particularly for my family, winemaking has been a way of living. Now, being a member of the team of winemakers at Telavi Wine Cellar, I feel myself proud to be engaged in creating fine wines based on our historical legacy."

Mariam began working at Telavi Wine Cellar few years after graduating from the university. Her initial profession is not winemaking. She obtained her Master's Degree in chemistry with a particular specialization in food industry. Her endeavor towards widening her working experience and horizons were the crucial factors when she decided to join our company as a chemist.

“At Telavi Wine Cellar, I have clearly realized the importance of coherent efforts of the people with multiple educational backgrounds in making really good wines. For me personally, the most fantastic thing in wines is huge flavor diversity derived firstly from grapes and then from the wine itself.”