Chateau Mukhrani
Chateau Mukhrani is the restored 19th-century palace and winery of Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni, ~45 km northwest of Tbilisi, with cellar tours and Kartli wine tastings.
Chateau MukhraniPhoto: Archil sutiashvili, CC BY-SA 4.0Chateau Mukhrani is the country seat of Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni, a Bagrationi general who brought French ideas about winemaking home to Kartli in the 1870s. It stands in the village of Mukhrani, on the farmland plain between the Ksani and Aragvi rivers, ~45 km from Tbilisi. The white two-storey palace with its tall tower took roughly twelve years to build and was finished in the 1880s. Today the estate is again a working winery, growing old Kartli grapes such as Goruli Mtsvane, Shavkapito and Tavkveri next to Saperavi, and it opens its doors for guided visits.
A typical visit is a guided walk: across the 19th-century park with its old pines and white rose beds, down into the historic underground cellars and through the modern winery, with a tasting at the end if you booked one. Longer formats add the qvevri cellar, chacha, Georgian snacks or a premium tasting inside the palace, whose halls the designer Juan Pablo Molyneux refurnished with antiques and old paintings. The palace works more as an event venue than a classic museum, so ask whether your tour goes inside. A restaurant also operates on the estate.
History
The Mukhranbatoni, a branch of the Bagrationi royal house, held Mukhrani as their fief from 1512. In 1876 Ivane Mukhranbatoni (1812-1895) hired experts from France and Georgia to set up a big winery on the family land; the estate counts 1878 as its first vintage. His wines won prizes abroad, including gold at the 1889 Paris world's fair. After his death in 1895, phylloxera and then Soviet neglect wore the estate down, and by the 1990s palace and cellars were derelict. Investors began reviving it in 2002: the new winery's first vintage came in 2007, visitors returned from 2011 and the refurbished palace interiors were unveiled in 2022.
What to see and do
- The white palace and its tower, brought back from a ruin
- Historic underground cellars and the working modern winery
- A qvevri cellar where wine ferments in buried clay jars
- Tastings of rare Kartli grapes: Goruli Mtsvane, Shavkapito, Tavkveri
- The 19th-century park with old conifers and white roses
How to visit
Getting there
Chateau Mukhrani is ~45 km northwest of central Tbilisi, roughly 50 minutes by car, and ~27 km (about 30 minutes) from Mtskheta. Most visitors come by car, taxi or on an organised day trip, and the estate has its own car park.
When to go
Late spring for the gardens; September and October for the grape harvest. Plan 1.5–2 hours here.
- Book your tour or tasting ahead, above all at weekends. The estate publishes no price list: expect about 15 GEL (about $6) in 2026 for a plain estate tour and roughly 40-50 GEL (about $15-19) for a tour with three or four wines, and confirm when you book. It is usually open from 10:00, until 18:00 on weekdays and later on weekend evenings.
- Ask for the signature tasting if you want the uncommon Kartli varieties rather than wines you can find in any Tbilisi shop.
- Combine it with Mtskheta and Jvari Monastery, or the cave monastery of Shio-Mgvime, for a full day outside the capital.
- We can add Chateau Mukhrani to a private day trip from Tbilisi with a driver and a guide in your language, so nobody in your group has to skip the wine.
Weather at Chateau Mukhrani
Based on the climate of Mtskheta, 15 km away. Warmest in August (31° by day), coldest in January (−1° at night), with 580 mm of rain a year. Best months: Sep.
Chateau Mukhrani: FAQ
How far is Chateau Mukhrani from Tbilisi?
Chateau Mukhrani is ~45 km from the centre of Tbilisi, so the drive takes roughly 50 minutes, longer in rush hour. The route follows the main western highway past Mtskheta, so the old capital makes an easy first stop.
Who built the Mukhrani palace?
Prince Ivane Mukhranbatoni (1812-1895), a lieutenant-general from the Mukhrani line of the Bagrationi dynasty, started it in the early 1870s. Building took around twelve years, and he set up his winery on the estate during the same decade.
What wines are made at the estate?
Mostly dry reds and whites from its own vineyards: Saperavi and Rkatsiteli, the local Kartli grapes Goruli Mtsvane, Shavkapito, Tavkveri and Chinuri, a few French varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, and wines made in qvevri.
Nearby places
Straight-line distance from Chateau Mukhrani.
