JAZZ&WINE Kakheti Returns to Tsinandali on 10 October
JAZZ&WINE Kakheti runs on 10 October at the Tsinandali Estate, opening at 13:00 with the tasting that has started the day since the festival began. This is the tenth edition, and more than 40 Georgian wine producers are pouring. Three live sets follow through the afternoon and night, with tickets on sale now.
Who Is Playing at JAZZ&WINE Kakheti
The Italian group Sugarpie and the Candymen take the amphitheatre twice, at 14:00 and again at 16:00, with the swing and jazz rearrangements of rock and pop standards they are known for, drawing on The Beatles, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors.
At 19:00 the ballroom hosts Fred Wesley Generations, the project built on the work of the trombonist and arranger who shaped the sound of James Brown and The J.B.'s.
The night closes at 21:00 back in the amphitheatre with SOULTRAIN, a live tribute to the golden era of soul, funk and Motown, performed by the Swiss funk band JJ's Hausband under drummer J.J. Flueck with American vocalist Reggie Saunders. Italian chef Maurizio Siciliano is cooking through the day.
Tsinandali in October, and Why It Is Busy
The estate sits about ninety minutes east of Tbilisi, in the middle of Georgia's main wine region. It was the home of the nineteenth century poet Alexander Chavchavadze, and the amphitheatre and ballroom used for the festival are inside its gardens.
October is the tail of rtveli, the harvest, so the 40 producers pouring at the tasting are working from a vintage that came in weeks earlier. Radisson Collection and Park Hotel Tsinandali are the host hotels, and both fill for festival weekends.
Children under six enter free, but anyone aged six and over needs a ticket.
The pre-sale in August has closed. Holders of a TBC Concept Mastercard now get 20 percent off tickets, and non-Georgian foreign Mastercards get 15 percent.
Ten years in, the festival is one of the clearer signs that Kakheti has a calendar of its own rather than a summer season only, which is worth knowing if you are weighing up moving to Georgia and want a picture of the year outside Tbilisi before committing to anything.
What To Do Now
Buy tickets through the official festival page on TKT.GE rather than a resale site.
Pay with a TBC Concept Mastercard for 20 percent off, or a foreign issued Mastercard for 15 percent.
Book a room in Tsinandali or Telavi now, not on the day.
Allow two hours from Tbilisi if you are driving, and plan for a 13:00 start.
If a visit turns into a longer stay, read our guides to the Georgia digital nomad visa and residence rules, to tax residency in Georgia and to opening a local bank account.
The festival is organised by Eastern Promotions, presented by TBC Concept with Mastercard as general sponsor. JAZZ&WINE Kakheti is a single day, 10 October, and the estate closes its season with it.
Considering a base in Georgia rather than a visit? We set up the company, sort the tax status and open the banking, all in one place. Talk to us
