Khikhvi

The Story

By 2000, fewer than 2 hectares of Khikhvi remained in all of Georgia. This ancient aromatic variety—once prized for its Muscat-like perfume—had been abandoned during the Soviet era's industrial wine push. Then John Wurdeman, an American artist who fell in love with Georgia, partnered with winemaker Gela Patalishvili to create Pheasant's Tears. They searched for forgotten vineyards and found Khikhvi.

The grape's aromatics are extraordinary: orange blossom, jasmine, honey, and spice—more intense than Muscat, with the structure to age. Today, Khikhvi is still ultra-rare (perhaps 5-8 hectares total), but its survival represents Georgia's broader indigenous grape renaissance.

Insider Story

The Pheasant's Tears origin story: John Wurdeman was painting frescoes in Georgian churches when he discovered the country's qvevri wine traditions. He met Gela Patalishvili, a ninth-generation winemaker whose family had hidden qvevri during Soviet times. Together they began hunting for forgotten grapes.

Pheasant's Tears Khikhvi (€35-45) comes from a single old vineyard in Kakheti. Production is tiny—perhaps 1,000 bottles annually. The wine spends 6 months on skins in qvevri, developing amber color and honeyed complexity while retaining its explosive aromatics.

Niki Antadze's approach differs: His Khikhvi (€25-35) sees less skin contact, preserving more primary fruit character. It's more immediately aromatic, less structured.

The rarity factor: You cannot find Khikhvi in stores. Allocation only, usually through natural wine importers in London, Copenhagen, and Tokyo. When bottles appear, they sell within days.

Recent expansion: Young Georgian winemakers are now planting Khikhvi. Nikoladzeebis Marani and Okro's Wines have new plantings. Within a decade, availability should improve—but this remains a unicorn grape.

Technical Deep Dive

Khikhvi produces intensely aromatic wines with moderate acidity (5.5-6.5 g/L) and pronounced floral character. The grape accumulates monoterpenes (linalool, geraniol) at levels matching or exceeding Muscat.

The variety is naturally low-yielding—20-30 hL/ha even with modern viticulture. Old vines produce even less, concentrating the aromatics further.

Qvevri transformation: Extended skin contact (4-6 months) adds phenolic structure and oxidative complexity. The aromatics shift from fresh flowers to honeyed, dried-flower character. Without skin contact, Khikhvi is lighter, more perfumed—almost Gewürztraminer-like.

Terroir: Most surviving Khikhvi grows in Kakheti's Alazani Valley, on alluvial soils with excellent drainage. The grape needs warmth to ripen fully but retains aromatics even in hot vintages.

Industry Secrets

Why sommeliers obsess over Khikhvi: It's the ultimate 'if you know, you know' Georgian wine. Finding a bottle signals deep natural wine knowledge.

The pairing secret: Khikhvi's aromatics and slight sweetness complement spicy Caucasian cuisine—Georgian adjika (chili paste), satsivi (walnut sauce), and even Central Asian plov.

The pricing reality: Khikhvi costs €25-45 not because it's expensive to make, but because there's so little of it. If production scaled, it would be €15-20.

What to watch: Young plantings from Nikoladzeebis Marani and Okro's Wines will reach maturity around 2025-2027. These wines may define Khikhvi's future style.

The collector's dilemma: Khikhvi is too rare to age. Most collectors drink their bottles rather than cellaring, which makes old vintages essentially impossible to find.

More white grapes

• Khusaini
• Kisi
• Krakhuna
• Krstač
• Kuldzhinskii