There is a place in the South Caucasus where the act of making wine is a birthright. Georgia is widely regarded as the cradle of winemaking, a civilisation-old tradition stretching back more than 8,000 years. And at latitude 45.3°, in the celebrated wine region of Kakheti, Winery Saba quietly carries that heritage forward, bottle by honest bottle. Family-owned and estate-driven, Winery Saba was founded not to chase trends, but to preserve something far more enduring: land, tradition, and responsibility to future generations. In a world increasingly shaped by volume and uniformity, Saba represents a different kind of ambition, one measured not in market share, but in the integrity of grapes grown and wine bottled.

The Land: Where the Story Begins

Kakheti is Georgia's most celebrated wine region. A broad, sun-drenched valley flanked by the Greater Caucasus Mountains to the north and the Gombori range to the south. The continental climate, with its warm summers, cool nights, and well-drained alluvial soils, provides ideal conditions for coaxing complexity and character from the vine. It is a landscape that has been cultivated for millennia, and one that still rewards those willing to listen to it.

Winery Saba's 23-hectare estate sits directly on the 45.3° meridian — a coordinate the winery has adopted as its signature, its compass, and its quiet mark of origin. It is a statement of philosophy: that what is in the glass begins, and ends, in the specificity of this place. Every vine on the estate is farmed organically and harvest is carried out entirely by hand, with grapes picked only at optimal ripeness. Winery Saba sources exclusively from its own estate; there is no bought-in fruit, no blending across origins. The result is a supply chain that runs not from supplier to cellar, but from vine to bottle.

A Philosophy of Restraint

Winery Saba operates on three principles, each reinforcing the others: ownership, origin, and restraint.

Ownership means taking full responsibility for every bottle released. This includes growing, harvesting, and vinifying without compromise or reliance on external sources. There is no room for inconsistency when the winery's name is the only name on the label.

Origin means that the wine should speak of where it comes from, not merely how it was made. Kakheti's sun, soil, and altitude are not incidental details, they are the product. Winery Saba's winemaking is designed to reveal terroir, not to obscure it.

Restraint means choosing classic, minimal-intervention winemaking methods, as a conscious discipline. Winery Saba intervenes in the cellar only when necessary, allowing each variety and each vintage to express itself on its own terms. Organic farming, hand harvesting, and gentle handling in the winery are not selling points but a logical extension of a deeply held belief that the finest wine requires the lightest hand.

Winery Saba - 45.3 Meridian (Khikhvi)

Rooted in Tradition

Georgian winemaking is inseparable from the qvevri (large clay vessels buried underground), used for millennia to ferment and store wine. This ancient method, which the country successfully nominated for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status, produces wines of extraordinary depth and textural complexity. Winery Saba draws on this tradition as both cultural inheritance and practical wisdom, combining its principles with clean, modern cellaring techniques that preserve freshness and precision.

Wine in Georgia has always been more than a beverage. It flows through harvest festivals, and Georgian supras (family feasts and toasts) that punctuate the rhythms of everyday life. When Winery Saba describes its mission as preserving tradition for future generations, it is a commitment woven into the culture of the country itself.

The Varieties: Georgia's Own

Winery Saba works exclusively with native Georgian grape varieties — Saperavi, Kisi, and Khikhvi — producing four wines in total (including a Rosé from Saperavi). This is a deliberate and considered choice. International varieties have their own merits, but they do not belong to this landscape. To plant Merlot or Chardonnay in Kakheti would be to deny the very conversation that Winery Saba is trying to have with its terroir.

Saperavi 2024 — Red, Dry
Saperavi — meaning "dye" or "paint" in Georgian — is one of the world's rarer teinturier grape varieties, with deeply pigmented flesh as well as skin. Winery Saba's 2024 Saperavi is full-bodied and structured, with aromas of blackberry, wild berries and cherry. A generous 14% ABV speaks to the warmth of the Kakheti growing season. Serve at 16–18°C alongside grilled or braised meats and aged cheeses.

Kisi 2024 — White, Dry
Kisi is a white variety of considerable personality. Medium bodied, balanced and velvety with a long finish, the 2024 shows aromas of tropical fruits, dried fruit, and honey, with an impressively vinous weight at 14.5% ABV. Pair with white meats, seafood, and light salads; serve at 12–14°C to preserve its aromatic lift.

Khikhvi 2024 — White, Dry
Khikhvi is the lighter, more energetic counterpart, clean and citrus-driven, with aromas of pear, white berries, and a refreshing zestiness. At 13% ABV and light-bodied, it is a supremely food-friendly wine, particularly well-suited to cheeses, pasta, and vegetable-based dishes. Best served cool at 10–11°C, it offers the brightness that Kakheti's climate can produce when yields are carefully controlled and the harvest timed with precision.

Annual production at Winery Saba reaches up to 100,000 bottles across its four wines, a figure that places it firmly in the artisanal tier. However, Saba is not building toward volume; it is managing for consistency, focus, and the kind of craft that only becomes possible when a winemaking team knows every row of every vineyard intimately. For importers and buyers, this limited production means that allocation matters. Winery Saba is not a brand that can be found everywhere — nor does it aspire to be. Its wines reward those who seek them out: honest, place-driven, and made without compromise.

A Genuine Taste of Georgia

To drink a bottle of Winery Saba is to encounter Georgia as it actually is. Not curated for export, not softened for international palates, but present and unfiltered, showcasing the warmth of the sun, the mineral depth of Kakhetian soil and the quiet authority of varieties that have been cultivated in this valley since before most of the world's famous wine regions existed. There is a confidence in this simplicity. In saying that great wine begins in your own vineyard and that nothing between vine and bottle should distort what the terroir is trying to express. Winery Saba has built an entire identity on that belief. At 45.3° Meridian, they are doing exactly what Georgian winemakers have always done, and doing it with rare clarity of purpose.

Header image sourced from Winery Saba (Instagram).