SHUMI Winery #41

Discover the unique and authentic Tourist Complex

SHUMI Tourist Complex spans twelve hectares, and has no analogues in the world both in its infrastructure and in content. Nowhere else will you find so many examples of Georgian culture gathered in one space as in SHUMI: the largest Private Vineyard with a Comprehensive Varietal Collection, the First Wine Museum in Georgia, the Decorative Garden, which presents sculptures by famous Georgian and international artists, the Marani, the Enoteca, the Georgian Ethnographic Pavilion, the VINOBIZA Pavilion, the Gestalt House, Gastronomic Zone with Restaurant, Cafe, Terraces, Tasting Areas and much more.

SHUMI Tourist Complex includes 39 locations, and works of art can be found here at every step. The statue “Gate Keeper” greets guests at the entrance. This is a bronze statue of a modern sculptor, created based on a painting by the great Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani. There is also a waiting area called “Spring of Beauty” and in the center of it is a stone fountain crowned with a bronze statue of birds, and around it is a small pond decorated with lotus flowers.

Further along the way to the central part is the installation of Lazarus (Georgian ancient deity), where the ritual of Lazarus is held, and you can also see an ancient grape press carved in stone. On the left side of the road is the ZIGU Grotto. It is located underground and merges with the natural landscape.  The Grotto is the cellar of the Zigu (alcoholic beverage) where it is aged for several years. There is a small café in front of him.

One of the oldest wine-making vines in the world grows in the private estate of N. Nikolaishvili in Tsinandali village.  Experts from around the world have been studying this unique vine for some time.  The scientists have managed to determine the approximate age of the vine – more than 300 years, but the exact grape varietal remains unknown. SHUMI WINERY together with the family of N. Nikolaishvili have named this vine GENESIS.  In honor of this ancient vine, SHUMI installed a monument-sculpture of the GENESIS vine on the territory of the Tourist Complex. Its creator was the famous modern Georgian architect GiorgyKhizanishvili. Around the statue are planted the “babies” of the GENESIS vine. GENESIS statue is an instant magnet for visitors and a favorite place for wedding ceremonies. In 2016, conditions were favorable for the harvest of GENESIS grapes, and SHUMI’s masters produced dry red wine.  The amount of wine was extremely limited, and each bottle of wine has a unique hand-painted GENESIS vine made by a professional artist.

In the Central part of the Complex there are tasting and dining areas with open and closed spaces built in small and medium-sized architectural forms, created by modern Georgian architects and designers according to projects designed exclusively for SHUMI. Only natural building materials are used in construction: stone, Georgian brick and tiles with blue enamel, wood, iron.  And handmade elements created specifically for SHUMI are used in decoration. On the lawn in front of the tasting area there is a picturesque Water Mill with a barbeque zone. Many traditional Georgian dishes are cooked over an open fire, and barbecue meat and fish are prepared using a water mill and SHUMI‘s patented technology. Also in the dining area is the Gallery, where the works of famous Georgian artists and sculptures are exhibited, including masterpieces of famous modern masters, such as: Merab Merabishvili, Gia Japaridze and many others.

On the wall there is an installation showing the fermentation of pulp in Qvevri

The Complex also houses pavilions: VINOBIZA, ILLERCO and TSITELI DOLI. The walls of the pavilions are decorated with frescoes. These frescoes are painted with “Saperavi” wine and reflect the history and culture of Georgia, based on mythological characters and stories.

On the western wall of the VINOBIZA pavilion is the famous story of the visit of the first “official tourists” to Georgia – the expedition of the Argonauts about 33 centuries ago, whose main goal was to take the Golden Fleece.  And, indeed, Georgia was considered one of the main centers of gold mining and the birth of metallurgy, as evidenced by the world’s oldest mine for the extraction of this precious metal, found on the territory of Georgia. The Greeks were known to look down on other people as wild tribes. Imagine their surprise when they arrived in Georgia and saw the prosperous cities. fountains of wine etc. Another fresco shows scenes from the life of Georgia at that time, including grape harvesting and grape pressing and winemaking. Georgia was a country of cultural farming, where, in addition to grapes, fruits and wheat were grown and honey was collected (the oldest honey ever found in history was found in Georgia, and it is 5,000 years old). Therefore, the ancient Greeks called the country Georgia – the country of farmers.

Much of Greek mythology consists of Georgian characters and Georgian history. On the frescoes you can see Minotaur. The fact is that the minotaur was Georgian. The mother of Minotaur was Pacifaya, wife of the Cretan king Minos, also sister of the Georgian king Aeitus and Medea’s aunt. Sisters of Minotaur were: Pacifaya’s daughters – Ariadna, Fedra, as well Kirka (Circe) – a sister of Pacifaya and an aunt of Medea as well, who saved Odysseus and married him.

Gestalt House, SAPERAVI Café and SHUMI Wine Museum

Next to the Ethnographic Pavilion is the Gestalt House (Therapy) a place to restore mental and physical harmony and get balance.  The idea of creating the Gestalt House is based on the Company’s care for the mental health of the people.  Human nature tends to strive for the integrity of the perception of the world and balance, and we help in this in the Gestalt House.

In the center of Gestalt House there is an open fire, which, according to ancient traditions, was built in Georgian houses. Nearby is a stone sculpture of Amirani, a hero of Georgian mythology – the prototype of Prometheus (in Greek mythology), who stole heavenly fire from the gods, for which he was punished and chained to a rock in the cave of the Caucasus Range.  According to legend, he was freed by Hercules, the hero of another Greek mythology, whose bronze statue depicting the scene of the last feat of Hercules (his strangulation with his bare hands of Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades), can be found in the Gestalt House. There is also a “Sculpture of Mixed Roots”, where at the bottom of the sculpture there are soil samples of SHUMI’s vineyards, collected from different microzones: Mukuzani, Tsinandali, Napareuli, Kindzmarauli. In the middle there is a fountain from which chacha (Georgian traditional strong alcoholic beverage) is poured, and the upper part is crowned with a bronze statue of a vine.

There is also SAPERAVI Café, designed by the famous Georgian architect Archil Kalatozishvili.  Its outdoor veranda and tower offer fantastic views of the Caucasus Mountains.

In the center of the Complex is a statue of the Griffin, made by one of the best animalists in the world Merab Merabishvili. The symbol of SHUMI is a Griffin (“Phaskunji” in Georgian mythology). According to an ancient legend it was the griffin who brought the first bunch of grapes to people, which gave a start to the cultivation of vineyards on Earth. Merab Merabishvili is a famous Georgian sculptor of many famous works that can be found in many countries of the world. He created many works for SHUMI, including: Griffin in stone, statues of bronze Griffin and Lion. He also created a gilded porcelain vessel, which has the shape of a griffin and is a handmade work of art and where SHUMI brandy is poured.

SHUMI uses exclusive glassware for its unique beverages: Lazare and Genesis wine bottles, painted by famous artists, among whom there is a painting by the world-famous contemporary Georgian artist Sergo Tbileli. The exhibition of Sergo Tbileli’s paintings was organized in 14 countries of the world.

In the garden of the Tourist Complex there is a fresco of Trialeti. The plot of the fresco is borrowed from the central frieze of the Trialeti Bowl, it is made of silver and belongs to the Trialeti culture – the archaeological culture of Transcaucasia, dating back to the Bronze Age (the first half of the 2 thousand BC) and is marked by a high level of local jewelry. The fresco depicts a ritual procession of priests with outstretched arms holding bowls facing the throne on which the supreme deity sits.

At the entrance to the building, where the SHUMI Wine Museum, Marani (wine cellar) and Enoteca are located, is the painting “Adam and Eve” – an enamel artwork depicting a classic biblical plot and made in the technique of engraving with hot enamel on copper using the plane method, which requires high-quality fine craftsmanship and is very laborious. The Master’s work is unique both in terms of technology and in terms of a non-standard approach to the depicted plot. Titian painted his masterpiece much earlier, Rubens reproduced its exact copy with minor changes, and the master of this work, our contemporary, made a copy of Rubens’ painting with significant processing, both artistic and substantive. Experts who have studied this work of art consider it brilliant. The artist of the painting, who presented it to SHUMI, raised the bar very high, rethinking the biblical story of all times and peoples “The Fall” in a completely different way: instead of the Garden of Eden, the action takes place in the vineyard of SHUMI; where, in addition to Adam, Eve and the Serpent, there are images of birds and animals that carry a symbolic load taken from the Bible itself; Instead of the fruit of an apple tree, there is a bunch of grapes, and Eve is covered with a grape leaf.

The first wine museum in Georgia is a special pride of SHUMI. The exhibits are artifacts discovered during archaeological excavations in Kakheti. The Wine Museum’s oldest artifacts are more than 6,000 years old. Among them are a 3300-year-old clay vessel – Qvevri for winemaking. Despite the fact that it was located in the ground, it is decorated with a lot of ornaments on the outside, which indicates the attitude of the master towards it. The museum houses a silver-plated wine cup dating back to the 7th century. It was found at the Nadarbazevi site belonging to SHUMI. Many centuries ago, the residence and vineyards of the Georgian royal family were located on this territory. The original bowl was transferred to the National Museum of Georgia, and a copy is exhibited in the SHUMI Wine Museum. SHUMI named the bowl “Ilerco”: “ilerco” meant a glass of precious metal in the ancient Georgian. SHUMI named the vineyard where the cup was found “Ilerco” and gave the same name to the wine made from grapes grown in this vineyard.

The museum also preserves a bronze statuette of the “Deity of Fertility” from the 11th-10th centuries BC. It was discovered during archaeological excavations on the territory of an ancient pagan chapel in Kakheti. “This statuette combines all the masculine features that were important for the tribal society and the patriarchal system of that time. He greets friends with a horn of wine, and meets enemies with a dagger, and at the same time he is the Sower of Grace,” wrote Georgian scholar Erekle Koridze.

SHUMI pays great attention to the landscape design of the complex. The territory of the SHUMI Tourist Complex is recognized as “the most beautiful place in Georgia”.

Various cultural events are often held in the Complex. The company has its own folklore group – an ensemble of vocalists, many dance groups, singers and musicians perform on the stage of SHUMI.