ODA FAMILY WINERY

Samegrelo, Georgia

In 2015 the journalist and vitner Keto Ninidze and her husband Zaza Gagua packed up their two small daughters and left Tblisi to make wine. Zaza’s great-grandparents built their traditional home, known as an Oda, over one hundred years ago in the northwestern Semegrelo Region of Georgia, in the foothills of the Caucus Mountains. Like all traditional Odas it was built from wood, with the whole structure raised off the ground, and ornate touches that decorate the exterior. Each house comes with a cellar that was meant to store wine for the household. Keto is making wine in the same cellar as her husband’s great-grandmother.

The Oda Family Winery’s proximity to the Black Sea means that the air and temperature is ideal for growing vines. Historically Semegrelo was a popular winemaking region, but in the 19th century fungal disease attacked the vineyards, and during the Soviet Era the region was completely forgotten. Keto has been instrumental in revitalizing the area and contributing to biodiversity. She uses local varietals ojalashi and chviriluri, making whites and skin contact rosè. She also uses her writing and wine labels to bring attention to violence against women.