Zaza Gagua and his wife Keto Ninidze left Tbilisi in 2015 to settle in Martvili, a small town in the Samegrelo region of western Georgia. Zaza had started the project in 2012 with just half a hectare and fewer than 3,000 bottles; today the estate farms four hectares around the cellar with additional fruit sourced from like-minded organic growers in Imereti, Lechkhumi, and Kakheti. The winery was formerly known as Vino M'artville before rebranding in 2019 to honor the Georgian heritage of the place. Annual production now exceeds 11,000 bottles.
The Region
Samegrelo occupies the subtropical lowlands of western Georgia, a lush, forested region where the Caucasus foothills meet the Black Sea basin. It is one of the least-explored wine zones in Georgia — long overshadowed by the eastern Kakheti region — but home to indigenous varieties found nowhere else on earth. The warm, humid climate and rich alluvial soils allow for vigorous vine growth and intense aromatic development, particularly in the rare varieties that have survived here for millennia.
Vineyards & Farming
All farming at Martvilis Marani is organic, with no synthetic inputs used in the vineyard. The estate's four hectares near the cellar in the village of Targameuli are planted to ten indigenous Georgian varieties including Ojaleshi, Orbeluri, Tsolikouri, Krakhuna, Aladasturi, Tsitska, and Kakhuri Mtsvane. Zaza also works with trusted organic growers in other western and eastern Georgian regions, expanding the range of varieties he can vinify without compromising his sourcing principles.
Winemaking
Fermentation takes place in qvevri — the traditional Georgian clay vessels buried underground — with native yeasts only. No intervention occurs during fermentation or aging. Small amounts of sulfur are added only when absolutely necessary to protect the integrity of the finished wine. The qvevri method allows for gentle, extended skin contact and temperature-stable aging, producing wines with both freshness and phenolic depth.
The Wines
The portfolio spans orange, amber, red, and rosé styles drawn from varieties that most wine drinkers have never tasted: an Aladasturi rosé, skin-contact Tsolikouri, Orbeluri red, and blends from Kakheti. Each wine is a rare encounter with Georgian viticulture at its most unmediated — flavors and textures that have no Western European equivalent.
