Our Take on Vino Underground
Steps lead down off Galaktion Tabidze Street into a brick vaulted cellar where the wine list reads like a census of Georgian villages. In Your Pocket calls Vino Underground an iconic part of the country's natural wine scene, and the claim is structural: a collective of Georgia's top artisan winemakers owns and runs the room.
When it opened in 2012 there was practically nowhere in Tbilisi pouring traditional qvevri wines, the amber, skin contact bottles fermented underground in clay. This cellar made the category visible.
Star Wine List describes shelves of cult and often unlabeled bottles from the country's most experimental vintners. Restaurant Guru aggregates 889 reviews at 4.4.
Reading the Room
Brick arches, mismatched wooden tables, candle light, and crates of unlabeled bottles standing in for decor. The cellar runs cool even in August, which is half the reason regulars stay for a third glass.
The staff are usually connected to the winemaking families themselves, so the advice across the counter comes from the cellar floor, not a training manual.
The Menu, Edited
Who Shows Up, and When
Sommeliers on pilgrimage, Sololaki neighbors, and travelers sent by every guide to the city share the long tables. Conversation crosses tables by the second glass; the staff encourage it.
Thursday through Sunday the cellar runs to 2am. The 6pm hour is the quiet seat for a guided tasting; after 9pm the room hums.
The Word on the Street
- In Your Pocket calls it an iconic part of Georgia's natural wine scene and a trailblazer since 2012.
- Star Wine List highlights cult, often unlabeled bottles from the country's most experimental vintners.
- Culinary Backstreets places it at the heart of its Tbilisi wine bar coverage.
- Spotted by Locals points to the staff's direct lines to the winemakers as the thing that separates it from every newer wine bar uphill.
Go, or Skip
- Anyone who wants qvevri wine explained by people who made it
- Bottle hunters chasing labels that do not exist
- Avoid if you want cocktails or a polished room; this is a working cellar
The bars worth going to, weekly.
One email every week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 168 cities worldwide.
Reach bar-goers in every major city.
Sponsored listings, newsletter placements, and city guide partnerships across 168 cities.