Shardeni Street

At one side of the Rike Park there is a figure of a bronze man with a horn of wine in his hands. This monument is an enlarged copy of the bronze statue called "Tamada" (toast-maker), which was discovered in archeological ruins in Western Georgia. This findings date back to the 7th century before Christ. Georgians love their food and we loved it too. While walking along Shardeni Street, we broke off for lunch and found a 17th century wine cellar with a great guy who offered us a taste of the wines he had. We eventually bought a bottle of the famous "Kimdzmarauli" red wine which is a bit semi-sweet. Georgia is the oldest known place where wine was cultivated (grape seeds and pressing pots were found here dating to 7000 years ago) and the saying here goes "If you're had a drink and became sad - You're not a man, you are not Georgian". For grub, we had the famous Ajaran Khachapuri and Shashlik Kebab. We also tried a glass of their other famous red wine “Khvanchkara” and it was lovely.Read more