Region & History

Chacha is Georgia's pomace brandy, and in 2011 it became the country's first product to receive a protected geographical indication. On December 13, 2011, the name was registered with Sakpatenti, the national patent authority. This is a Georgian designation, not an EU one—Chacha does not appear in the European Union's register. The protection covers a spirit distilled from grape pomace, not from whole grapes.

Is Chacha the Georgian Grappa? Legally, the comparison holds up, since both are pomace brandies. What's meant are spirits distilled from the fermented skins, seeds, and stems left over after pressing. Within the EU, such spirits fall under the category of pomace brandy, with a minimum strength of 37.5% ABV. In many Georgian families, Chacha is still distilled at home today, in the courtyard or next to the wine cellar.

The backdrop is a wine culture considered among the oldest in the world. The method of making wine in buried clay vessels, the Qvevri, has been on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2013. Wherever so much wine is made, plenty of pomace remains, and Chacha has long been distilled from it. Kakheti in the east, around Telavi, Kvareli, and Sighnaghi, is the country's most important wine region.

Alongside the farmhouse spirit, an industry emerged in the 19th century. David Sarajishvili, born in Tiflis (Georgian: Tbilisi) in 1848, founded the distillery that still bears his name, according to the house, on September 1, 1884. His brandy, the house states, won awards at exhibitions in Paris, Chicago, and Brussels starting in 1889, and in 1913 the company received the title of Imperial Court Purveyor.

After the revolution, the business was nationalized and continued operating as the Tiflis Cognac Factory; it was privatized in 1994. Today, alongside this house, several larger wineries bottle Brandy and Chacha, especially in Kakheti.