Why it matters
The producer
Eldar, Levan, Fridon and Leri Mildiani founded the winery in 1991. The wider Mildiani group includes Tsinandali Old Cellar, Gurjaani Wine Cellar and Vazi-1, while the company works with vineyards in multiple Georgian wine zones. That structure puts Racha fruit, Kakhetian production and different labels under one family company rather than treating Georgia as one undifferentiated wine region.
Mildiani began with a wine-bottling operation in Mtskheta, then added a ceramics workshop to make clay wine bottles locally. From that early business, the company expanded to vineyards in several zones and a group of wine enterprises; the consequence in today’s range is a company able to move between regional Georgian grapes, classical stainless-steel wines and qvevri wines.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Racha matters here through Aleksandrouli, the red grape behind Mildiani Aleksandrouli Qvevri Private Selection 2018. The fruit comes from Racha, while the company’s wine enterprise is in Tsinandali, a Kakhetian microzone; the regional name on the bottle follows the grape’s origin, and the cellar base describes where Mildiani makes and manages its wines.
Mildiani also names Racha-Lechkhumi fruit in its range material. Alongside wines from other Georgian zones, that spread gives the company two useful points of comparison: grape and growing place can change from bottle to bottle, while qvevri or stainless steel can change the way that fruit reaches the glass.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Mildiani says it controls quality throughout production from vineyards in multiple zones. Traditional Georgian viticultural practice sets the vineyard side of the work, while Italian and French equipment shapes the cellar side; that combination allows the producer to make wines in stainless steel as well as wines in qvevri, the large clay vessels long associated with Georgian winemaking.
For the Racha Aleksandrouli, qvevri is the defining cellar detail. The 2018 Private Selection is made entirely from Aleksandrouli and made in qvevri, so grape, region and vessel appear together in one bottle. The method is a practical distinction rather than a decorative one: it separates this wine from Mildiani’s classical stainless-steel range before aroma or tannin are even considered.
Wines to know
The range in view
Mildiani’s range is built on two tracks. Its classical wines are made in stainless steel, while its traditional wines use qvevri; the vessel choice gives the range a structural divide as well as a stylistic one. Regional fruit then supplies the second divide, with Racha-Lechkhumi among the areas named by the producer.
Mildiani Aleksandrouli Qvevri Private Selection 2018 is a 100% Aleksandrouli wine from Racha, made in qvevri. Mildiani Qvevri Bouquet Rkatsiteli 2019 takes the qvevri route with Rkatsiteli instead, showing that the clay-vessel wines are not limited to one colour or one grape. Together, the two labels make the range legible through grape, region and cellar method rather than through brand names alone.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Mildiani Aleksandrouli Qvevri Private Selection 2018. It is 100% Aleksandrouli from Racha and made in qvevri, so its label contains the three things most useful for understanding Mildiani: a specific Georgian grape, a named growing region and a traditional clay-vessel method. It is a red wine to approach for fruit, body, acidity, tannin and finish as one sequence, with the qvevri method providing the structural frame rather than an assumed flavour.