The Young Georgian Winemaker Taking on the World
From a small village in the Caucasus to Forbes' 30 Under 30 — the story of Baia Abuladze is one of grit, family, and ancient vines.
There are winemakers who inherit success, and then there are winemakers who build it from the ground up with a $2,000 grant and a second-hand bottling machine. Baia Abuladze is firmly, and wonderfully, in the second camp.
Born and raised in the village of Obcha in Georgia's Imereti region, Baia grew up surrounded by vines, clay vessels, and the deep rhythms of a winemaking family. Her grandfather taught her to read the soil before she could read a textbook. After earning her agronomy degree in Tbilisi, she made a decision that would quietly change the world of natural wine: she went home.
In 2015, Baia entered a local agricultural startup competition alongside her sister Gvantsa and brother Giorgi. They won a modest grant — roughly $2,000 USD — bought a used bottling machine, and bottled their first vintage of 5,000 bottles. Baia's Wine was born. By the time Forbes named her to their prestigious 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2019, she had already become one of the most talked-about young women in wine — a rising force quietly putting Imereti on the world map, one qvevri at a time.
A Sister Act Built on Passion
If Baia is the visionary, Gvantsa is the force that helped take their wines global. After spending time with the European Voluntary Service programme in Sweden, Gvantsa returned to Obcha with fresh ideas and an international outlook that proved invaluable as the sisters began exporting their wines across Europe and beyond. Together, Baia and Gvantsa have built something rare: a women-led, family-run estate that is as commercially savvy as it is deeply soulful.
Their work has been recognised by both the EU and the United Nations Development Programme as a model of Georgian entrepreneurial excellence. Their wines have been praised by the Washington Post, Food & Wine, and Wine & Spirits Magazine, and poured in some of the world's finest restaurants.
The Terroir: Where the Magic Begins
To understand what makes Baia's wines so distinctive, you have to start with the land. The family vineyards sit at 324 metres above sea level on the eastern flanks of the Sairme Mountains in western Imereti — a place where cool night air flows down from the Caucasus peaks, slowing ripening and locking in a bright, nervy acidity that is entirely unique to this corner of the world.
The soils are a rich mosaic of alluvial clay, gravel, sand, and limestone, giving the wines both mineral backbone and generous aromatic lift. Imereti's proximity to the Black Sea creates a humid, temperate climate — warmer and wetter than Georgia's eastern Kakheti region — that has, over thousands of years, shaped a family of indigenous grape varieties found nowhere else on earth.
It is those varieties — Tsitska, Tsolikouri, Krakhuna, Otskhanuri Sapere, and Aladasturi — that Baia and Gvantsa champion with quiet, fierce dedication. Tsitska brings crackling citrus acidity. Tsolikouri, Imereti's most planted grape, adds weight, honeyed texture, and golden fruit. Krakhuna contributes structure, walnut bitterness, and a savoury, almost saline minerality that makes the wines compulsively food-friendly.
The Winemaking: Ancient Methods, Modern Heart
All wines are crafted using low-intervention, certified organic methods. Fermentation happens in traditional Georgian qvevri — ancient terracotta clay vessels buried underground — using only wild, airborne yeasts and minimal added sulphites. Skin contact gives the whites their characteristic amber hue and tannin structure, while the cool cellar temperatures of the buried qvevri preserve freshness and aromatics throughout.
The result is a range of natural and amber wines that feel genuinely alive in the glass. Luminous golden-amber in colour, Baia's whites open with aromas of ripe golden apple, honeysuckle, dried apricot, and citrus zest, before revealing a palate of toasty hazelnut, honeyed stone fruit, and that signature Imeretian mineral crunch on the finish. They are textured and complex, but never heavy — wines that beg to be shared over a long table with good food and good company.
Today, Baia's wines are exported to over 15 countries worldwide. And now, they're available right here in Australia — exclusively through Nova Vino.
"These fourth-generation Georgian family winemakers started making organic, biodynamic wine before it was cool." — Food & Wine Magazine
Shop the Baia's Wine Range at Nova Vino
We are proud to be one of the only places in Australia where you can get your hands on Baia's Wine. Stocks are limited and these bottles move fast.
🍷 Baia's Wine White — Tsolikouri / Krakhuna — $39 AUD Shop Now →
A skin-fermented amber wine from Imereti, bursting with golden apple, honeysuckle, and toasty hazelnut. Unfiltered, organic, and utterly unforgettable.