Wine

Aleksi ‘Lexo’ Tsikhelishvili was born in Alvani, in the northern Alazani River Valley near Akhmeta. His grandparents were Tsova-Tushs and were originally pastoralists in the Tusheti highlands.

“I’m not sure why they moved down here in the early 20th century,” says Lexo as we sit in his handsome house. “Maybe it was to avoid the harsh winters. But the Russians were also forcing the independent-minded highlanders down where they’d be easier to control. Many upper villages were abandoned, most disappeared with their names forgotten.”