Georgia for a while lost its great cheese-making traditions, becoming lost to the chewy Mozzarella-like sulguni and the hard, salty Gouda. But thanks to a few locally-inspired initiatives, a number of cheeses have been registered as national "treasures," the methodology refined, standards tweaked towards international and experimentation embraced. If you're looking for some of that inspiration and truly love the art of cheese-making, then check out the shops below.

MARLETA

Run and created by a Tbilisi couple, Sopo and Leo, who moved away from urban climes to start up a life in Kakheti...well, let's have them tell the story of how this great little shop came to be!

"It all started with a cow named Marleta...

Well, actually it started with the decision to upend our city lives in Tbilisi and move to the countryside of Georgia for a slower pace of living and peace of mind. The search for our rural forever home took us to the most exquisite and unique parts of Kakheti, but the small village of Shalauri, overlooking the Caucasus Mountains and Alazani Valley, instantly felt like home. And so, like countless migrants before us, we settled down and began to build our lives in our new surroundings. To commemorate our move, a friend of ours semi-ironically gave us a cow, a gift to suit our newfound roles as farmers. Soon, we realized that unlike our other four-legged family members, who mainly bartered with cuddles and licks, Marleta provided us with generous amounts of milk on a daily basis. With a surplus of milk and a decent Internet connection, we began to research what dairy products we could make at home ourselves. The era of trials and tribulations brought about many a product, including butter, sour cream and yogurt variations, but as it turned out making cheese was the most gratifying out of all of our endeavors. And like that, we became artisan cheese makers..."

WHERE: 2a Z.Paliashvili Str. Tbilisi

TEL (+995) 577 72 27 71

12 PM- 8 PM

CHEESE CORNER

A pair of large cooled glass displays greeted me, filled with the magnificent wares, making me feel as if I were in any such shop in Europe. One cabinet seemed to be devoted to more common types, the other exclusively to those unknown elsewhere. Different colors, sizes, shapes and, yes, aromas, tantalized me- someone who has loved good aged cheese from early childhood. From softest to hardest, weeks young to years old, gentle to pungent: they beckoned me.

Around were also offered things to accompany your choice, all local, too: wines, fruit, nuts, honey and more. 

WHERE: 163 Nutsubidze Str./ 6 N. Berdzenishvili Str., Tbilisi

TEL (+995) 595 95 31 31

10 AM - 9 PM