Wine Arcana

Grape

Tsitska

Tsitska is a white grape of Imereti in western Georgia, used for dry whites, blends, and sparkling wine. Its capacity to retain acidity helps explain that range: it can bring freshness to a still blend or provide the firm base needed for a second fermentation in bottle.

Imereti and its blends

The National Wine Agency describes Tsitska as a thick-skinned grape grown throughout upper and central Imereti, susceptible to both powdery and downy mildew. Its dry wines can suggest pear or quince. Regional blending partners include Tsolikouri and Krakhuna.

Baia's Wine in Obcha provides a contemporary example of the blend with Tsolikouri. Its importer describes the two grapes fermented together in qvevri, the Georgian earthenware vessels, with part of the skins retained. After three months, the wine moves to stainless steel. This gives the skin-contact white wine a different route to texture from simply pressing all the juice off its skins before fermentation. The proportion of skins and length of maceration both matter.

Sparkling Tsitska

Khareba winemaker Vladimer Kublashvili's portfolio describes a sparkling wine made entirely from Imeretian Tsitska by the traditional method, with its second fermentation in bottle.1. Vladimer Kublashvili, “Sparkling Wine – Tsitska Méthode Traditionnelle,” winemaker's portfolio, accessed 21 September 2026. This is a useful counterpart to the qvevri blend: the same regional grape supports two quite different cellar traditions.

For sparkling wine, the balance of sugar and acid at harvest shapes the base wine before bubbles or maturation contribute their own effects. Lees aging can then add texture and yeast-derived aromas. Those characteristics depend on production choices as well as the grape, so a sparkling Tsitska and a still example need not share the same aromatic emphasis.

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