Pheasant's Tears restaurant is really a must to go place. It offers excellent organic wines and delicious food. Place is very nice! It is a very fine mix of traditional Georgian with innovations. Wines are suberb and food -- all organic, delicious and well balanced. Service is excellent, staff is very hospitable and all of them speak English. It's a great place to visit for lunch and wine tasting, as well as if you are staying overnight in Signagi, it's a great place for late dinner and wine. Plus, they have really pleasant selection of music. They offer local wine tasting experience, which is an exciting and interesting thing to do. You can also take a tour to vineyards and fully indulge into wine making traditions of Georgia.
Unique place: 300 year old house that had its own winery, and some of the original winemaking equipment is still displayed. Winery is run by a Georgian and his American partner, John Wurdeman, who came to Georgia to record traditional folk music, then trained in realist painting at a Moscow art institute. The wine uses only organically grown Georgian grapes, and is sold in Georgia, Europe, and the USA. Wurdeman,s art is also sold at European and American galleries. So you can tour the winery, have a wine tasting, eat good food, and look at artwork as well. If you call ahead, you might be able to meet and chat with John himself.
We enjoyed an excellent lunch with wines here. Nathan although relatively new was a perfect host clearly explaining the food and also the wines and something of their history. Price was reasonable. Highly recommended.
Having read the other reviews on here we were excited to do this tour, to see the birth of wine making with a guide who apparently loves his vocation.The reality could not be any further from the truth. A tour was organised for 11am so we turned up 10 minutes early to ensure not to miss a thing. There was little risk of that as no one turned up until 11.30 and then we were simply told to wait. After another 20 minutes we inquired as to when the tour would start only to be brushed off with "waiting for car". This was said with no apology just a brusk, sneer. After another 20 minutes of being ignored we decided to cut our losses and leave. We can only think that they have become complacent or just no longer care but I would suggest if you want a tour of the vineyards then you look elsewhere.
We have been to Signagi at mid Sep 2013We took the vineyard tour and ate at the resturant"Gia" the chef guided the tour to the vineyard, he also prepared a wonderful vegan meal,The staff at the place were very nice and welcoming.
If you're going to charge Australian/S. African/US prices for an Australian/S. African/US-style tasting, the wines should be somewhere approaching that standard. We actually preferred the homemade plonk from a nearby guesthouse. The atmosphere lacks the warmth of thr rest of the country, but it may appeal to some craving for a more international touch.
Signagi is a lovely little town and by far one of the most scenic cities in Georgia. A few of my friends and myself were there for three days and of course had to see what Pheasant's Tears was all about (there are signs for it everywhere and it's also featured in The Lonely Planet). We had the privilege of experiencing a wine tasting at the vineyard, toured the cellar, and sampled unusual and well paired cheeses along with Pheasant's Tears handmade crackers made from their own wheat. That was just the first hour. We ate at Pheasant's Tears restaurant two nights during our short stay in Signagi and enjoyed local fresh vegetables, cheeses, meat (mouthwatering pork and veal) paired with Pheasant's Tears earthy wine and completed the meal with a sampling of their unique liquor, chacha. Given our experience at the vineyard and restaurant and the warm welcome from the staff, we booked a horseback riding jaunt through Pheasant's Tears tourism company, which was to say the least, very memorable. We rode for a total of 5 hours through the mountains,valleys, and towns surrounding Signagi and had a picnic in the vineyard halfway through the ride. On the ride home, our very knowledgable and friendly guide Arsen, picked wild cherries and blackberries for us to snack on as we rode. The whole experience felt like a dream. I highly recommend checking out this little gem in Signagi. You won't be disappointed.
Pheasant’s Tears Winery is more than just a winery; it is an experience. From the sense of place, to the food, to (of course) the wine, it is clearly more than the sum of its parts. A word to the wise, if you want a stereotypical Georgian restaurant, that specializes in inexpensive shashlik, khinkali, and khatchapuri, then Pheasant’s Tears it NOT the place to go. There are many fine places where you can get this sort of basic fare, both in Signaghi and in Tbilisi.If, on the other hand, you want exceptional food that takes melds Georgian cuisine with the freshest in-season ingredients, superb organic wines, and deeply poetic musings by the owner, John Wurdeman, then Pheasant’s Tears is the place to go. Yes, the prices are a bit higher than other restaurants in town, but you get what you pay for.Go once, and you will begin a relationship that will bring you back again and again.
The wine tasting was phenomenal! Everyone at Pheasant's Tears is so inviting-- a "must-see" if you are in Signagi.
Pheasants Tears is more experience than only wine restaurant and wine company. The wine tastings are always phenomenal, different wines, savor some amazing food cooked by creative chef and friendly staff. Pheasants Tears vineyard and main winery are located in a village, 20 min driving from PT wine restaurant. The location is excellent with stunning views of the valley, mountains and monastery. This is “must see” place - vineyard with more than 315 grape verities. Wine tasting at vineyard is very enjoyable even in hot summer days, but the best period for visit is morning or sunset time. We had a great time sitting outside, eating delicious cheese & freshly baked bread, drinking the best Georgian wines and looking at the beautiful, the most romantic vineyard in the world. To me such concepts set a new trend in Georgia and I wish we had much more places like this.