Why You Didn’t Get Free Wine When You Went to Georgia

“You get free wine when you land in Georgia? Why haven’t I ever gotten a bottle? I’ve been to Tbilisi three times!”

Frequent fliers around the internet have been trying to figure just what happens when you cross the border in Georgia. It all started with the following photo that’s been making its rounds around the internet with some version of the caption, “when you land in the country of Georgia the passport police give you this free bottle of wine:”

Image Source: Reddit

Will I Get This Wonderful Gesture of Goodwill or Not?

So, did someone with decent Photoshop skills a lot of free time on their hands take everyone on the internet for a ride? No! The reason why different fliers have had different experiences is because, at some point in time (we’re not sure exactly when, let us know in the comments if you have more details), Georgia took a break from giving out free 10-oz. bottles of wine at the border.

They brought it back again in earnest in the middle of last year, shortly after Putin stopped Russian planes coming to Georgia in July, 2019. It’s a great public relations move by Georgia and has inspired a lot of people to make the trip to visit one of Eastern Europe’s most beautiful countries.

If you’re keen to get your own bottle, you should know that passport control only gives out the bottles for a limited time each year: December 20th through January 20th (or as long as supplies last, a few people have reported getting their gift of wine as late as last week) to be exact.

Have you gotten a bottle of wine during your travels to Tiblisi? Let us know when you went and if the wine was as good as it looks!