DESCRIPTION

Georgian Traditional Wine making History 

8 000 years  wine making tradition

Georgia is considered by many to be the birthplace of wine, and its history can be traced back over 8000 years when the people of the South Caucasus discovered that if wild grape juice was buried in a pit over winter, it turned into wine. This led to Georgians cultivating grapes and burying clay vessels, or kveris, to create wine - sometimes for as long as 50 years for a true vintage. Archaeologists have found these kvevris in a huge variety of different shapes, sizes and styles, often with a highly skilled level of craftmanship, highlighting how much wine was revered by ancient Georgians.  Numerous artefacts dating back IV-III and older have also been found adding evidence to the fact that Georgia is probably the oldest wine country in the world.
There are 525 indigenous grape varieties in Georgia. Nowadays, about 25 varieties are used in the industry.
Georgian winemaking – The Qvevri (clay vessel used for fermentation of wine) Method is listed as part of UNESCO Intangible Heritage.