2 weeks ago
Georgia’s Eight-Thousand-Year Qvevri Tradition Reaches Global Wine Tables
Georgia is a country famous for making wine for about 8,000 years.
Scientists found very old wine evidence in ancient clay pottery.
Georgian winemakers use large egg-shaped clay pots called qvevri.
These pots are buried underground to help keep the wine at a steady temperature.
The grapes ferment with their skins, seeds and pulp, which can make the wine darker and more textured.
Georgia has more than 500 types of grapes.
Many wines are made in Kakheti, a major wine region near Tbilisi.
After the wine is made, leftover grape material can be turned into a strong drink called chacha.
Georgian wine is now exported around the world.
Archaeological evidence dates Georgian grape wine to 6000–5800 B.C., making the tradition roughly 8,000 years old.
Georgian winemakers ferment grapes with skins, seeds and pulp in buried clay qvevri vessels.
The country has more than 500 grape varieties, including Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane, Kisi, Khikhvi, Tsolikouri and Saperavi.
At Giuaani Winery, Georgian-style wine spends about six months in qvevri, while grape remnants are used to make chacha.
Georgia exported approximately 89.7 million litres of wine worth $267.9 million to 71 countries in 2025.
- Who
- Georgian winemakers, including the Giuaani Winery family and sommelier Nika Tchitanava.
- What
- Georgia’s ancient qvevri-based winemaking tradition and its modern wine production and exports.
- Where
- Georgia, especially Kakheti and the Giuaani Winery in Manavi, about 45 kilometres from Tbilisi.
- When
- The tradition dates to 6000–5800 B.C.; Giuaani’s harvest runs from mid-September to late October, and Georgia’s reported exports cover 2025.
- Why
- Qvevri winemaking preserves a distinctive Georgian method in which grapes ferment with their skins, seeds and pulp, creating amber and structured wines.
Key facts
- Wine history
- Chemical analysis links Georgian grape wine to 6000–5800 B.C.
- Traditional vessel
- Qvevri are large, egg-shaped earthenware vessels buried in the ground.
- Grape varieties
- Georgia produces more than 500 grape varieties.
- UNESCO recognition
- UNESCO added the Georgian qvevri wine-making method to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.
- Giuaani qvevri
- Giuaani Winery has 36 qvevri, each holding 2,000 litres.
- Production time
- Giuaani’s Georgian-style wine remains in qvevri for about six months.
- 2025 exports
- Georgia exported approximately 89.7 million litres of wine worth $267.9 million to 71 countries.
Quotes
Nika Tchitanava
Brand ambassador and sommelier at Giuaani Winery
“Once the wine is removed from the qvevri after six months, depending upon the grape, some are straight away transferred into bottles, while some are aged in oak barrels and still others age in bottles.”
businesstoday.in
“Even at night we wake up and push the solids back in.”
businesstoday.in
Sources
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