Georgia, the Cradle of Wine Civilization and the process of making wine

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Limited to 15 spots per session. Event duration: 45 mins.

The event will be PRE-RECORDED but the Organizer will be LIVE and ready to answer all your questions.

Professional wine maker Yago Bitarishvili will tell and show us all steps of ancient Qvevri wine making technology, starting from the vessel preparation till the bottling process. This is how wine was made 8000 years ago and this is how it is made today.

The roots of Georgian viticulture (with over 500 endemic grape varieties) have been traced back by archeology to when people of the South Caucasus discovered that wild grape juice turned into wine when it was left buried through the winter in a shallow pit. This knowledge was nourished by experience, and from 6000 BC inhabitants of the current Georgia were cultivating grapes and burying clay vessels, qvevris, in which to store their wine ready for serving at ground temperature. When filled with the fermented juice of the harvest, the qvevris are topped with a wooden lid and then covered and sealed with earth. Some may remain entombed for up to 50 years.

Wine vessels of every shape, size and design have been the crucial part of pottery in Georgia for millennia.

Qvevri wine-making is practised throughout Georgia, particularly in village communities where unique varieties of grapes are grown. The Qvevri is an egg-shaped earthenware vessel used for making, ageing and storing the wine. Knowledge and experience of Qvevri manufacture and wine-making are passed down by families, neighbours, friends and relatives, all of whom join in communal harvesting and wine-making activities. The wine-making process involves pressing the grapes and then pouring the juice, grape skins, stalks and pips into the Qvevri, which is sealed and buried in the ground so that the wine can ferment for five to six months before being drunk. Most farmers and city dwellers use this method of making wine. Wine plays a vital role in everyday life and in the celebration of secular and religious events and rituals. Wine cellars are still considered the holiest place in the family home. The tradition of Qvevri wine-making defines the lifestyle of local communities and forms an inseparable part of their cultural identity and inheritance, with wine and vines frequently evoked in Georgian oral traditions and songs.