Qvevri
The making of wine in Qvevri is the oldest known method of wine production. Approximately 5000 years ago this method spread from the Caucasus region across the world. The oldest clay jugs which have been found in Georgia are more than 7000 years old and look like current Qvevri jugs.
Qvevries are special vessels for making wine. The production and consumption phases have been developed over thousands of years to the present time, and Qvevri still maintain the same importance in winemaking as ever before in South Caucasus.
Many Georgian families unchangeably and strongly follow their rich culture of making wine. Marani is the name of the special place where Qvevries of different sizes are buried.
Qvevries are believed to be the best earthenware artifacts discovered by Georgian archaeologists. In fact, the Georgian craft of pottery is millennia old. Ancient artifacts reflect and clearly define the high skills of Georgian craftsmen in whose hands water, clay and fire turned into the fusion of the giant vessels of exceptional beauty reflecting the all-time history of this ancient culture.
The knowledge and skills of winemaking in Georgia were widely acknowledged in the ancient world. Many outstanding figures of antiquity, such as Appolo of Rhodes, Strabon and Procopius of Caesarea mentioned Caucasus in their works as the land of the first known cultured grape varieties. Also wine and traditional method of winemaking in Qvevri were spread further to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and the rest of the world. Vessels similar to Qvevri were found in the Roman Empire, where they were called Dolium, in Greece - Pithos and in Spain - Tinaja. Even the modern english name of wine is believed to derive from Georgian "ghvino" ("vin", "wein", "vine", "vino").
This shows how significant these traditions are, even in the modern world, so we have to preserve the art of making Qvevries as part of the traditional Georgian method of winemaking.