Qvevri is a wine-making Practised throughout Georgia, most notably in areas where grapevines are unique varieties.
The most famous wine-producing regions in Georgia include Kakheti (further divided into micro-regions like Telavi and Kvareli), Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi, and Kvemo Svaneti, Adjara, and Abkhazia. The traditional Georgian wine-making is called kvevri or Qvevri is also known as tchuri in Western Georgia.
For centuries, Georgians have used Kvevri containers for storing brandy, grain, butter, and cheese, but their primary use was for the production of wine. Similar ceramic storage vessels are made throughout the world, but in Georgia only, Spain (vino de tinaja, vino de pitarra) and Portugal (Vinho de talha) use them for the production of wine. An earthenware egg-shaped vessel, the Qvevri is used to make, age, and store wine. Knowledge and experience related to Qvevri manufacture and wine-making are passed down through families, neighbors, friends, and relatives and are all part of communal harvesting and wine-making activities.
Kvevri wines don’t require chemical preservatives since the tannins limit protein activity and prevent turbidity. Wine-makers claim that because Kvevri wine is stable by nature, and it is rich in tannins, no chemical preservatives are required to preserve the wine's long life and keep its taste. Children are taught how to care for the vines, press the grapes, ferment wine and collect clay by their elders. Their elders also make and fire the Qvevris. The process involves pressing the grapes, pouring the juice, skins, stems, and pips into a container called the Qvevri, and burying it in the ground for five to six months to ferment so that the wine is ready to consume.
As of today, most Georgians still use this method of making wine. As wine is an essential part of daily life and the celebration of secular and religious events and rituals. The wine cellar is the holiest place in their home. By this traditional Qvevri wine-making method, the lifestyles of local communities are defined and form a part of their heritage and cultural traditions. Furthermore, wine and vines are frequently referenced in Georgian oral traditions and songs. Since wine has played a significant economic role in Georgian history for millennia, it is thought that its history is inextricably linked to the nation's identity. Georgia has revived this ancient method of wine-making since the Russian market for Georgian wine has dwindled to a trickle. The commercial wineries in Georgia have taken to exporting their kvevri wines abroad. Currently, Kvevri wines are now being made by some European and American wineries.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/ancient-georgian-traditional-qvevri-wine-making-method-00870) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_wine) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvevri) |Subject=Craftsmanship and Practices, Food |Country=Georgia |SDG=(08) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities }}