Wine from Georgia

Despite the fact that the people of Georgia were among the first humans to make wine, in present times their wines rarely cross national borders and those of neighbouring countries such as Russia. Georgia possesses an enviable wine-producing heritage, with points to note including the 35 authorised varieties (the majority being indigenous) and the use of ancestral winemaking techniques such as ageing the wine in qvevri, earthenware vessels sealed with beeswax and buried below the ground. The majority of their vineyards are situated on south-facing slopes, protected from the icy north winds by the Caucasus Mountains and their vines produce some of the most amazing wines in the world.

Understood as a "wine of yesteryear", i.e. wine made from white grapes processed in the only way that wine could be made in ancient times, orange wine has its birthplace in Georgia. Exactly where wine is believed to have originated. In Georgia, ancient wine-making and cultivation techniques have been handed down for 8000 years, centred on maceration of the must in contact with the skins and very slow fermentation in the characteristic terracotta amphorae known as qvevri, with an average capacity of 1000 litres. 

Vinification in these buried amphorae, which are hermetically sealed and covered with wax to protect the wine from excessive oxidation, is UNESCO World Heritage listed. Some of these amphorae, over 250 years old, are still in use in Georgia, and their typical tapered shape, with an egg-shaped bottom, favours the natural deposit of lees and residues inside, facilitating decantation during racking.